Agenda - 08-24-1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I 253 Driveway Controls The efficiency and safety of a street or highway depends on the amount and type of interferences affecting vehicular movement along it. Significant interferences are caused by vehicles entering, leaving, or crossing at intersecting streets or driveways. In order to minimize accidents and to assure the best overall use of the road by the general public, it is necessary to regulate vehicular movements in and out of developments abutting the street or highway and from cross streets. With respect to driveways, road users and property owners have certain rights of access to abutting property as well as the right to travel on the highway with relative safety from interference. Since these rights sometimes conflict, governmental units are generally given the respon- sibility for reconciling these conflicts in order to satisfy the needs and rights of all road users with respect to driveway location, design, and operation . The following design considerations have been established for use in preparing recommendations with respect to driveways. 1 . Direct driveway access to abutting property repre- sents a service to the traveling public, driveways are not special concessions to landowners. 2. The conflict effect of driveways is a function of traffic flow along the street and at the driveway. Traffic from adjacent driveways and from driveways on the opposite side of the road may also conflict. 3. A low-volume driveway causes relatively little conflict on a major route and a high-volume drive- way causes little conflict on a minor route. 4 . Driveway design elements ( location, „spacing, sight distance, throat width, radii , angles, deceleration and acceleration lanes, and grades) should be based on expected volumes. 5• In the absence of a separate left-turn lane, the left-turn into a driveway generally causes the greatest hazard and street congestion . 6. The left-turn out of a driveway is the most sensi- tive to spacing of the driveway relative to the nearest point of street traffic control . Such turns are also relatively hazardous. 7 . The right-turn into a driveway Is the second most sensitive In respect to spacing from the location of street traffic control . Such movements also impede through traffic.