[Added 7-14-1999]
The purpose of these access management standards is to provide
safe and efficient travel along public streets. These standards are
based on the goals and strategies of the Livonia Transportation and
Access Management Plan. The standards balance public and private interests.
Implementation of these access management standards is intended to
reduce confusion, congestion and accidents by limiting conflict points.
These standards are also intended to guide development of a street
network with sufficient linkages between uses. The standards will
contribute to the long-term accommodation of growth and development
while providing safe and convenient access to properties and preserving
the visual character of area streets.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A way or means of approach to provide vehicular or pedestrian
entrance or exit to a parcel.
Any driveway, private street, turnout or other means of providing
for the movement of vehicles to or from a public street.
The process of locating and designing vehicular access connections
to land development to preserve the flow of traffic in terms of safety,
capacity and speed.
The distance from an intersection of two or more streets
to the nearest access connection.
The layout of circulation patterns and recording of a permanent
enforceable right of access to allow travel between two or more contiguous
parcels without traveling on a public street.
Any entrance or exit used by vehicular traffic to or from
land or building to an abutting street.
A driveway in common ownership or subject to a permanent
enforceable right of access by those traveling to or from a use on
another parcel.
The area adjacent to the intersection of two or more streets
that encompasses required vehicle queuing areas and the decision and
maneuvering area for vehicles using the intersection.
A system used to group public streets into classes according
to their purpose in moving vehicles and providing access to abutting
properties.
An access connection existing prior to the date of adoption
of these regulations which in its design or location does not conform
with the requirements of this chapter.
A division of land comprised of one or more contiguous lots
in common ownership.
A weighted average vehicle trip generation rate during the
hour of highest volume of traffic entering and exiting the site or
the highest volume of the adjacent street.
The minimum number and type of access connections, direct
or indirect, necessary to provide safe access to and from a public
street, as consistent with these regulations and other relevant plans
and policies of the Town or Village of Livonia.
A physical barrier such as a metal or concrete structure
or a grass or landscaped island within the street right-of-way that
separates traffic by direction of travel.
Those portions of the Livonia transportation system providing
important links between major streets or serving large residential
or nonresidential developments. Collector streets must balance the
desirability of the free flow of traffic and access needs. Additional
collector streets may be designated by resolution of the municipal
board and an up-to-date list shall be available in the Building and
Zoning Department office.
Collector streets currently include the following streets which
are under the jurisdiction of the Livingston County Highway Department.
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Bronson Hill Road
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East Lake Road
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Federal Road
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Livonia Center Road
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Poplar Hill Road
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Richmond Mills Road (NYS 15A to Richmond Town line)
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South Lima Road
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These regulations also designate as collector streets the following
streets under Town jurisdiction:
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Stone Hill Road (from NYS 15 to Poplar Hill Road)
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Proposed new road
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Big Tree Street/Road
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Cleary Road
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Summer Street
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Pennemite Road
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Portions of these streets within the Village of Livonia are
designated as local streets.
The primary functions of such streets are to move traffic
between subdivisions as well as to provide access to individual lots.
Those portions of the Livonia transportation system under
state or federal jurisdiction or designated as a major street by a
local municipal board. A major street typically moves larger volumes
of traffic over greater distances compared to other street types.
This function of mobility or the free flow of traffic must be considered
when defining reasonable access to such streets. Access is a secondary
function of such streets. The following lists the route numbers and
names of streets wholly or partially under state or federal jurisdiction:
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Route Number
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Location
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|---|---|---|
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NYS 15
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Rochester Road, Big Tree Road, Big Tree Street, Main Street,
Commercial Street, Conesus-South Livonia Road
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NYS 15A
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Plank Road and Bald Hill Road
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NYS 256
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West Lake Road
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US 20A
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Big Tree Road, Big Tree Street, Main Street, Richmond Mills
Road, Plank Road, US 20A
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Streets not otherwise classified. The primary function of
such streets is to move traffic within subdivisions and large developments
and to provide access to individual lots.
Provision of direct access to a street until such time as
adjacent parcels are developed and planned access via a shared driveway
or access development street can be implemented.
These access management standards shall apply to all uses in
all districts. More specifically:
A.
All land subdivisions receiving preliminary approval after the date
of adoption of these regulations and all lots created by such subdivisions
shall demonstrate conformance to the maximum extent practicable with
the requirements and objectives of these regulations.
B.
Any construction, alteration or change of use on a lot existing prior
to the date of adoption of these regulations which requires site plan
approval shall demonstrate conformance to the maximum extent practicable
with the requirements and objectives of these regulations.
A.
Access and circulation shown on subdivision and site plans developed under these regulations shall also conform to the requirements of other federal, state and local agencies responsible for transportation system elements proposed for modification. This includes but is not limited to Highway Superintendent standards, transportation agency standards for stopping and intersection sight distances, signal warrants and, if applicable, the subdivision regulations of Chapter 130 and other portions of this chapter especially the district regulations of Article VI, the off-street parking and loading regulations of Article X and the site plan review regulations of Article XIV.
