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Part 3 Design guidance
3.1 The guidance contained in this part is intended to help you design development layouts that provide for the safe and free movement of all road users, including cars, lorries, pedestrians, cyclists and public transport. You should select and assemble appropriate design elements to:
We believe that such an approach, coupled with the flexibility that our guidance allows, already reflects many key themes of the Manual for Streets (MfS). Also, we have revised certain aspects of Htd to reflect specific MfS guidance, particularly with regard to visibility splays. We recognise, however, that further work is required to bring Htd even more closely in to line with the MfS, in particular with regard to our road design descriptions and guidance. Meanwhile, this will not stop us seeking residential development layouts that recognise that roads have a wider role to play in creating a sense of place and community as opposed to simply having a functional transport role.
3.2 Where this cannot be achieved by development layouts that are explicitly covered by this guidance, we are prepared to be flexible. Subject to Part 1 paragraph 1.16 onwards we will consider layouts that are not covered by the guidance.
3.3 We will resist developments (for example by recommending refusal of planning permission) where they do not meet the policies and objectives set out in this document. Also, planning authorities are unlikely to favour developments that lack quality layout and design.
3.4 This section sets out our design guidance for adoptable roads. You can find guidance on Home Zones, public transport, providing for pedestrians and cyclists, and providing for horse riders in sections DG3, DG6, DG7 and DG8, respectively.
(Note: Please see our 'Highways Status Search' page for details of which existing roads are adopted)
3.5 We will continue to encourage developers to create layouts that are to an adoptable standard and that will be offered for adoption. We will not normally adopt developments of five or less dwellings.
3.6 For employment and commercial developments, we will normally expect road layouts serving developments of more than one building and with more than one occupier to meet our adoptable design guidance and be offered for adoption. (See Section DG19 for employment and commercial developments served by private drives and areas.)
3.7 You can find advice on how to get your roads adopted under Section 38 of the Highways Act in Part 5 of this document.
Note:Please see appendix D for additional information on safety audits.
3.8 External roads and other off-site highway works: These are roads that provide a new link in the road network and serve a more general purpose than simply giving access to a development. Unless they fall within the definition of a road (street) as set out in appendix L, you should normally design these in line with the appropriate parts of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and our Specification and standard drawings. They should contain measures to control vehicle speeds and to limit the impact on the environment. We will require safety audits in all cases. We may be prepared to consider permitting direct frontage access from properties to such roads providing that they are subject to a 30mph speed limit and carry no more than 10000 vehicles per day.
3.9 Site access to external roads: Unless the external road falls within the definition of a road (street) as set out in appendix L, you should normally design these in line with the appropriate parts of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and our Specification and standard drawings. We will not normally accept mini-roundabouts unless they form part of a more comprehensive traffic-calming scheme that is either required to minimise the development’s impacts or that has previously been identified. A mini-roundabout will not be acceptable where it is proposed simply because the necessary visibility for a priority junction cannot be achieved. We may be prepared to consider permitting direct frontage access from properties to the external road providing that they are subject to a 30mph speed limit and carry no more than 10000 vehicles per day.
3.10 Site-specific requirements will depend on a number of factors including:
You should establish and agree our requirements with us in the early stages of preparing your development proposals. We will require safety audits in all cases.
3.11 Internal development roads: These are roads that serve only the development. You should normally design them in line with the sections below, which cover residential developments up to 400 dwellings and employment and commercial developments, and our Specification and standard drawings. We will consider the design of development roads for sites of over 400 dwellings, or which are otherwise not covered by the following guidance, on a site-by-site basis.
3.12 We will not normally require safety audits of internal development roads unless:
Figure DG1 Examples of shared surfaces
3.13 Table DG1 gives general geometry for internal residential roads. In general terms, a residential access road is a conventional cross-section road with separate provision for vehicles and pedestrians. On a residential access way users share a common surface.
(a) We will consider developments in excess of the single-access limits on a site-by-site basis. See also paragraph 3.15.
(b) Care must be taken in the design of roads serving schools. Parking in the vicinity of schools, as children are dropped-off or collected, is a serious safety hazard and can cause traffic congestion.
For new residential developments, any need for a new school on the site must be established early on (see Part 2 para 2.10 onward). The school should be located to maximise opportunities:
All of this will need to be considered as part of the transport assessment for the development and a school travel plan will be required.
Where a proposed development requires the expansion of an existing school, that is the construction of one or more new classrooms, the traffic impacts of the expansion must be considered early on and as part of any transport assessment required for the development. Measures will normally be required to provide ‘safe routes to school’ and minimise the risk of causing or making worse on-street parking problems.
