A. General standards.
(1) The location and width of all streets shall conform to the official plans or to such parts thereof as may have been adopted by the City.
(2) The proposed street system shall extend existing or recorded streets at the width of the street standards specified in Subsection B hereof.
(3) Where, in the opinion of the Planning Commission or its representative, it is desirable to provide for street access to adjoining property, streets shall be extended by dedication to the boundary of such property.
(4) New minor or local streets shall be laid out to conform as much as possible to the topography, to discourage use by through traffic, to permit efficient drainage and utility systems, and to require the minimum number of streets necessary to provide convenient and safe access to property. The subdivider shall also give adequate consideration to provision for the extension and continuation of major and collector streets into and from adjoining properties.
(5) Subdivisions that adjoin or include existing streets that do not conform to width or alignment as shown on the official plans or the street width requirements of this chapter shall dedicate additional width along either one or both sides of such road. If the subdivision is along one side only, the subdivider shall provide the extra width deemed necessary by the Planning Commission or its representatives and/or the Director of Public Works along the fronts of the lots being subdivided. [Amended 5-29-2001 by Ord. No. 14-2001]
(6) The finished elevation of proposed streets shall not be more than the one foot below the regulatory flood elevation. The Planning Commission may require, where necessary, profiles and elevations of streets to determine compliance with the requirement. Drainage openings shall be sufficient to discharge flood flows without unduly increasing flood heights. [Amended 9-20-1978 by Ord. No. 35-1978]
B. Street widths.
(1) Minimum street right-of-way and cartway or pavement widths shall be as shown on the official plans or Comprehensive Plan or, if not shown on such plans, shall be as follows:
Street Type | Required Widths (feet) |
Street Type | Required Widths (feet) |
Arterial street | |
Right-of-way | 80 |
Cartway | 48(b) |
Collector street | |
Right-of-way | 60 |
Cartway | 36(a)(b) |
Minor street | |
Right-of-way | 40(c) |
Cartway | 24(c) |
Marginal access street | |
Right-of-way | 40(c) |
Cartway | 24(c) |
Permanent cul-de-sac street | |
Right-of-way | 40(c) |
Cartway | 24(c) |
Notes:
(a) As specified in the official plans or Comprehensive Plan, or as determined after consulting with the City, the County Planning Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
(b) No on-street parking.
(c) If on-street parking is desired, the minimum right-of-way and cartway width shall be increased to 60 feet and 36 feet, respectively.
(2) Additional right-of-way and cartway widths may be required by the Planning Commission for the purpose of promoting the public safety and convenience or to provide parking in commercial and industrial areas and in areas of high-density residential development.
C. Restriction of access.
(1) Subdivision abutting arterial streets shall provide a marginal service road or shall front buildings upon a minor street parallel to the arterial street and removed from it by the depth of a lot with a buffer strip for planting or some other means of separation of through and local traffic as the Planning Commission may deem appropriate.
(2) Except as provided in Subsection C(1) hereof, reserve strips shall be prohibited.
D. Street grades.
(1) There shall be a minimum center-line grade of 1/2%.
(2) Center-line grades shall not exceed the following:
Street | Percent |
Minor | 12% |
Collector | 10% |
Arterial | 6% |
Intersection | 5% |
(3) Grades in excess of the above shall be submitted for study and approval by the Planning Commission, Planning Director and/or the Director of Public Works. [Amended 5-29-2001 by Ord. No. 14-2001]
E. Horizontal and vertical curves.
(1) Horizontal curves. Where connecting street lines deflect from each other at any one point by more than 10° they shall be connected by a curve with a radius of not less than 100 feet for minor streets and 300 feet for arterial and collector streets.
(2) Vertical curves. Vertical curves shall be required for streets, curbs and sidewalks in all instances where the algebraic sum of the grades exceeds 2 1/2%. Minimum tangent distance shall be determined by multiplying the differential in grades by 800.
F. Intersections.
(1) Streets shall intersect as nearly as possible at right angles, and no street shall intersect another at an angle of less than 60° or more than 120°.
(2) No more than two streets shall intersect at the same point.
(3) Streets intersecting another street shall either intersect directly opposite to each other or shall be separated by at least 125 feet between center lines, measured along the center line of the street being intersected.
(4) Intersections shall be approached on all sides by a straight leveling area, the grade of which shall not exceed 5% within 50 feet of the intersection of the nearest right-of- way lines.
(5) Intersections with major streets shall be located not less than 1,000 feet apart, measured from center line to center line, along the center line of the major street.
(6) Street curb intersections shall be rounded by a tangential arc with a minimum radius of 13 feet provided that the radius is at least equal to the width of the sidewalk, and shall be the width of the wider sidewalk area at an intersection with different sidewalk width.
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(7) Clear sight triangles shall be provided at all street intersections. Within such triangles, no vision-obstructing objects shall be permitted which exceed a height of 30 inches above the elevation of the intersecting streets. Such triangles shall be established from a distance of 75 feet from the point of intersection of the center line.
(8) Whenever a portion of the line of such triangle occurs behind, i.e., from the street, the building reserve setback line, such portion shall be shown on the final plan of the subdivision and shall be considered a building reserve setback line.
G. Cul-de-sac streets.
(1) Dead-end streets are prohibited unless designed as cul-de-sac streets or designed for future access to adjoining properties.
(2) Cul-de-sac streets, permanently designed as such, shall not exceed 400 feet in length and shall not furnish access to more than 20 dwelling units. Lengths in excess of the above shall be submitted for study and approval by the Planning Commission, Planning Director and/or the Director of Public Works. [Amended 5-29-2001 by Ord. No. 14-2001]
(3) Unless future extension is clearly impractical or undesirable, the turnaround right-of- way shall be placed tangentially to the tract boundary with sufficient additional width provided along the boundary line to permit extension of the street at full width.
(4) All cul-de-sac streets, whether permanently or temporarily designed as such, shall be provided at the closed end with a fully paved turnaround. The minimum radius to the pavement edge of the topographical curbline shall be 50 feet, and the minimum radius of the right-of-way line shall be 60 feet. The sidewalk area within the right-of-way line should conform with the straightway portion of the street and the curvature of the street.
(5) Drainage of cul-de-sac streets shall preferably be towards the open end. If drainage is toward the closed end, it shall be conducted away in an underground storm sewer.
(6) The center-line grade on a cul-de-sac street shall not exceed 12%, and the grade of the diameter of the turnaround shall not exceed 5%.
H. Service streets (alleys).
(1) Service streets are prohibited in subdivisions for single-family detached residences, except where required to avoid direct driveway access to major streets.
(2) Service streets may be permitted in other types of residential development, provided that the subdivider produces evidence satisfactory to the Planning Commission of the need for such service streets, provided these are not the primary means of access.
(3) Where permitted, service streets or alleys in residential developments shall have a minimum paved width of 20 feet with no parking permitted.
(4) No part of any dwelling, garage or other structure shall be located within 16 feet of the center line of a service street.
(5) Except where other adequate provision is made for off-street loading and parking consistent with the use proposed, service streets shall be required in commercial and industrial districts and shall have a minimum paved width of 22 feet.
I. Street names.
(1) Proposed streets which are obviously in alignment with others already existing and named shall bear the name of the existing streets.
(2) In no case shall the name of a proposed street duplicate an existing street name in either the City or the postal district, irrespective of the use of the suffix street, road, avenue, boulevard, drive, way, place, court, lane, etc.
(3) All street names shall be subject to the approval of the Director of Public Works and the City Traffic Engineer. [Amended 5-29-2001 by Ord. No. 14-2001]
13. Editor's Note: See also § 508-601.