§ 1115.04 ROADWAY CLASSIFICATION.

   The roadways of the city are classified based on their location, function and desired level of access control. The classifications are as follows.

   (a)   Location based roadway classification. The roadways of the city were first classified into urban, suburban and rural, based on their location. This general classification will help in the assignment of access levels and access standards to roadways based on their location. Please refer to Map 1115.01.

      (1)   Urban can be construed to represent the central city, or other areas where density exceeds 6,000 persons per square mile;

      (2)   Suburban can be defined as all parts of an urbanized area other than the central city; and

      (3)   Rural represents all other areas.

   (b)   Functional roadway classification.

       (1)   Functional roadway classification is the most important step towards access management and control. It defines and regulates the development and assignment of access levels.

      (2)   The roadway classifications in the city are based primarily upon traffic volumes and capacity, operating speeds and trip distances. The classifications also take into consideration the functions performed by the roadway; traffic flow intensity and characteristics; linkages between activity centers, land usage and areas served; and system continuity and design features.

         A.   Freeways. Freeways typically carry high volumes of traffic at high speeds over long distances. For freeways, maximum priority is assigned to mobility and minimum priority is assigned to access functions. Freeways are complete access-controlled roadways with access at interchanges only.

         B.   Major arterial. Major arterials carry a significant amount of through traffic. They also serve as the primary access channels for traffic originating from the city to the interstates and vice-versa. Direct property access may be provided if no reasonable alternate access from an intersecting street is available. Development patterns in the city suggest a significant amount of development in and around these roadways, with direct property access having been granted from these roadways. However, when granting future access permits, it is important that the stipulations mentioned in these guidelines are followed, assuring that the grants do not interfere with the primary function of providing efficient (if possible, uninterrupted) through traffic movement.

         C.   Minor arterials.

            1.   The primary distinguishing features between major and minor arterial roadways are the volume of through traffic, operating speeds and the respective priorities assigned to providing through traffic movement and access to abutting developments.

            2.   The priority assigned to providing through traffic movement is marginally lower for minor arterials when compared with that assigned to major arterials. Also, minor arterial roadways are not necessarily the primary carriers of traffic to and from the city. They either serve as connectors between major arterial roadways and collector streets, or act as auxiliary channels for carrying through traffic to and from remote locations and from major arterial roadways. Essentially, minor arterial roadways perform the role of a major arterial roadway in cases where the trip distances are significantly lower.

         D.   Collector streets. Collector streets serve as connectors for traffic flow between the arterial roadways and the local streets. Collector streets are vital links for collection and distribution of traffic to and from the local streets, with equal priorities assigned to the functions of providing through traffic flow and access to abutting land developments. Hence it is important that the city focuses its attention on preserving the functional integrity of existing collector streets, and also prevent the future roadways (designated as collectors) from losing the balance between through traffic flow and access functions. It is essential that collector streets do not carry excessive volumes of through-traffic. This would defy their purpose as well as increase the risk of accidents due to excessive speed differentials at intersections.

            1.   In the roadway classification system, the collector streets of the city are subdivided into primary collector streets and secondary collector streets because:

               a.   This helps to account for differences in the length and extent of different collector streets;

               b.   The trip origins and ends for primary and secondary collector streets are different from each other;

               c.   This subclassification makes the access management plan specific, rather than general, to the different roadway types in the city;

               d.   This subclassification also accounts for basic differences in traffic flow characteristics between primary and secondary collectors; and

               e.   They do not permit residential driveway cuts and restrict the use of commercial driveway cuts.

            2.   The inherent characteristics of primary collector streets are as follows:

               a.   Primary collector streets connect local streets or secondary collector streets to arterial roadways (major or minor);

               b.   More often than not, the traffic flow pattern along primary collector streets is such that traffic to and from originates from or ends in secondary collector streets; the other ends of trips originate from or end in arterial roadways;

               c.   They usually dissect the land pockets between arterial streets from one end to the other in such a way that a reasonable amount of access is provided for the land developments in the respective land pockets; and

               d.   They are usually longer than the respective adjoining secondary collector streets or local streets.

            3.   The inherent characteristics of secondary collector streets are as follows:

               a.   They connect primary collector streets or arterial roadways to local streets;

               b.   In most cases trip ends originate from or end in local streets; the other ends of trips originate from or end in either arterial roadways or in primary collector streets;

               c.   They do not usually span the land pockets between arterial roadways. There may be exceptions depending on the existence of nearby collectors that serve as primary collector streets;

               d.   They are usually shorter in length than the respective primary collectors from which they branch; and

               e.   They restrict direct property access.