B.
Deviations from the standards outlined in this article for developments generating more than 150 peak-hour trips must be based on documentation from a qualified traffic engineer that an alternative access arrangement provides equal or greater safety and mobility and comparable or lower adverse environmental impacts. All such deviation must be in accordance with the procedures and requirements for obtaining an area variance as specified in § 155-17 of this chapter. The Joint Planning Board has discretion for approving deviation from the standards for uses generating less than 150 peak-hour trips and reserves the right to require professional justification of deviation from standards for projects generating less than 150 peak-hour trips.
C.
Parcels created after the effective date of these regulations do
not have the right of individual access to existing abutting public
streets. The number of planned access connections is to be the minimum
necessary to provide safe and reasonable access. This may be less
than the number of access connections which would be allowed based
solely on minimum property width requirements.
D.
New public or private streets, shared driveways or cross access may
be necessary to meet the requirements of these regulations. If access
is to be provided by means other than direct access to a public street,
a permanent recorded easement, which runs with the land, shall be
executed. In addition, operating and maintenance agreements for all
such facilities shall be recorded with the deed.
E.
Subdivision of a parcel with frontage on two or more streets may
be required to provide access from all lots which result from the
proposed subdivision to all such streets without traveling on the
existing street network. In most cases, even if a vehicle connection
is not provided, a pedestrian connection shall be provided.
F.
Parcels with frontage on more than one street may be limited to one
access connection to the lowest class of street serving the proposed
development.
G.
Unless otherwise specified, all distances shall be measured from
center line to center line along the edge of the street right-of-way.
Where street or intersection modifications are planned, all distances
shall be from the proposed center line along the edge of the proposed
right-of-way.
A.
Prior to subdivision or site plan approval or approval of a zoning
permit for any new or modified access or intersection, the applicant
must provide a concept plan. The concept plan shall show the location
of buildings, parking and circulation, including connections to preexisting
streets, and alignments of any new streets necessary to accommodate
full build-out as allowed by current zoning for all lands under single
ownership as of the date of adoption of these regulations.
B.
Access to individual residential driveways within a subdivision should
be obtained from an access or development street.
C.
Access to other uses in a proposed subdivision should be coordinated
with existing, proposed and planned streets and driveways outside
the subdivision and should consider providing cross access connections
to abutting developed or undeveloped properties.
D.
When the concept plan for access to lands planned jointly or under
common ownership as of the date of adoption of these regulations shows
development of an access or development street as part of eventual
full build-out, the Joint Planning Board may allow temporary access
directly to a public street while requiring that parcel layout be
designed to provide future access only from the proposed access or
development street. Furthermore, the Joint Planning Board may establish
square footage or peak-hour trip generation thresholds which govern
when construction of the access or development street must take place.
A.
Minimum recommended spacing between driveways on the same side of
the street are as follows:
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Street Type
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Recommended Driveway Separation
(feet)
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|---|---|---|
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Major street
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330
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Collector street
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220
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Local street
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80% of lot width
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Access or development street
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80% of lot width
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B.
Access connections on opposite sides of the street not separated
by a restrictive median shall be aligned or offset so as to eliminate
left-turn overlap conflicts between vehicles traveling in the opposite
direction.
C.
Access connections to development on opposite sides of the street
with peak-hour trip generation of 150 or more may be required to be
aligned to enable installation of a traffic signal to serve both developments.
D.
On the advice of the Municipal Engineer, the Joint Planning Board
may raise or lower the required driveway spacing standard based on
the volume of site-generated traffic, the impact of site-generated
traffic on the operation of the adjacent street or posted or operational
speeds in the vicinity of the proposed site.
E.
The Joint Planning Board as part of site plan review will evaluate
how proposed driveway location impacts opportunities to develop abutting
properties. At a minimum, such evaluation shall identify any sight
distance and alignment/offset constraints and indicate whether compliance
with the recommended spacing standards is practicable for abutting
properties based on the applicant's proposed driveway location.
The following standards shall guide approval of driveway access
on corner parcels:
A.
Generally no driveways shall be allowed within the functional area
of the intersection. If parcel boundaries or topography preclude location
outside the functional area of the intersection, access may be limited
to right turns in and/or right turns out and/or left turns in, as
determined by the Municipal Engineer, and the driveway shall generally
be located as far from the intersection as possible and in the safest
possible location.
B.
Development on corner parcels should be linked by cross access to
abutting properties of the same type (i.e., residential or nonresidential).
C.
Driveways for corner parcels with frontage along a major or collector
street shall be located no closer than 220 feet from the intersection.
If no alternative reasonable access exists, partial (right-in/right-out)
access that does not create safety or operation problems may be allowed
if located a minimum of 110 feet from the nearest edge of existing
or proposed pavement.
D.
Driveways for corner parcels with frontage solely along local streets
or access or development streets shall be located no closer than 60%
of the minimum lot width.
E.
Corner clearance is to be measured along the street right-of-way
from the center line of the driveway pavement to the closest edge
of the existing or proposed street pavement.
