Chapter 12.51 CITY STREET CLASSIFICATION

Chapter 12.51
CITY STREET CLASSIFICATION

Sections:

12.51.010 Classification of streets.

The applicable standards shall be determined by the location, function (city or private), functional classification (arterial, collector or access) and projected traffic volumes and land use patterns. Terrain (flat, rolling, mountainous) will also enter into standards related to design speed and maximum grade. (Ord. 10-09 § 9 (Exh. B), 2010)

12.51.020 Classification definitions.

A. Location. A primary determination of the applicable portions of these standards that must be used is based on the location of the proposed street or street construction or improvement. In most cases, the following will govern what city street standards will apply.

1. Urban. An “urban” location is defined as that area within a federally designated urban or urbanized area or a designated urban growth area as established by Douglas County under the Growth Management Act. Appropriate maps showing the boundaries are available from the city of East Wenatchee.

B. Function.

1. City Streets. City streets are those that are continuously open to general public travel and have been accepted by the city into the city street system. Streets that are dedicated to the public shall become city streets upon completion of the construction to city standards, acceptance of the completed construction by the city engineer, and approval of the final plat or other instrument as appropriate by the city. All others must be put on the city street system by means of the street establishment process as specified in Chapter 36.81 RCW and be constructed to city standards for public streets.

2. Private Streets. Private streets are all streets not designated as public streets and not open to general public travel.

C. Functional Classification – General.

1. Urban Classification. All city streets in urban areas are classified as urban local access, urban collector, urban minor arterial or urban principal arterial. New streets and any modifications to existing connector or frontage streets that may be required as a condition of development approval shall meet the minimum design requirements for urban streets as specified in these standards. Appropriate maps showing the functional classifications are available from the city of East Wenatchee.

D. Functional Classification – Descriptions.

1. Principal Arterial. Principal arterials permit traffic flow through and between cities and towns and between major elements of the urban areas. They are of great importance in the regional transportation system as they interconnect major traffic generators, such as central business districts and regional shopping centers, to other major activity centers and carry a high proportion of the total area travel on a minimum of street mileage. Principal arterials frequently carry important intra-urban as well as inter-city bus routes.

Many principal arterials are fully or partially access controlled facilities emphasizing the through movement of traffic. Within the category are (a) interstates, (b) other freeways and expressways, and (c) other principal arterials. Spacing of principal arterials may vary from less than one mile in highly developed central business areas to five miles or more in sparsely developed urban fringes. Principal arterials generally comprise five to 10 percent of the urban system.

2. Minor Arterial. Minor arterials collect and distribute traffic from principal arterials to lesser-classified streets, or allow for traffic to directly access their destination. In urban areas, they serve secondary traffic generators such as community business centers, neighborhood shopping centers, multiple residence areas, and traffic from neighborhood to neighborhood within a community. Urban bus routes generally follow these facilities. Access to land use activities is generally prohibited. Such facilities are usually spaced under two miles apart in urban fringes and in core areas can be spaced one-eighth to one-half mile apart.

3. Collectors. Urban collectors provide for land access and traffic circulation within residential neighborhoods and commercial and industrial areas. They distribute traffic movements from such areas to the arterial system. Half-mile spacing is common in more developed areas. Collectors do not handle long through trips and are not continuous for any great length. They generally account for five to 10 percent of the total street system.

4. Local Access Streets. All public streets, not otherwise classified as an arterial or collector, comprise the local access system. These streets primarily serve local needs for access to adjacent lands, travel over relatively short distances, and connections to collectors or other higher systems. Local urban streets offer the lowest level of mobility and usually contain no bus routes. Service to through traffic movement is deliberately discouraged. Local streets usually account for 65 to 80 percent of the urban system.

E. Terrain. Terrain is a basis for further classification of geometric requirements.

1. Flat terrain is that condition where street sight distances, as governed by both horizontal and vertical restrictions, are generally long or could be made to be so without construction difficulty or major expense. The slope of the existing terrain is from zero percent to and including five percent.

2. Rolling terrain is that condition where the natural slopes rise above and fall below the street grade line consistently. Normal street alignment is restricted by occasional steep slopes. The slope of the existing terrain is from five percent to and including 15 percent.

3. Mountainous terrain is that condition where longitudinal and transverse changes in the elevation of the ground with respect to a street are abrupt and where the roadbed is obtained by frequent benching or side hill excavation. The slope of the existing terrain exceeds 15 percent.

Terrain classification pertains to the general character of the specific route corridor. Streets in valleys or passes of mountainous areas that have all the characteristics of streets traversing flat or rolling terrain should be classified as flat or rolling. In rolling terrain, trucks reduce their speeds below those of passenger cars on some sections of street. Mountainous terrain is responsible for some truck operation at crawl speeds. In cases where the terrain classification is in question, the city engineer shall make the final decision. (Ord. 10-09 § 9 (Exh. B), 2010)