[Adopted 2-25-2004 by Ord. No. 1558]
The purpose of this article is to regulate the
location, construction, maintenance and drainage of driveways and
other property within the rights-of-way of or connecting to streets,
for the purpose of security, safety, and reasonable access, preservation
of existing street operating capacity and condition, preservation
of surrounding land uses, provision of adequate drainage and economy
of maintenance.
For the purposes of this article, these terms
shall be defined as follows:
The total volume of vehicle trips expected on a street or
accessway during a specified period of time in whole days (more than
one day and less than one year) divided by the number of whole days
in that time period. One vehicle entering and exiting a property constitutes
two trips.
The Borough of Crafton, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
The Engineer of the Borough of Crafton, or his or her designee.
A line formed by the face of the existing curb or in its
absence the outer edge of the shoulder, along which curbing is or
may be located.
A roadway or street hydraulic structure that performs the
function of conveying, diverting, or removing surface water from the
street right-of-way.
Every entrance or exit used by vehicular traffic to or from
properties abutting or connecting to a street. The term includes proposed
public and private streets, lanes, alleys, courts, and ways, including
acceleration and deceleration lanes and such drainage structures as
may be necessary for the proper construction and maintenance thereof.
The exit of vehicular traffic from abutting properties to
a highway.
The latest revision of highway construction specifications
issued by PennDOT.
The area within the street right-of-way which has been constructed
for roadway purposes, including roadbed, pavement, shoulders, slope,
sidewalks, drainage facilities and any other appurtenances.
Entrance of vehicular traffic to abutting properties from
a highway.
The edge of the main traveled portion of any street, exclusive
of shoulder.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
A street access permit issued by the Borough of Crafton pursuant
to this article.
Drawings which show the location, character, and dimensions
of the proposed occupancy and related highway features, including
layouts, profiles, cross sections, drainage and other details.
That portion of a street improved, designed, or ordinarily
used for vehicular travel, exclusive of the sidewalk or shoulder.
The portion of the street, contiguous to the traffic lanes,
for accommodation of stopped vehicles, for emergency use, and for
lateral support of base and surface courses and pavements.
The intersection of the shoulder slope with the side slope
or ditch slope.
The distance required by a driver traveling at a given speed
to stop the vehicle after an object on the roadway becomes visible
to the driver as defined by PennDOT regulations.
The area, including the entire width between right-of-way
lines, over which the Borough, County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania or other political subdivision has assumed or has been
given jurisdiction for vehicular travel purposes.
A street owned, operated and maintained by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania or the County of Allegheny.
A street other than an arterial street.
Any sign, signal, marking, or device placed or erected for
the purpose of regulating, warning, or guiding vehicular traffic or
pedestrians, or both.
Every device in or by which any person or property is or
may be transported or drawn upon a street.
A.
No driveway, street or drainage facility or structure
shall be constructed or altered within a street or connect to the
street, and no property located within 300 feet of a street having
ingress or egress, directly or indirectly, via the street shall change
its use in a manner which increases its average daily traffic to the
street, without first obtaining a permit from the Borough.
B.
The applicant shall submit a permit application in
writing to the Borough Manager in the form prescribed by this article.
The permit application shall be signed by the property owner and accompanied
by proof of ownership.
C.
The application shall include four sets of plans detailing
location and pertinent dimensions of proposed installation and existing
street features and drainage control plans if applicable. The permit
fee in an amount to be set by resolution of Borough Council shall
be submitted with the application.
D.
Borough Council shall review all applications and
plans for permits required by this section. Within 60 days of submission,
Borough Council shall approve, approve with modification or deny an
application for a permit.
The applicant is responsible for submission
of four sets of plans which contain the following:
A.
The land use proposed for the property.
B.
A traffic control plan, if it is necessary to close
a lane to vehicular traffic in order to perform the permitted work.
C.
A drainage control plan if, as a result of action
of applicant, there will be an increase in the flow of water onto
the street or into a street drainage facility. The plan must include
source of water, existing and proposed flow, existing and proposed
drainage pattern, and hydraulic computations demonstrating adequate
capacity in the drainage system to accept the additional flow. The
plan also shall comply with the Borough’s stormwater management
ordinance, if any.
D.
A driveway access plan showing:
(1)
Driveway width, radii and other points of curvature,
grades or profile view of drive, angle relative to the street and
surface material.
(2)
Dimensions of any traffic islands/dividers to separate
traffic flow.
(3)
Distance from proposed driveway to nearest intersecting
street, driveways on adjacent properties (both sides of street); adjacent
land uses; any traffic control devices.
(4)
Sight distance in each direction from proposed the
driveway or street.
(5)
The projected average daily traffic volume for the
driveway.
E.
The number of parking spaces which will be served
by the proposed driveway.
No driveway will be approved unless all of the
following conditions are met:
A.
General. The driveway must have safe sight distance,
not impair normal street movement, not result in excessive traffic
flow or congestion on streets and not create a safety hazard to the
public.
B.
Location. The following standards shall apply:
(1)
A driveway shall not be located at highway interchanges
or ramp areas so as to interfere with proper functioning. A driveway
shall not be located within 300 feet of any interstate highway interchange
or ramp access area.
