Town of Bethel, NY Article II Road Design

§ A350-6 Application submission and contents.

Before commencing construction of any road within the Town of Bethel for which dedication to the Town will be sought, the owner of the property over which such road passes or for whose benefit such road is being constructed shall submit an application to the Town Clerk of the Town of Bethel.

A. Such application shall set forth the names of the record owners of real property through which said road passes or abuts, the intended use of said road and the name of the contractor or contractors responsible for the construction of said road.

B. The applicant shall further submit five copies of a map prepared by a licensed land surveyor and certified to the Town showing the following:

(1) Proposed plans and profiles of the roads which shall be designed by a professional engineer.

(2) A map scale of one inch equals 100 feet or larger.

(3) Street names.

(4) Distance and bearings of right-of-way lines.

(5) Storm drainage systems.

(6) The location of easements.

(7) The location of utilities.

(8) The location and name of the record owners of real property over which proposed roads pass and abut.

§ A350-7 Right-of-way width.

Right-of-way widths shall be a minimum of 50 feet for all roads.

§ A350-8 Geometric requirements.

A. All roads shall be designed following generally accepted highway engineering principles.

(1) Street jogs. Street jogs with center-line offsets of less than 125 feet shall be avoided.

(2) Angle of intersection. In general, all streets shall join each other so that, for a distance of at least 100 feet, the street is approximately at right angles to the street it joins.

B. The street plan shall bear a logical relationship to the topography of the property, and if building sites are proposed along said proposed street, the street shall be arranged so as to obtain as many of the building sites as possible at or above the grade of the streets. Grades of streets shall conform as closely as possible to the original topography.

C. Grades. Grades of all streets shall conform in general to the terrain and shall not be less than 0.5% nor more than 6% for streets intended to carry considerable lines of traffic or 10% for streets used primarily to provide access to abutting properties.

D. Changes in grade. All changes in grade shall be connected by vertical curves of such length and radius as meet with the approval of the Town Board so that clear visibility shall be provided for a safe distance.

E. Curb radii at street intersection. All street right-of-way lines at intersections shall be rounded by curves of at least 20 feet radius, and curbs, if required, shall be adjusted accordingly.

F. Steep grades and curves; visibility at intersections. A combination of steep grades and curves shall be avoided. In order to provide visibility for traffic safety, the Town Board may direct that a portion of any corner lot be cleared of all obstructions above the level three feet higher than the center line of the street.

G. Cul-de-sac streets, permanently designed as such, shall not exceed 2,500 feet in length unless measures such as boulevard designs, wider shoulders, additional turnarounds or emergency-only accesses are incorporated in the design to ensure reasonable access in the event of an emergency. Cul-de-sac streets shall also furnish access to not more than 50 dwelling units. Cul-de-sac streets shall have, at the closed end, a turnaround with a right-of-way having an outside diameter of not less than 135 feet and pavement to a diameter of not less than 120 feet so as to accommodate the turnaround of emergency and road maintenance equipment. The Planning Board shall have authority to require the use of loop streets and other alternatives to culs-de-sac where such alternatives are available and preferable as a means of providing safe access to lots, making street connections or limiting environmental impacts. Culverts, bridges and other similar features constructed in connection with any cul-de-sac or other subdivision road shall be designed to meet New York State highway specifications regarding weight limits.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).

H. Tangents between reverse curves. A tangent of at least 100 feet shall be introduced between reverse curves on all streets.