(A) Characteristics of the hierarchy.
(1) Streets shall be classified according to a street hierarchy with design tailored to function with existing and proposed traffic or turning movements.
(2) Each street roadway shall be classified and designed to meet appropriate standards.
(3) The categories, functions and projected traffic loads of the street hierarchy are set forth in the table in § 152.039(B)(3).
(B) Cartway width.
(1) Cartway width for each street classification is determined by parking and curbing requirements based on form or intensity of adjacent development.
(2) To promote economic development of streets, minimum cartway width should generally be used. Minimum cartway widths are set forth in the table in § 152.039(B)(4).
(C) Curbs, gutters and shoulders.
(1) Curbing shall be required for the purposes of safety, drainage and protection of the pavement edge, as set forth in the table in § 152.040.
(2) Requirements for curbs vary according to street function and the nature of adjacent development and expected future use of the area in accordance with the Future Land Use Map of the Comprehensive Plan. Adjacent development is defined as urban or rural as follows:
(a) Rural: Rural residential or predominately agricultural land; and
(b) Urban: Residential land use, or adjacent land uses which include commercial, office, industrial or civic use types.
(3) Where curbing is not required, edge definition and stabilization shall be provided.
(4) Shoulders, when developed, shall be at least six feet in width, or greater if required by the State Board of Classifications and Standards, on each side for all streets, and located within right-of-way. Swale width is site-specific. Shoulders shall be stabilized with turf or other acceptable material.
(5) All curbs shall provide ramps for accessibility by handicapped people consistent with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(a) Curb construction shall follow standards established by the city.
(b) Curb cuts for driveways may be ground smooth to a two-inch drop curb in residential and commercial areas with lots less than 4,500 square feet in total size. Maximum curb cut length as measured along the curb is 40 feet including any radii or wings.
(c) Curb cuts in commercial areas with lots greater than 4,500 square feet in total size and in industrial areas shall be sawed straight and removed to a two-foot lug and a two-inch drop curb to total pavement thickness shall be constructed. Maximum curb cut length as measured along the curb is 50-feet (throat width) plus the length of radii or wings on each side.
(D) Sidewalks.
(1) Sidewalk requirements are determined by road classification and intensity of development, as set forth in the table in § 152.040.
(2) Where sidewalks are not otherwise required by the table in § 152.040, the city may require their installation if necessary to provide access to generators of pedestrian traffic or major community features; to continue a walk on an adjacent street, to link parts of the city or to accommodate future development.
(3) In conventional development, shall be placed generally parallel to streets within right-of-way. Exceptions are possible to preserve important natural features or to accommodate topography or vegetation, when applicant shows an alternative for a safe and convenient pedestrian system or in creative subdivisions.
(4) In commercial areas in the B-1 Zoning District, sidewalks may abut curb. Subject to the approval of the City Engineer. Sidewalk landscaping requirements must be met.
(5) Pedestrian easements at least 12 feet in width may be required through the center of blocks over 600 feet in length if deemed necessary by the approving authorities to provide access to schools or community facilities, or to maintain a continuous pedestrian network within and between subdivisions and districts of the city and its jurisdiction.
(6) Sidewalks shall provide a clear path of at least four foot in width or six feet along parking areas or curb lines, free of any obstructions a minimum of one foot on both sides.
(7) All sidewalks shall be constructed according to current standards in use by the city. Sidewalks shall be of concrete construction a minimum of four inches thick except at points of vehicular crossing where they shall be a minimum of six inches thick or thicker in commercial and industrial areas subject to the approval of the City Engineer.
(8) All sidewalks, crossings and other segments of a continuous pedestrian system must comply with standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(E) Bikeways and recreational trail.
(1) Bikeways and recreational trails shall be required in subdivisions only when specified as part of the Comprehensive Development Plan or Master Trail Plan.
(2) All off-street recreational trails shall be a minimum of ten feet in width for two-way traffic and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Surfacing of trails shall be concrete minimum of six inches thick. Gradients for bikeways and recreational trails should not exceed 5%, except for short distances. Requests to revise trail width to eight feet or paving to asphalt and crushed aggregate surfacing are location and usage dependent and subject to the approval of the City Engineer.
(3) Recreational trails may satisfy part of the requirements of this chapter for sidewalks or open space.
(4) Trails shall provide a clear path free of any obstructions a minimum of one foot on both sides.
(5) All residential streets shall utilize bicycle safe drainage grates at storm sewer inlets.
(6) All trails, crossings and other segments of a continuous pedestrian system must comply with standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(F) Right-of-way.
(1) The right-of-way of a street shall be measured from lot line to lot line, and shall be wide enough to contain the cartway, curbs or shoulder, sidewalks and sidewalk setbacks, other necessary graded areas and utilities.