         E.   Local streets. The purpose of local streets is to provide direct access to abutting properties and land developments. The most important function for these streets is access provision, while through-traffic movement on these streets is secondary. Any access restrictions imposed on local streets will be only for safety purposes. All streets in the city that are not otherwise classified are local streets.

         F.   Alleys and private streets. An alley provides access to the rear or sides of lots or buildings. Alleys are not intended to provide access for through traffic. Private streets provide access to individual private properties that are located within a large tract of private property (e.g., condominiums and business parks).

Refer to Table 1115.02, which provides typical characteristics for each of the roadway classes, and to Map 1115.02.

Table 1115.02 - Functional Roadway Classification System
Roadway Type	Roadway Characteristics
Posted Speed Limited in mph	Traffic Characteristics and Roadway Function	Direct Property Access	General Design Features	Operational Standards	Public Access Provision
Freeway	Minimum of 55	High volumes of traffic at high speeds over long distances. Serves interstate, intrastate, interregional and intracity (in urbanized and metropolitan areas) travel demand.	Not permitted	Multi-lane; Median	All opposing traffic movements physically separated by grade separations and medians. Minimum interchange spacing: urban/suburban areas: 1 mile; rural areas: 3 miles	Only through interchanges
Major arterial	Maximum of 45 in areas without signals, and 35 in areas with signals (may be lower in highly urbanized sections)	Provides mobility to traffic at moderate to high speeds, volumes and distances. Serves interregional, intercity and intracity travel.	Not permitted or restricted; when permitted, see note (a)	Multi-lane with median preferred	Signalized intersection spacing; urban areas: 1/2 mile (1/4 mile when there is not other reasonable access); rural areas: 1 mile (1/2 mile when there is no other reasonable access)	At-grade public street intersections
Minor arterial	35-45 in undeveloped areas, and 25-35 in developed areas	Provides access and mobility at moderate to high speeds and volumes for moderate to short distances in rural areas, and low to moderate speeds and volumes in urban areas. Serves intercity, intracity and intra-community travel.	Restricted	Multi-lane	Signalized intersection spacing; urban areas: 1/2 mile (1/4 mile when there is no other reasonable access); rural areas: 1 mile (1/2 mile when there is no other reasonable access)	At-grade public street intersections
Primary collector	Minimum of 25-35, depending on the extent of development and the frequency of cross streets	Provides access and mobility at moderate speeds, with equal priority assigned to both functions. Connects local or secondary collector streets to arterials.	See note (b)	2-lane with turning movements	Signalized intersection spacing; urban areas: 1/2 mile (1/4 mile when there is no reasonable access); rural areas: 1 mile (1/2 mile when there is no reasonable access)	At-grade public street intersections
Secondary collector	25-35, depending on safety requirements	Provides access and mobility at lower speeds, with equal priority assigned to both functions. Connects primary collectors or arterials to local streets.	Restricted; see note (c)	2-lane with turning movements	Signalized intersection spacing; urban areas: 1/2 mile (1/4 mile when there is no reasonable access); rural areas: 1 mile (1/2 mile when there is no other reasonable access)	At-grade public street intersections
Local street	Maximum of 25	Mainly provides local land access. Carries traffic from and to local land developments, to and from collector streets.	Permitted	2-lane	All standards are subject only to case-by-case safety requirements	At-grade public street intersections
Alleys	Maximum of 15	Provide access to the rear or sides of lots or buildings. Not intended for through-traffic.	Permitted	1- or 2-lane	All standards are subject only to case-by-case safety requirements	At-grade public street intersections
Private street	Maximum of 25	Provide local land access. Carries traffic from and to developments, to and from collector streets.	Permitted	2-lane	All standards are subject only to case-by-case safety requirements	At-grade public street intersections
Notes:
(a)   When direct property access is provided to multi-lane divided major arterials, it is limited to right and left turn entry and right turn exit only. Left turn movements out of the activity center shall not be permitted.
(b)   Residential driveways are not permitted and commercial driveways are restricted by number, site distance and spacing.
(c)   Restricted by volume, speed, sight distance and spacing.

 

(Ord. 99-207, passed 1-10-2000)