Town of Martinsburg, NY Article VI Road Standards

§ 195-55 General.

Public roads shall be of sufficient width, suitably located, and adequately constructed to conform to the Comprehensive Plan, and to accommodate the prospective traffic and afford access for firefighting, snow removal, school buses, and road maintenance equipment. The arrangement of roads shall be in harmony with surrounding areas and adjoining properties, and shall be coordinated so as to compose a convenient system. Public roads shall be graded and improved in accordance with the Town of Martinsburg Road Specifications as adopted by the Town Board.[1] Storm drainage facilities, water mains, sewers, lights, signs, trees and fire hydrants shall be provided as required.

[1] Editor's Note: Said Road Standards (Specifications) are included as an attachment to this chapter.

§ 195-56 Road grades.

The road plan of a proposed subdivision shall bear a logical relationship to the topography of the property, and all roads shall be arranged so as to obtain as many of the building sites as possible at or above the grade of the roads. Road grades shall conform as closely as possible to the original topography, and shall not be greater than 10%. No grade shall be more than 3% within 50 feet of any intersection. All changes in grade shall be connected by vertical curves of length and radius such that clear visibility shall be provided for a safe distance. A combination of steep grades and curves shall be avoided.

§ 195-57 Road connections to adjacent properties.

The arrangement of roads shall provide for the continuation of principal roads of adjoining subdivisions, and for the proper projection of principal roads into adjoining properties which are not yet subdivided, in order to make possible necessary fire protection, movement of traffic, and the construction or extension, presently or when later required, of needed utilities and public services such as sewers, water and drainage facilities. Stub roads providing access to parcels adjacent to the subdivision may be required. Turnarounds may not be required for stub roads which do not provide access to dwellings within the subdivision.

§ 195-58 Dead-end roads.

A. The creation of dead-end roads may be allowed whenever such type of development will not interfere with normal traffic circulation in the area.

B. A twenty-foot-wide easement may be required to provide for the continuation of pedestrian traffic and utilities to the next road or public property.

C. Roads designed to be permanently dead-ended shall not generally exceed 800 feet in length or 20 dwelling units. Such roads shall be terminated in a circular turn-around having a minimum right-of-way radius of 75 feet and a pavement radius of 50 feet.

D. Roads designed to be dead-ended shall have a "No Outlet" or "Dead End" sign at the entrance.

§ 195-59 Intersections.

A. In general, all roads shall join each other so that for a distance of at least 100 feet the road is approximately at right angles to the road it joins. Roads shall not intersect at angles of less than 60°.

B. Intersections of minor roads with collector or major roads shall, in general, be at least 500 feet apart.

C. Road jogs with center line offsets of less than 125 feet shall be avoided.

D. All road rights-of-ways at intersections shall be rounded by curves of at least 20 feet radius and curbs shall be adjusted accordingly.

E. All corner lots shall be cleared of all growth and other obstructions, except for isolated trees, a level of three feet or higher above the center line of the road, so as to achieve safe visibility for traffic entering the intersection.

F. No intersection of more than two roads is allowed.

§ 195-60 Curve radii.

In general, road lines shall be connected with a curve, the radius of which for the center line of road shall not be less than 200 feet on collector roads, and 100 feet on minor roads.

§ 195-61 Partial roads.

Partial roads of less than full width are prohibited.

§ 195-62 Road names.

All roads shall be named and the names placed on the plat. Road names shall not be numbers or letters. Road names shall be selected so as not to be confused in sound or spelling with existing or platted road names. Roads that join or align with roads of an abutting or neighboring property shall bear the same name. Signs bearing road names shall be erected by the subdivider at all intersections.

§ 195-63 Treatment along major highways.

In order to minimize driveway entrances onto major highways, the Planning Board may require marginal access roads parallel to major highways, or reverse frontage lots. Marginal access roads shall be separated from major highways by a distance which allows for an appropriate use of the intervening land. Where reverse frontage lots are required, an access control easement of up to 10 feet in width may be required along major highways, sufficient to prohibit access to the highway from rear yards.

§ 195-64 Underground utilities.

Underground utilities shall be placed, wherever possible, in the road right-of-way between the paved roadway and the road line to simplify location and repair of utilities. Underground service connections shall be installed to the lot line of each lot for all required utilities prior to road pavement. Where topography is such as to make impractical the inclusion of underground utilities within the road right-of-way, perpetual unobstructed easements at least 15 feet wide shall be provided with satisfactory access to the road. Such easements shall be cleared and graded where required.