[Adopted 9-5-1974 (Ch. 114, Art. II, of the 1981 Code)]
The purpose of this article is to set certain standards for the design and location of driveways in order to promote the safety, public health, convenience and general welfare of the community.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
DRIVEWAY
The main access or accesses leading to the primary use of the land, whether it is a residential, industrial, commercial, recreational, agricultural or other use.
The number of driveways permitted from a proposed lot or site directly to any road in the Township shall be limited as follows, except under conditions where the safety and/or convenience of the general motoring public is impaired. Such conditions shall be determined and specified by the Township Land Use Board upon receipt of advice from the Township Engineer.
Length of Lot or Site Frontage
(feet)
Permitted Number of Driveways
150 or less
1
More than 150 to 800
2
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
A. 
All entrance and exit driveways to a road in the Township shall be located to afford maximum safety to traffic on the said road.
B. 
Any exit driveway or driveway lane shall be so designed in profile and grading and shall be so located to permit the following minimum sight distances measured in each direction along the road in the Township. The measurement shall be from the driver's seat of a vehicle standing on that portion of the exit driveway with the front of the vehicle a minimum of 10 feet behind the curbline or edge of the shoulder of the road, with the height of the eye at 3.75 feet, to the top of an object 4.5 feet above the pavement. Where 25% or more of the traffic using the driveway is comprised of single-unit trucks or tractor-trailer trucks, the following required sight distances shall be increased by 25% and 50%, respectively.
Allowable Speed on Township Road
(mph)
Required Sight Distance
(feet)
25
300
30
350
35
425
40
475
45
525
50
600
C. 
Where a site occupies a corner of two intersecting roads, no driveway entrance or exit shall be located within 25 feet of the point of tangency of the existing or proposed curb radius of that site.
D. 
No part of any driveway shall be located within a minimum of five feet of a side property line. However, upon application to the Land Use Board and upon approval of design by the Township Engineer, the Land Use Board may permit a driveway serving two or more adjacent sites to be located on or within five feet of a side property line between the adjacent sites.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
E. 
No entrance or exit driveway shall be located on the following portions of a road in the Township: on a rotary, on a ramp of an interchange or within 25 feet of the beginning of any ramp or other portion of an interchange.
F. 
Where two or more driveways connect a single site to any one road, a minimum clear distance of 25 feet measured along the right-of-way line shall separate the closest of any two such drives.
The geometric design of a driveway connection to a road in the Township should be governed by sound traffic engineering principles. Below are guidelines in preparing a geometric design, but deviation from them will be necessitated from time to time due to the many variables encountered in the course of preparing a design. The applicant should be aware, therefore, that although the driveway layout may conform to these guidelines conditions may dictate deviations from them, and requirements of the Township Engineer shall be final.
A. 
Two-way operation. Driveways used for two-way operation will intersect the Township road at an angle to as near 90° as site conditions will permit and in no case will be less than 60°.
B. 
One-way operation. Driveways used by vehicles in one direction of travel (right turn only) shall not form an angle smaller than 45° with a Township road.
C. 
The dimensions of driveways shall be designed to adequately accommodate the volume and character of vehicles anticipated to be attracted daily onto the land development for which a site plan is prepared. The required maximum and minimum dimensions for driveways connecting to a Township road at 90° are indicated below. Driveways serving large volumes of daily traffic or traffic over 25% of which is truck traffic shall be required to utilize high to maximum dimensions. Driveways serving low daily traffic volumes or traffic less than 25% of which is truck traffic shall be permitted to use low to minimum dimensions.
One-Way Operation
Type of Driveway
Driveway Width
(feet)
Depressed Curb
(feet)
Curb Return Radius
(feet)
Minimum
Maximum
5- to 10-family residence
12 to 15
32 to 35
20
30
Over 10-family residence
15 to 18
35 to 38
20
30
Commercial and industrial
15 to 30
35 to 50
35
45
Service station
20 to 30
35 to 50
20
35
Two-Way Operation
Type of Driveway
Driveway Width
(feet)
Depressed Curb
(feet)
Curb Return Radius
(feet)
Minimum
Maximum
5- to 10-family residence
20 to 26
44 to 50
20
30
Over 10-family residence
24 to 30
46 to 52
25
35
Commercial and industrial
30 to 50
50 to 70
35
45
Service station
40 to 50
50 to 60
20
35
NOTE: Driveways connecting to a Township road at an angle shall have the same widths as shown in the table above. The width of depressed curb and the radius of curb returns shall provide for the sharpest turning radii of vehicles using the driveway, keeping said vehicles within their prescribed lanes.
D. 
Any vertical curve on a driveway shall be flat enough to prevent the dragging of any vehicle undercarriage. The maximum permitted gradients for driveways are shown in Figures 1 to 4.[1] The profile dimensions given beyond the sidewalk are maximum for grades and minimum for grade lengths.
[1]
Editor's Note: Figures 1 to 4 are included at the end of this chapter.
E. 
Should the sidewalk be so close to the curb at a depressed curb driveway as to cause the ramp to be too steep and be likely to cause undercarriage drag, the sidewalk shall be appropriately lowered to provide a suitable ramp gradient.
[Amended 9-3-1981]
The surface of any driveway subject to Township site plan approval shall be constructed with a permanent pavement of a type specified by standards set by the Township Engineer, and such pavement shall extend throughout the area defined by the required driveway dimensions specified above.
No driveway shall be permitted to be constructed over or across the normal drainage gutter line of an existing street.