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Draft 09-09-2013 <br />2 |Page <br />Access Management Strategies <br />Access management is the systematic control of the location, spacing, design and <br />operation of driveways, median openings, interchanges and street connections to a <br />roadway. The chief goal of access management planning is to reduce the number and <br />severity of conflicts between through moving traffic and traffic attempting to turn. <br />Successfully managing these conflicts can result in fewer automobile and pedestrian <br />accidents, reduced congestion and preservation of public investment in the road <br />network. Access management strategies attempt to reduce and combine access points <br />along major roadways while still encouraging complete circulation systems. The result <br />is a street system that functions safer and more efficiently. <br />As development grows along a roadway, there must be an effective plan to manage <br />street access to increase public safety, extend the life of the roadway, reduce <br />congestion, and support alternative modes of transportation, and improve the overall <br />appearance of the roadway. Better mobility expands the market reach of businesses <br />and enhances the efficient movement of people and goods. With the absence of <br />access management, arterial roadways can deteriorate functionally and aesthetically as <br />well as affect economic, physical, social and environmental characteristics in the <br />following ways: <br />x Increased vehicular accidents <br />x Collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists <br />x Reduction in roadway efficiency <br />x Unattractive strip non-residential development <br />x Decay of scenic views <br />x Dispersion of higher traffic volumes on adjacent lower class (local) streets <br />x Increase in commute times, fuel consumption, emissions, area of paved surfaces <br />Some of the specific ways that the functionality of roadways can be improved in the <br />Study Area is through the application of planning, regulatory, and design strategies <br />relating to access management. The following strategies are excerpted from the Access <br />Management Program adopted by the Board of County Commissioners on November <br />15, 2011: <br />x Policies, guidelines and regulations issued by state and local agencies having <br />permit authority on development and roadway infrastructure improvements; <br />x State and county regulations, codes, plans and guidelines that are enforceable; <br />x Land development regulations by state and local jurisdictions that address <br />property access and related issues; <br />x Understanding of access implications by property owners, developers, and <br />businesses; <br />x The spacing and location of driveways; <br />x Driveway consolidation; <br />x Driveway width; <br />x Guidelines for adequate sight distance; <br />x Protection of the functional area of intersections and interchanges; <br />x The redesign of poorly functioning intersections and interchanges; <br />61