Access to a County Highway shall not result in a degradation of traffic operations at the location of the access point and adjacent existing intersections. As such, and as a condition of issuance of a Major Access Permit, improvements to the County Highway at the access location and adjacent intersections may be required to mitigate the impacts of new, development-related, traffic.
A. Cost of Access Facilities and Improvements to County Highways. The permittee shall be solely responsible for paying all costs associated with the design and construction of an access facility and all costs associated with the design and construction of any improvements to a County Highway and/or any roadway intersecting a County Highway or any roadway within the limits of a required improvement to a County Highway, as required by this Ordinance. Costs to the permittee shall include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Preparation of engineering plans, studies, information or data required in order for the McHenry County Division of Transportation to review an access request and any revision thereto.
2. Obtain and conduct traffic counts and preparation of a Traffic Impact Study and any revisions thereto (see § 10.12.260B.)
3. Preparation of concept and preliminary geometric plans.
4. Preparation of a traffic signal warrant analysis and any revisions thereto.
5. Preparation of stormwater management studies, hydraulic and hydrologic studies, floodplain studies, and any revisions thereto. The McHenry County Division of Transportation shall be contacted prior to the development of any such studies for specific format and analysis requirements.
6. Preparation of engineering plans, specifications, estimates of cost and any revisions thereto.
7. Relocation of utilities and other facilities located within the right-of-way out from underneath existing or proposed pavement.
8. Relocation of above-ground utilities (including utility poles) and other facilities to the proposed right-of-way line (see § 10.12.250E.)
9. Removal of objects in the right-of-way (see § 10.12.250E.)
10. Obtaining and posting Performance Guarantees, Certificates of Insurance, and Maintenance Guarantees.
11. All other costs associated with an access facility and improvements to a County Highway as required by this Ordinance.
B. Traffic Impact Study.
1. All applications for Major Access Permits shall include submittal of a Traffic Impact Study prepared by a licensed Professional Engineer who has also been certified as a Professional Traffic Operations Engineer (P.T.O.E.) by the Transportation Professional Certification Board (T.P.C.B.). A Traffic Impact Study shall also be required when the permittee is applying for a variance from this Ordinance (refer to Article VIII.) The Traffic Impact Study shall bear the name, signature and seal of the Professional Engineer and be included on any updates or subsequent revisions to the Traffic Impact Study. In addition the traffic engineer shall also include their P.T.O.E. certification number.
2. The permittee shall be responsible for all costs associated with preparation of the Traffic Impact Study including updates and subsequent revisions including review fees that may be required if an outside consultant is retained to review the study. The requirements, scope and format for the Traffic Impact Study shall be based on the Access Management Highway Classification, as defined by this Ordinance, for the County Highway the access is being requested from and as described fully in the Permit Procedures and Requirements Manual. The Traffic Impact Study shall be no more than one (1) year old at the time of submittal.
3. The Traffic Impact Study must be approved by the McHenry County Division of Transportation prior to the determination of any required access-related improvements to the County Highway.
C. Signalized Intersection Level-of-Service Requirements. Analysis of all signalized Intersections shall be based on the methodologies presented in the “Highway Capacity Manual” published by the Transportation Research Board (TRB). Level-of-Service (LOS) criteria range from “A” (good) to “F” (poor) and are based on average delay. The permittee shall be responsible for making any required improvements to existing adjacent signalized intersections to ensure that the LOS letter grade does not decrease and that the volume to capacity ratio (v/c) does not significantly degrade as a result of a proposed development. Detailed analysis requirements are included in the Permit Procedures Requirements Manual.
D. Auxiliary Turn Lane Requirements for Major Access Locations.
1. Safe and efficient traffic operations along a County Highway are directly related to minimizing the speed differential of the vehicles traveling along the County Highway. Construction of auxiliary turn lanes is the most effective means of limiting the speed differential between a turning vehicle and through traffic that follows. In this Ordinance, the County Highways are separated into four (4) classifications (County Freeways, Principal Arterials, Arterials, and Other) as depicted on the Access Classification Map.
2. Mobility of through traffic on all County Highways, especially those designated as County Freeways and Principal Arterials is critical to the safe and efficient operation of the County Highway System. Therefore, auxiliary left-turn lanes and right-turn lanes shall be required at all Major Access locations on any County Highway that is designated as a County Freeway or Principal Arterial.
3. For those County Highways classified as Arterials and Other, the relationship between the volume of turning traffic at an access location and the volume of through traffic on the County Highway shall be used to determine whether auxiliary left-turn and right-turn lanes; are required.
a. Auxiliary Left-Turn Lane Requirements (Arterials and Other County Highways). The warrants for requiring construction of a left-turn lane on those County Highways designated as Arterials and Other on the Access Classification Map shall be based on the traffic volumes developed In the Traffic Impact Study and the requirements of Figure 10.12A.
b. Auxiliary Right-Turn Lane Requirements (Arterials and Other County Highways). The warrants for requiring construction of a right-turn lane on those County Highways designated as Arterials and Other on the Access Classification Map shall be based on the traffic volumes developed in the Traffic Impact Study and the requirements of Figure 10.12B.
(Ord. O-200811-82-068, passed 11-6-2008)