(c) The Manual for Streets suggests that shared surfaces work well in short lengths or where they form cul-de-sacs, where traffic is less than 100 vehicles per hour, and where parking is controlled. Care must be taken in the design of shared-surface layouts to ensure that the development’s whole design, including building type and layout, use of street furniture and so on, conveys to users the nature of the area. Motor vehicles should not dominate and the layout should not simply appear to be a road without footways.
It is also important that any shared surface is designed for blind or partially sighted people and that they include an alternative means for visually impaired people to navigate by. As the Manual for Streets emphasises, we will expect you to consult with relevant representative groups and access officers in designing your proposals.
The type of surfacing materials will normally be a secondary feature in defining the nature of the area. It will not normally be acceptable simply to use a different material to convey the nature of an area to users. We will consider the surfacing material you propose for any shared-surface area with regard to the development’s overall design, including proposed housing layouts.
(d) The carriageway width does not include any footways, verges and so on. We may be prepared to accept a narrower, single carriageway width of 3.7m between kerbs over short lengths as a speed-control feature. The minimum lane width of 3.2m applies only where there are limited restrictions, for example where a pedestrian refuge is provided in the middle of the road.
(e) The corridor width is the minimum space required to accommodate all likely road users and utility equipment (for example, gas, water, cable TV). It does not include any additional space for outward-opening windows, drainage downpipes and so on where dwellings front direct onto the highway. You should define vehicle paths within the corridor by a tracking assessment. See paragraph 3.18.
(f) Where a proposed building fronts directly on to the highway, that is, it has no front garden, it should be set back at least 0.5m behind the proposed highway boundary to allow for opening of windows, drainage downpipes, overhanging eaves and so on .
(g) See paragraph 3.18.
(h) Taking into account the needs of people with impaired mobility, we may be prepared to consider a relaxation to 1:12 on sites with particularly difficult topography.
3.14 Table DG2 gives the general geometry for internal employment and commercial roads. In general terms, both major industrial access roads and the minor industrial roads are conventional cross-section roads with separated provision for vehicles and pedestrians, but their designs vary depending on likely levels of heavy-goods vehicles (HGVs).
Table DG2: General geometry of employment and commercial roads (a)
(a) Other use classes, for example shopping and leisure, will be considered on a site-by-site basis and depending on the likely numbers of HGVs.
(b) We will recommend planning conditions to restrict change of use from B1 to B2 - B8 developments unless the roads provided are to major industrial road standard – including construction specification – or the development layout provides for their future improvement at a developer’s expense.
(c) Where a B1 development is large enough to generate significant numbers of HGVs, we may require a major industrial road. However, where a B2 - B8 development is small enough to generate only a small number of HGVs, for example business starter units, we may be prepared to accept a minor industrial access road instead.
(d) We will consider developments in excess of the single access limits on a site-by-site basis. See also paragraph 3.15.
(e) See paragraph 3.18.
(f) Taking into account the needs of people with impaired mobility, we may be prepared to consider a relaxation to 1:12 on sites with particularly difficult topography.
3.15 We will not normally accept emergency accesses because of:
3.16 Usually where developments need two access points to the highway network they should both be to adoptable standards and available for general public use. However, where there are valid reasons why this cannot be achieved, and where the development proposal is otherwise acceptable to us, we may be prepared to consider an emergency access as long as:
3.17 Where suitable access arrangements cannot be achieved, we may refuse to adopt the development roads.
3.18 Tracking is providing the required width for vehicle movement within the overall width of the road. It can also be used to establish appropriate bend radii. Instead of taking the highway engineering requirements as the starting point for layout design, you can consider the arrangement of the buildings and the boundaries of the development first. You can lay out buildings to suit a particular form, with kerblines helping to define and emphasise spaces. The width between kerbs can vary. (You can find further information on how to use tracking in ‘Manual for Streets’, published by the Department for Transport and click here for an example).
3.19 You will then need to check the layout, including widths and bend radii, to make sure that the various types of vehicles you expect to visit and use the road layout can manoeuvre. This is normally likely to include a refuse lorry, fire tender and pantechnicon (for example, a removal lorry) and a bus if the development will be served by public transport. You should do this using a computer software package to generate swept paths for particular types of vehicles and to superimpose them onto layout drawings.
3.20 The tracking assessments will need to take account of any planned or likely on-street parking (see Section DG14, in particular paragraph 3.185 onwards).
