[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Owego 11-21-1978.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
It is the purpose of this chapter to establish definite standards and
procedures governing the construction of entrances to Town highways so as
to regulate traffic entering or leaving commercial establishments, residences,
industrial plants and farms. The purpose of these standards and procedures
is to provide maximum protection to the public through the orderly control
of traffic movements onto and from the Town highways, to safeguard the traffic-carrying
capacity of the highways and to assure uniform practices throughout the Town
in the design and construction of entrances and exits.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A driveway serving a commercial establishment, industry, governmental
or educational institution, private utility, hospital, church, apartment building
or other comparable traffic generator.
Type of designs for commercial driveways include:
DIVIDEDA driveway so designed that traffic entering it is separated from traffic leaving it by a raised median or physical barrier.
DUAL SYSTEMA pair of driveways separated at least 30 feet apart by an island area.
These driveways may be one-way or two-way.
The Town of Owego Highway Department.
Every private entrance or exit used by vehicular traffic for ingress
and egress to a Town highway.
The distance along the highway pavement in front of the owner's property,
determined by projecting a perpendicular or radial line from the center of
the roadway to the corner points of the property.
Includes individuals, partnerships, joint ventures, corporations
and municipalities.
A driveway serving a private home or an apartment building containing
no more than four family units.
The boundary between private property and Town highway lands.
A.
Any person desiring access for vehicular traffic to a
Town highway shall obtain a permit for an entrance and/or exit for such from
the Town of Owego Highway Department.
B.
Written application for such permit shall be made to
the Town of Owego Superintendent of Highways. Applications for driveway permits
will be accepted only from property owners or their authorized agents. Certification
of legal ownership or the owner's authorization shall be required. Upon approval
of the application by the Department, a permit will be issued stipulating
the design conditions under which the installation is to be performed. The
Town will respond to all requests within seven days.
C.
The property owner, or his agent, may submit his own
driveway for approval or may request the Highway Department to furnish the
driveway design within the highway right-of-way. There will be a $25 charge
for this service.
[Amended 5-2-2000 by L.L. No. 1-2000]
D.
If a property owner, lessee or agent fails to comply
with the terms of a permit or fails to obtain a permit, the Department may
halt the activity for which a permit is required until adequate corrections
have been made. Costs incurred by the Department in correcting failure to
comply with the terms and conditions of a permit, failure to obtain a permit
or defective workmanship or materials shall be home by the permittee undertaking
the activity. The provisions of this section shall not apply to entrances
already in existence prior to October 1, 1978, but shall apply to any improvements
of existing driveway connections with the Town made after October 1, 1978.
"Improvement" is defined as resurfacing or a change in width, grade or location
of an existing driveway.
E.
Whenever a Town highway is reconstructed or resurfaced,
existing entrances to the highway will be altered by the Department at its
expense to conform to the spirit and intent of the standards set forth in
this section.
A driveway permit shall be issued subject to the following conditions
and limitations:
A.
Notification shall be given to the Town Superintendent
of Highways when work is started and when it is completed.
B.
All work done and all materials used shall meet the requirements
of the Department and the terms and stipulations of the permit. Any alterations
or additions must be expressly approved by the Department.
C.
A permittee shall not hold the Department liable for
any claim for damages arising from his negligence or his contractor's negligence
in operations covered by the permit.
D.
The entire cost of the work specified shall be borne
by the permittee, his grantees, successors and assigns.
E.
The permittee shall have a copy of the permit available
at the site during construction.
F.
The Department shall have the right of inspection of
any driveway construction or reconstruction within the highway right-of-way
by its authorized representative.
G.
The permittee shall take necessary precautions to prevent
injury to persons or damage to property from operations covered by the permit.
H.
Pipe or channeled natural drainage shall not be permitted
to flow onto a highway right-of-way unless special provisions are approved
by the Department.
I.
The permittee shall remove all surplus materials to an
area outside the right-of-way unless the permit provides for disposal at locations
within the right-of-way. Excavated material from within the right-of-way shall
be disposed of as directed by the Town Superintendent of Highways.
The property owners having access to a Town highway shall be fully responsible
for the maintenance of their driveway, including the portion from the highway
right-of-way line to the outside edge of the highway shoulder or curbline.
This maintenance responsibility includes the removal of snow and ice and keeping
the portion within the highway right-of-way in a safe condition for the general
public.
The design requirements set forth in this section are intended to provide
maximum safety and convenience for the traveling motorist and the permittee
and are based on the premise that the rights of the highway users and those
abutting property owners can mutually be satisfied. The Department reserves
the right to impose additional requirements should they be necessary for public
safety.
A.
Driveway location and layout. A driveway or driveway
system shall be so located as to provide:
B.
In the interest of public safety and convenience, the
Department may restrict the placement of a driveway to a particular location
along the owner's frontage or may require the shifting of an existing driveway.
C.
The following design features shall be shown in laying
out all driveway plans submitted for approval to the Department, as illustrated
in Appendix A:[1]
(1)
The point where the extension of the driveway edge intersects
the pavement edge.