Intersection spacing standards shall be applied, as development
occurs, to preserve desirable location and alignment of streets, to
serve future growth and to provide an efficient overall transportation
system.
A.
The following presents recommended cross street and signal spacing
standards.
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Recommended Street, Intersection and Signal Spacing
(feet)
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Minimum Intersection Spacing
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Street Type
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Maximum Through Street Intersection Spacing
(feet)
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Signalized Intersection
(feet)
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Unsignalized Intersection
(feet)
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Major
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5,280
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2,640
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1,320
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Collector
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2,640
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1,320
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880
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Local
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1,320
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NA
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440
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Access or development
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880
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NA
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440
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B.
On the advice of the Municipal Engineer, the Joint Planning Board
may raise or lower the required intersection spacing standards based
on posted or operational speeds in the vicinity of the proposed site,
the type and character of the development proposed to be served and
the impact of projected traffic generation on the area street network.
Access connections in place prior to the effective date of these regulations which do not conform to the requirements of these regulations shall be treated as preexisting nonconforming access features which are allowed to continue subject to the standards of Article VIII, especially § 155-70B, regarding discontinuation, and the following.
A.
The feasibility of bringing nonconforming access connections into
compliance shall be evaluated under the following conditions:
(1)
When a new driveway access permit is requested.
(2)
When proposed changes increase the square footage of a building
or accessory use by 10% or more or make an investment that substantially
increases traffic generation.
(3)
When the proposed changes increase the peak-hour or daily site-generated
traffic by 50 or more peak-hour trips.
(4)
In conjunction with state or county improvement projects.
B.
At the direction of the Joint Planning Board in consultation with
the Municipal Engineer, the evaluation may be required to address
the feasibility of the following:
(1)
Elimination and/or consolidation of access connections.
(2)
Realignment or relocation of access connections.
(3)
Provision of shared driveways or cross access.
(4)
Provision of rear access.
(5)
Restriction of vehicle turning movements.
(6)
Changes in the layout of on-site parking and circulation.
(7)
Traffic demand management.
C.
The objective of the feasibility evaluation is to make recommendations
to improve operational and safety characteristics of the access connection
by bringing the number, location, spacing and design of access connections
into conformance with these regulations.
D.
Existing driveway spacing along major and collector streets in developed portions of the Village of Livonia and the hamlets of Hemlock, Lakeville, Livonia Center, South Lima and South Livonia is as low as 50 to 100 feet. Such buildings are not expected to accommodate uses that generate more than 150 peak-hour trips. Driveway spacing standards for expansion, change of use or intensification of use for buildings in these areas shall target driveway spacing of 125 feet if the posted speed is 35 miles per hour or less and 220 feet if the posted speed limit is more than 35 miles per hour. Peak-hour trip generation above 150 may be appropriate if the driveway spacing standards of § 155-130 can be met.
E.
The Joint Planning Board may require implementation of access changes
that will improve traffic operations, safety or overall access.
A.
Driveways and on-site circulation shall be designed so as to provide
for the safe and efficient movement of traffic between the roadway
and the site and to eliminate the potential for the queuing of vehicles
along the roadway due to congestion in or at the driveway.
B.
Driveway location, width, radii, flare, throat length and other elements
of the circulation system for developments generating more than 150
peak-hour trips shall be based upon consultation with qualified traffic,
engineering and design professionals. Alternatively, the Joint Planning
Board may retain such a professional to review the design at the cost
of the applicant.
A.
Any proposed residential subdivision or nonresidential development
projected to generate more than 150 trips during any weekday or weekend
peak hour may be required to mitigate the traffic impacts of such
new development. Required mitigation shall be recommended by a qualified
traffic engineer based on the assumptions and analyses included in
a comprehensive traffic study completed in accordance with the procedures
of the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
B.
Required mitigation may include but shall not be limited to the installation
of signals, turning lanes or medians; the use of shared driveways,
cross access or the construction of access or development streets;
and/or other traffic demand management strategies.
C.
Phased mitigation may be allowed where phased development is proposed.
A.
The standards and methodologies for estimating peak-hour trip generation
shall be as follows:
(1)
Trip generation rates shall be determined through application
of the most recent Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation
methods and statistics.
(2)
Trip generation shall be based on full build-out of the proposed
parcel and/or abutting parcels.
(3)
Peak-hour trip generation shall be the peak hour of the proposed
use or the adjacent street, whichever is greater.
B.
The following are examples of developments which would generate approximately
150 peak-hour trips.
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Use
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Size
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Peak-Hour Trips Generated
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|---|---|---|
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Single-family dwellings
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157 dwellings
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150 Saturday
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Low-rise apartments
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268 dwellings
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150 Saturday
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General office
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75,900 square feet
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150 weekday a.m.
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Medical office
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34,400 square feet
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150 weekday p.m.
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Industrial park
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124,000 square feet
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150 weekday p.m.
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Shopping center
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6,700 square feet
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150 Saturday
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