(2) Any right-of-way that continues an existing street shall be no less than that of existing street.
(3) The requirements for rights-of-way for functional categories of roads is set forth in the table in § 152.040.
(4) Dedications of right-of-way for collector, sub collector, community or arterial streets shall be made consistent with the Comprehensive Development Plan.
(G) Street design standards.
(1) Street pavement thickness shall relate to the role of the street in the hierarchy, sub-grade conditions and pavement type. All streets shall be paved to current standards utilized in the city except:
(a) Local streets in rural intensity residential subdivisions. In these settings, streets may utilize a travel or crushed rock surface of sufficient thickness and with an adequate base to provide a durable surface. All connections and access to existing paved roadways must be concrete paved; and
(b) Courts or plaza, which may utilize a minimum thickness of six-inch concrete, provided that such courts or lanes remain in private or private cooperative ownership.
(2) No subdivision shall prevent the extension of arterial or collector streets through and beyond the subdivision. The subdivider may plan and design collector streets not designated in the Comprehensive Development Plan subject to the approval of the City Council.
(3) Where the condition of the existing arterial roadway is in satisfactory condition, concrete and constructed in accordance with the State Board of Classification and Standards, the developer may elect to pay a public infrastructure improvement impact fee in lieu of improving the roadway, earthwork, storm sewer and other potential impacts of such improvements section at the time of development.
(4) (a) Cul-de-sac streets and street bulb-outs designed to have one end permanently closed shall not exceed 350 feet in length as measure from the radii points, unless a variance is granted. Cul-de-sacs designed with restricted vision from entrance to end shall be required to place a “No Outlet” sign by the developer at the entrance of the cul-de-sac road.
(b) The terminating end of a cul-de-sac shall have a minimum radius of 50 feet. Street bulb-outs may be utilized on local streets if approved by the City Engineer.
(5) (a) Streets shall intersect as nearly at right angles as possible, unless limited by topography, existing street alignments or other clearly defined constraints. No street shall intersect any other street at less than 60 degrees.
(b) In most cases, no more than two streets should intersect at a single intersection.
(c) Local street intersections with major arterials should be avoided.
(d) New intersections along one side of an existing or proposed street shall align with intersections on the other side of the street. Offsets between adjacent intersections shall measure at least 125 feet between centerlines of any streets, major private road or commercial access.
(e) The use of T-intersections is encouraged on local streets within the interior of a subdivision. Roundabouts or residential mini-roundabouts or other traffic calming features are also encouraged or otherwise required by the Comprehensive Development Plan or City Engineer and subject to the approval of the City Council.
(f) Street intersections shall be rounded with a minimum radius of 20 feet on local and collector roads and a minimum radius of 30 feet on minor and other arterial and major arterial roads. Larger radius comparable cut-offs or chords in place of rounded corners may be required on all types of arterial roads.
(g) Intersections and driveways shall not be within 200 feet of all types of arterial roadways, major roundabouts or signalized intersections.
(6) The length, widths and shapes of blocks shall be suited to the proposed area land use and design of the proposed subdivision and area properties. Blocks within residential areas should generally not exceed 1,200 feet in length, unless necessitated by exceptional topography or other demonstrable (nonfinancial) constraints.
(H) Street names. No street names shall be used which will duplicate or be confused with the name of existing streets as approved by the City Engineer. Streets shall be named according to the following system subject to City Engineer and City Council approval:
Street Direction and Type | Name |
Street Direction and Type | Name |
Cul-de-sacs | Named places |
East-west | Numbered streets |
Intermediate streets | Named streets (if east-west) or avenues (if north-south) |
Long-angle arterial streets | Named parkway or boulevard |
North-south | Numbered avenues |
Private streets | Named court (east-west) and named plaza (north-south) |
Short streets and angles | Named lanes or drives |
(I) Adjacency to arterials and railroads.
(1) Where the subdivision is adjacent to or contains a street designated as a major arterial or expressway, provision shall be made for marginal access streets approximately parallel and adjacent to the boundary of such right-of-way. Design features may be necessary to provide adequate protection of residential property and separation of through and local traffic as determined by the City Engineer.
(2) Where the subdivision is adjacent to or contains a railroad right-of-way or limited access highway, the City Engineer may require a street approximately parallel to and on each side of the right-of-way at a distance suitable for appropriate use of the intervening property. These distances shall afford opportunities for safe approach grades and future grade separations.
(J) Prohibited practices. The following design practices shall be prohibited:
(1) Privately owned reserve strips controlling access to streets, sidewalks, trails, utilities or similar;
(2) Half-streets; and
(3) Public alleys, except in the B-1 Zoning District.
(Ord. 23-09, passed 8-21-2023) Penalty, see § 152.999