3.21 You should check the proposed layout and get our agreement before submitting a planning application. The layout will also need to satisfy other relevant design guidance for the road type to achieve the design speed and to create a safe environment for all road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
3.22 Where changes in gradient occur, vertical curves will be required at sags and crests. Except where indicated in the notes to Table DG3, curve lengths should normally be either:
whichever is higher.
Example calculation of length of vertical curve
 For 20mph design speed k = 3 (from Table DG3)
(minimum length for appearance = 20m (from table DG3))
(a) You should hold early discussions with us for large, flat sites to ensure that the vertical alignment is acceptable. In some cases, it may be necessary to provide combined kerb and drainage units to ensure both an acceptable alignment and drainage of the highway.
(b) For crests, it may be necessary to increase the length of vertical curve derived in order to achieve the visibility distance as set out in table DG4.
(c) We may accept shorter curve lengths where there are exceptional difficulties in achieving the length normally required
(d) To avoid stretches of road where water gathers, do not apply the minimum length where A is less than five on any sag curve that results in a low point on the road.
3.23 Table DG4 sets out visibility splays required for junctions, bends and at vertical crests. For proposed internal development roads, you should normally base visibility splay on an assessment of likely 85th% ile vehicle speeds. For existing roads, you should base it on measured vehicle speeds. We will normally require you to carry out radar surveys to measure existing speeds and establish the 85th% ile.
3.24 While taking into account the design speeds in Tables DG1 and DG2, we will assess visibility requirements based on likely vehicle speeds within a proposed development. Where we are satisfied that speeds are, in practice, likely to be lower than the design speeds, we will normally be prepared to consider correspondingly shorter splays. The reverse is also true - if speeds are likely to be higher, the splays will need to be correspondingly greater in length.
(b) Where speed is assessed to be over 20mph, splay provision will normally be based on the appropriate ‘measured 85th %ile vehicle speed’ distance.
(c) Based on Manual for Streets, ‘adjusted for bonnet length’ distances.
(d) Based on Design Manual for Roads and Bridges.
(For all horizontal visibility splays, where a footway, cycleway or similar is provided, the rear of the footway and so on should coincide with (match) the rear edge of the visibility splay.)
Figure DG2a Junctions
* Set back will depend on scale and nature of proposed development
Figure DG2b Bends Note: For all road types within a development, visibility (at junctions, bends or crests) in the vertical plane should normally be measured from a drivers eye-height of no less than 1.05m above the road surface to a point no less than 0.6m above the road surface. This is as set out in Manual for Streets. On roads outside of the development, for example at the site access, the visibility should normally be measured from an eye-height of not less than 1.05m to a point not less than 0.26m, in line with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges. However, if they fall within the definition of a road (street) as defined at appendix L, visibility can normally be measured as if the road lies within a development
Figure DG2c Crests in road (brow of hill)  3.25 Basic junction forms should be determined at the concept layout (masterplanning) stage with the more detailed proposals developed as the development proposal evolves. Table DG5 and the accompanying illustrations highlight broad junction types and the corner radii that should normally be provided within developments.
The above diagram is based upon Figure 7.9 of the Manual for Streets. The Manual for Streets is copyright of the Department for Transport and Department of Communities and Local Government.
(a) See paragraph 3.9 for site access junctions.
(b) See Section DG9 for details on lining and signing.
(d) For further details, please paragraph 3.11 onwards.
(e) Radii based on road widths set out in Table DG1 and Table DG2, assuming that roads meet at an angle of 90 degrees. For other circumstances (including any proposals for tighter radii), you will be required to provide computer tracking assessments (see paragraph 3.18) of your proposed layout.
(f) Other factors will also be taken into account in considering your junction proposals. This includes the likelihood of on-street parking problems in the vicinity of the junction and whether or not the roads are likely to form part of a bus route.
(g) Where a corner radius is less than 7.5m, footway strengthening will be needed. Please see Part 4 paragraph 4.97.
3.26 You should normally avoid priority-controlled (‘Give way’) crossroads. When a crossroads cannot be avoided, you should normally provide an appropriate form of control such as a roundabout. Mini-roundabouts will not normally be acceptable to provide access to a development unless they form part of a more comprehensive traffic-calming scheme that is either required to reduce the development’s impacts or that has previously been identified.)
3.27 You should space road junctions on the same side of a road so that a vehicle waiting to enter the main road at one does not interfere with visibility for a vehicle waiting at another.
Figure DG3 Junction spacing
3.28 There should normally be no accesses for vehicles:
3.29 Elsewhere, we will normally accept accesses as long as they meet safety considerations and comply with the guidance on the design of private accesses and areas set out in Section DG18 and Section DG19.
