Site Design Standards (SDS)

SDS 5.10 Vehicle Access & Circulation: Commercial

SDS 5.10.1 Intent.

Vehicle access and circulation in commercial developments shall create an interconnected street network, provide safe vehicular and pedestrian environments, and orient streets to define and protect important views.

Standard:

SDS 5.10.2 Primary Vehicle Access.

• Primary access to Large Commercial Centers shall be from the thoroughfare street system.  In order to maximize the efficiency of the city’s street network, major traffic generators should be located so that their primary access is from a thoroughfare or commercial access road.
• Large Commercial Centers should be located at the intersection of thoroughfare streets so that access is available for both east/west and north/south traffic.  Primary access points should be located so that commercial traffic is separated from the residential street system.
• If a Large Commercial Center is proposed at a location or density that will have a significant effect on current traffic patterns, a traffic impact study may be required to ensure that the street network can accommodate the anticipated traffic demands and to define required street improvements.

SDS 5.10.3 Internal Vehicle Circulation.

• Internal vehicle circulation patterns shall provide a clear and direct path to the principal customer entrance of the primary building, to outlying pad sites, and to each parking area.
• In Large Commercial Centers, a clear system of main circulation drives containing few or no parking spaces that directly access the main drives shall be established to carry the highest volumes of traffic within the site.
• In order to reduce pedestrian and vehicular conflicts, those main circulation drives shall not be located along the façades of buildings that contain primary customer entrances.  In areas where the location of access points and the configuration of the main circulation drives indicate that traffic volumes will not be excessive, drives may contain directly-accessing parking spaces and may be located along façades containing primary customer entrances.
• When possible, the intersection of two main circulation drives shall be designed as a “t” intersection, rather than a four-legged intersection, to minimize vehicular conflicts.

SDS 5.10.4 Commercial Centers No Larger Than 100,000 s.f..

Commercial centers no larger than 100,000 square feet shall comply with the following:

• Centers where traffic volumes are lower and, consequently, pedestrian-vehicular and vehicular-vehicular conflicts are less likely, more flexibility is available in the location and design of internal drives.
• Because of the lower traffic volumes, entry drive throat lengths can be shorter.
• The use of four-legged intersections can be utilized more extensively.
• Depending on the size of the shopping center and the number and location of access points, fewer restrictions may be placed on the extent to which traffic entering the site is directed to the drives along the building façades.
• Main drive aisles shall be continuous and connect to the main entrance to the development site.
• Internal intersections shall have adequate sight lines, design geometrics, and/or traffic controls to minimize accident potential.

Effective on: 1/1/1901