(2)
The point where the driveway corner radius intersects
the pavement edge.
(3)
The point where the driveway corner radius becomes tangent
to the driveway edge.
(4)
The center of the driveway corner radius.
(5)
The driveway corner radius.
(6)
The corner angle, the angle the driveway edge makes with
the pavement edge.
(7)
The width of the driveway pavement.
(8)
The distance between points A and B.
(9)
The distance between points A and C.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix A is on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
D.
The location and geometric alignment of driveways adjacent
to intersections will be governed by the angle of intersecting highways, width
of private and public rights-of-way, sight distance factors, highway and driveway
radii, traffic controls and other conditions. Normally, the distance between
point A of a driveway and the side road pavement edge, as measured along the
highway pavement edge, shall be at least twice the width of the driveway plus
15 feet. (See Appendix B.[2]) However, the Department may modify this distance if an engineering
determination indicates that another dimension is more suitable for a particular
site. In no case should a driveway radius encroach on the radius of the intersecting
highway pavement. A driveway should be located entirely within the applicant's
frontage. The minimum distance between point B of any driveway system and
the point where the perpendicular projection of the property line meets the
highway pavement edge is to be five feet, measured along the highway pavement
edge. (See Appendix B.) In restricted urban areas and for jointly owned driveways,
variances will be permitted.
[2]
Editor's Note: Appendix B is on file in the office of the Town Clerk.
E.
Normally, only one driveway shall be permitted for each
residential property. An additional driveway may be permitted if sufficient
frontage exists. The minimum distance between adjacent points B of two driveways
to the same residential property, as measured along the highway pavement edge,
shall be 30 feet.
F.
Normally, no more than two driveways will be allowed
to a property in the commercial category. Where the need for more than two
can be substantiated operationally and adequate frontage exists, the Department
may grant permission for an additional driveway. The minimum distance between
adjacent points A of adjacent driveways or driveway systems to a commercial
property, as measured along the highway pavement edge, shall be 100 feet.
(See Appendix B.)
I.
Driveway profile.
(1)
In rural areas, the recommended maximum grade within
the highway right-of-way is 10% for commercial driveways and 12% for residential
driveways. In urban areas, the recommended maximum grades are 6% and 8% respectively.
Where special circumstances require driveway grades in excess of these recommended
maximums, an engineering determination is necessary by the Department to establish
the safe profile design.
(2)
All driveways are to be constructed to slope away from
the edge of the pavement at the same slope as the highway shoulder, which
normally varies in slope from 1/4 inch to one inch per foot. This slope is
to be continued the full width of the shoulder or longer so as not to cause
a bump or a depression in the shoulder area.
(3)
Whenever a change in a driveway grade occurs, the profile
shall be rounded by connecting the two different grades by a smooth vertical
curve. If possible, the low point of the driveway should be at or close to
the ditch line of the highway ditch.
(4)
Where a sidewalk is located close to the curbline and
the driveway opening is to be provided by a depressed or cut curb, the sidewalk
should be warped to conform to the driveway profile. One or both edges of
the sidewalk may be depressed across the driveway, provided that the resulting
sidewalk cross slope does not exceed 1/2 inch per foot. In some cases, it
may be necessary to discontinue the sidewalk across a driveway and to construct
a curb along each driveway edge.
(5)
Where a curb cut is made for the construction of driveways,
the entire curb section shall be removed. The removal of only the raised portion
of the curb and paving over the broken section will not be allowed. Cut curb
ends shall be tapered from full height to ground level in a distance of approximately
two feet. Where drainage is carried along the curb, the driveway shall be
constructed with a short upgrade to prevent runoff from spilling into private
property.
J.
Drainage.
[Amended 7-16-1991 by L.L. No. 6-1991]
(1)
A driveway must be constructed so that it does not adversely
affect the highway drainage or drainage of the adjacent property. The drainage
and the stability of the highway subgrade should not be impaired by driveway
construction or roadside development. In no case may the construction of a
driveway cause water to flow across the highway pavement or to pond on the
shoulders or in the ditch.
(2)
Where the construction of a driveway necessitates crossing
a highway ditch, a culvert pipe shall be furnished by the permittee and shall
be of a diameter determined by the Superintendent of Highways and shall be
installed in the ditch by the Highway Department, and the low point of the
driveway profile shall be at or close to the ditch line. Under no circumstances
will existing ditches or gutters be filled without adequate provisions for
alternate drainage by the permittee.
(3)
The culvert pipe shall be of a size adequate to carry
the anticipated flow in the ditch as determined by the Department and shall
not be smaller than 12 inches in diameter.
(4)
The structural material and gauge of the driveway pipe
shall be adequate to carry the anticipated flow in the ditch as determined
by the Department.
(5)
The structural material and gauge of the driveway pipe
shall be adequate to withstand the loads from the anticipated vehicular traffic
across the driveway. The length of the culvert shall be determined as the
sum of the width of the driveway at the ditch line and the length needed to
accommodate a side slope of one vertical to three horizontal from the driveway
to the ditch.