3.30 On residential roads serving more than 25 dwellings, carriageways should normally be widened at bends that curve through more than 10 degrees.
3.31 Bends should normally be widened in industrial and commercial developments.
3.32 For any proposals not conforming to the figures in the above table, you will need to produce computerised vehicle-path assessments to show that the proposed layout can accommodate appropriate vehicles without danger to other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists.
3.33 A turning head should normally be provided at the end of all cul-de-sacs or wherever vehicles would otherwise have to reverse over long distances – normally anything over 25m, in line with BS5906, 1980. You should also provide turning heads where turning vehicles might damage adjacent verges or footways. Figure DG4 shows minimum turning dimensions and areas.
3.34 You should give careful consideration to the design of the development surrounding the turning head to make sure that its use is not reduced by on–street parking. Where on-street parking is likely to cause problems, we will normally expect you to provide measures to control it (see Section DG14, in particular paragraphs 3.189 onwards).
3.35 We will consider larger areas, such as residential squares, which provide the minimum turning dimensions as long as their use as a turning head would not be affected by on-street parking. You would also be required to provide clear details of who is responsible for maintenance. Where it is intended that we adopt any extra areas over the normal minimum, we may require you to pay commuted sums for future maintenance (see Part 4 Section MC18).
Figure DG4a Example of a turning head within a 'square'
Figure DG4b Turning heads for use on residential access roads and minor industrial access roads serving offices
W = 4.8m up to 50 dwellings
W = 5.5m from 50 - 400 dwellings W = 6m for B1 use class office developments Figure DG4c Turning heads for use on industrial/commercial estate roads
3.36 Please refer to Part 4.
3.37 We will normally adopt a new road where:
3.38 Please see Part 5 for details of adopting roads under a Section 38 agreement of the Highways Act. In this Part, Section DG18 gives guidance on the layout of private roads and areas in residential developments and Section DG19 gives guidance on the layout of industrial and commercial developments.
3.39 In some cases, commuted sums may be payable. For example this will normally be for:
Note:
Where you are proposing SUDS, you must hold discussions with all relevant parties at an early stage (and certainly before any planning application) to agree ownership and responsibility for the facility.
This is not an exhaustive list, and there are other occasions described throughout this document where we require the payment of commuted sums, for example vertical traffic calming.
3.40 Please refer to Part 4 for further details of where commuted sums will normally be payable and for details of how they are calculated.
3.41 ‘Home Zone’ is the term used for a street where people and vehicles share the whole of the road space safely and equally.
3.42 Home Zones are based on a change in the way that people regard the street. Motorists should feel that they have left the normal highway and have entered an area where they can expect to find people who are using the whole of the street. Simply, Home Zones should make motorists feel they are guests in a pedestrian environment, and they should drive accordingly.
3.43 Home Zones may consist of shared surfaces, indirect traffic routes, areas of planting and features such as seating to encourage people to use the street. Entry gateways and signing will be needed to mark the limits of the area.
3.44 Home Zones are a relatively new idea in the UK, and some of the legal regulations to introduce them have only recently been put in place.
3.45 Section 268 of the Transport Act 2000 provides the legal basis for establishing Home Zones in England and Wales. It permits local traffic authorities (us, in this case) in England and Wales to designate any street or streets as a Home Zone. However, this in itself does not change the legal use of the highway. This can only be done by local authorities making use orders and speed orders for designated Home Zones.
3.46 The Secretary of State has recently made the necessary regulations under the Transport Act setting out the procedures for designating Home Zones and making use orders and speed orders. A use order will allow activities other than moving vehicles (such as children’s play), to take place legally on streets. A speed order will allow the traffic authority to define an appropriate design speed for the Home Zone.
3.47 We will consider proposals for Home Zones on a site by site basis.
3.48 If you want to progress proposals that include Home Zone concepts, you should discuss your ideas with us and the planning authority at the earliest opportunity and before you submit a planning application. You should also take account of the following general design considerations.
3.49 Location
We will consider Home Zones in principle off any class of road, subject to our access policy in Part 1 of this document. Where accessed off a classified (A, B or other classification) road or off a busy unclassified road, the junction must be formed in line with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges and there must be a length of access road between the site access and the beginning of the Home Zones. The length of the access road will depend on the speed and flow of traffic on the main road, the size of the Home Zone and local topography. Each site will be considered on its merits. Home Zones on other classifications of road may normally be served by a dropped-kerb arrangement.
3.50 The scale of development
Figure DG5 Home Zones arranged to form a larger development
3.51 Layout
3.52 So we can properly and efficiently consider any development proposals that either are, or include, a Home Zone, you must submit a concept proposal and supporting information in line with Part 2 of this document.