(2)
A driveway for a nonresidential use or a multifamily
use in excess of four units may only access an arterial street. Access
to a local street is prohibited.
(3)
If the driveway is near a signalized intersection,
the permittee shall be required to pay the costs of any modifications
to the signals which are necessary to control traffic movements from
the driveway.
(4)
If the property is a corner lot, the Borough may restrict
access to only one street.
(5)
The Borough may require a permittee to locate the
driveway directly across from a street or driveway in order to avoid
any safety hazard.
C.
Number. Borough Council will approve only one access
for a property.
D.
Approach. The location and angle of access of the
driveway in relation to street intersection shall be such that a vehicle
entering or leaving a driveway can do so in orderly and safe manner
and with minimum interference to street traffic.
E.
Design guidelines. The applicable requirements for
“minimum” and “low volume” driveways found
in PennDOT Regulations, 67 Pa. Code, § 1.8, as amended,
shall apply unless otherwise specified by the provisions of this article.
These requirements may be modified by the Borough to accommodate specific
site or street conditions in order to protect the safety and traffic
capacity of streets.
F.
New or modified streets. New or modified streets and intersections, including, but not limited to, those requiring a traffic study pursuant to § 193-35, shall be designed for adequate traffic capacity defined as follows, unless otherwise approved by the Borough Engineer. All reference to levels of service (LOS) shall be as defined in the Highway Capacity Manual, Special Report 209, published by the Transportation Research Board.
(1)
Traffic capacity LOS shall be based upon a future
design year which coincides with completion of the development and
PennDOT requirements.
(2)
New unsignalized intersections or driveways which
intersect streets shall be designed for LOS C or better for each traffic
movement.
(3)
New or modified (additional approach created) signalized
intersections shall be designed for LOS D or better for each traffic
movement. Existing intersections impacted by development traffic shall
maintain a minimum LOS D or, if future base LOS is E or F then degradation
in delays shall be mitigated. A future design year analysis without
development shall be completed for comparison purposes.
(4)
Existing intersections impacted by development traffic
shall maintain a minimum LOS D for each traffic movement.
(5)
Streets shall be designed for a minimum LOS C for
each traffic movement.
(6)
Sight distance at driveways and new intersections
shall meet standards specified by PennDOT regulations.
A.
In the event the use or uses for the proposed driveway
or road connecting with any street will generate average daily traffic
volume in excess of 75 peak hour trips based on the ITE Trip Generation
Manual, the Borough shall order a traffic study to be prepared by
the Borough Engineer, the expense of which is to be borne by the applicant
and paid before review of the submitted plans. An application shall
not be considered administratively complete until the traffic study
is completed. The Borough may require a traffic study for developments
or changes in uses generating less than 75 additional vehicles during
peak hours in cases where known traffic deficiencies exist in the
area of proposed development or change in use. The Borough may waive
the study requirement for an individual development or change in use,
where said development or change in use was incorporated as part of
a previous traffic impact study.
B.
The Borough will provide a scope of study specifying
the study area, intersections and any special requirements. Prior
to initiation of the study, a meeting shall be held to review the
scope of work. PennDOT may be invited to the meeting where appropriate.
The study shall include the following:
(1)
Description of the proposed project in terms of land
use and magnitude.
(2)
An inventory and analysis of existing roadway and
traffic conditions in the site environs, including:
(a)
Roadway network and traffic control.
(b)
Existing traffic volumes in terms of peak hours
and average daily traffic, where specifically requested.
(c)
Planned roadway improvements by others.
(d)
Intersection levels of service.
(e)
Roadway levels of service (where requested).
(f)
Other measures of roadway adequacy; i.e., lane
widths, traffic signal warrants and vehicle delay studies.
(4)
An analysis of future traffic conditions, with and
without the proposed development, including:
(a)
Future design year, or years with phasing, combined
traffic volumes (site traffic plus future roadway traffic). If the
study is required for PennDOT review, the future design year shall
be consistent with PennDOT requirements.
(b)
Intersection levels of service.
(c)
Roadway levels of service (where appropriate).
(d)
A pavement analysis of roadways which are projected
to experience significant increases in average daily traffic volumes
(where appropriate).
(e)
Other measures of roadway adequacy, i.e., lane
width, traffic signal warrants and vehicle delay studies.
(5)
A description of future levels of service and their
compliance with standards for traffic capacity of streets, intersections
and driveways.
(6)
A description and analysis of the proposed access
plan and site plan.
A.
Any person, firm or corporation who violates a provision
of this article, or who fails to comply therewith, or with any of
the requirements thereof, shall be, upon conviction thereof, sentenced
to pay a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $1,000 for each
violation, plus costs, and, in default of payment of said fine and
costs, to imprisonment to the extent permitted by law for the punishment
of summary offenses.
B.
A separate offense shall arise for each day or portion
thereof in which a violation is found to exist or for each section
of this article found to have been violated. All fines and penalties
for the violation of this article shall be paid to the Borough Treasurer.
C.
The Borough may also commence appropriate actions
in equity, at law or other to prevent, restrain, correct, enjoin,
or abate violations of this article.
