03-24-1993 Council Workshop Agenda

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parking parking lane( lane moving lane 6' -7' 10' 6' -7' I I access parking lane 8' moving lane 10' arking lane 8' subcollector I I 8' -I 10' 10' parking lane moving lanes Collector Figure 2 -14: Number and width of lanes. 8' parking ( lane 38 Residential Streets On subcollectors, a 26- foot -wide pavement provides either two parking lanes and a moving or traffic lane or one parking lane and two moving lanes. (In the absence of adequate off - street parking, a 28 -foot pavement may be preferable if continuous on- street park- ing is expected along both sides of the street.) For a cul -de -sac or other access street, a 22- or 24- foot -wide pavement is adequate. Widening the access street a few more feet does not significantly increase capacity but does permit wider moving lanes that, in turn, tend to encourage higher -speed driving (Figure 2 -14). A wide access street also lacks the more intimate scale that otherwise makes it an attractive setting for housing. Once the traffic from tributary local streets has reached suffi- cient volume so that two clear traffic lanes are needed, the street becomes a collector street. A collector street should be designed as a higher -speed traffic artery that permits relatively swift and unrestricted automobile movements. Collector streets with a pavement width of 36 feet provide for adequate traffic movement and two curb parking lanes (Figure 2 -14). Where houses do not have access to the collector street and parking is not normally needed, two moving lanes of pavement are adequate, with shoul- ders graded for emergency parking. Ideally, homes should not front on a collector street in order to avoid the multiple traffic hazards of street parking, automobiles entering the street from driveways, and children who may dart unseen into the roadway (Urban Land Institute, 1967). Table 2 -3 summarizes the pavement width rec- ommendations: Table 2 -3 Recommended Pavement Widths Street Type Pavement Width (ft.) Access Street (place or lane) 22-24 Subcollector 26* Collector 36` If on- street parking lines both sides of the street continuously a 28 -foot pavement may be preferable. If residences do not front on the collector, a 24- to 26-foot pavement with shoulders is sufficient. Right -of -Way Widths The right -of -way width should be only as wide as necessary for the street pavement and other facilities and uses, including side- walks, utilities, drainage, street trees, snow storage, and grading. Blanket requirements for rights -of -way of 50 feet or more, often mandated by ordinances, are seldom justified for subcollectors and access streets. A right -of -way width allowance for future street widening is unnecessary in well- planned residential neighborhoods that are designed to discourage through traffic on residential streets. Since Page 14