3.53 We will continue to review our guidance on Home Zones in the light of any new national guidance and practical experience gained.
3.54 We will normally adopt a new Home Zone, subject to the requirements in paragraph 3.37 onwards.
3.55 Wherever possible, in the interests of road safety and to reduce environmental impacts, commercial and employment developments that generate larger goods vehicles should be kept separate from residential areas. You should design layouts so this type of commercial and employment traffic does not need to use residential roads. Similarly, Home Zones cannot be used to access these developments.
3.56 To support sustainable development, we may accept mixed-use developments that include small developments that generate very few goods vehicles, such as offices or a shop, particularly in or close to town centres.
3.57 Where a mixture of residential and commercial traffic is likely to use a road, the design elements, including materials and construction, should be based on the largest vehicles likely to use any particular section of the road.
3.58 We will normally adopt road layouts in mixed developments subject to the requirements in paragraph 3.37 onwards.
3.59 For developments outside the city, vehicle speeds within new developments should normally be controlled through the design and layout of the roads and the locations of buildings and not normally by using traffic-calming features (particularly vertical features such as road humps). Within Leicester City, all new developments should be designed so that a 20mph zone can be introduced and vertical traffic calming may be used to achieve this. You should avoid:
You should break up stretches of straight road by either junctions or 90-degree bends as shown in Figure DG6.
3.60 Where there are valid reasons why vehicle speeds cannot be controlled through site layout, and traffic calming measures are required, in the county you should consider horizontal measures first and you should use vertical measures only as a last resort. There is greater flexibility to use vertical measures in the city. We will normally require commuted sum payments to cover future maintenance (see Part4 Section MC18). Some examples of measures are shown in Figure DG6. Any traffic calming should normally be in accordance with advice contained in Department for Transport Traffic Advisory Leaflets as listed in Part 9.
3.61 Take particular care over choosing any type of traffic-calming measure on a proposed bus route (see Section DG6, in particular paragraphs 3.95 onwards).
3.62 You must take particular care on key routes that are used or are likely to be used by the emergency services. While certain types of traffic calming (particularly vertical measures such as road humps) can have potential road safety benefits, they can also adversely affect the response times of emergency vehicles. Where traffic calming is proposed on a key route, you will need to consult the emergency services at a very early stage (and certainly before you submit any planning application) and you will need to work closely with them in the design of any measures.
Table DG8: Maximum lengths of straight for vehicle speed control (a)
3.63 Where any form of vertical calming feature is proposed, you should not site it within 25m of the edge of a structure, for example, a bridge or culvert. You should also site such features clear of private accesses and driveways to avoid problems of vehicles ‘grounding’ as they turn into or out of the accesses or drives.
3.64 We will be prepared to consider other methods of vehicle speed control in the light of practical experience of their effectiveness and any further research. However, because of problems with noise and vibration, we will not normally accept ‘rumble strips’.
Figure DG6a Speed control bend (please also see Part 4, paragraph 4.91)
Stagger length and car speeds and Minimum dimensions of stagger length for larger vehicles
Figure DG6c Example of chicane including cycle 'bypass' Note: Length of cycle lane to be agreed
Figure DG6d Junction table (please also see Part 4, paragraph 4.86) Figure DG6e Cross section of speed tables with alterations for steep roads shown in lower diagram (please also see Part 4, paragraph 4.86)
  Figure DG6f Example of vehicle speed control by development layout Note: Please see our standard drawings for junction tables, speed cushions and road humps.
3.65 Where a development requires speed-control measures on the existing external highway network, for example, to help minimise its impacts or to achieve safe site access, there will have to be an additional public consultation separate from the planning process including advertising of features and where appropriate a 20mph speed limit. These separate consultations are required even where the development has received planning permission. Because of problems with noise and vibration, we will not normally accept ‘rumble strips’.
3.66 These consultations can often be an extensive and lengthy process, particularly where statutory procedures are involved. You will normally be required to fund all costs associated with these consultations.
3.67 We will normally seek to secure the speed-control measures and the funding of any associated costs through an appropriate legal agreement.
3.68 You should get early advice on the likely timescale and procedures involved for your specific proposals. Take this information into account when you draw up the programme for your proposed development and in any negotiations that you may have with the landowner of the development site.
On residential distributor roads in Leicester City, vertical features can only be introduced after discussions with the appropriate Cabinet Lead. Speed cushions are normally preferred for residential distributor roads. However, if road humps are the only solution these should be a maximum of 65mm in height (possibly 75mm subject to agreement) and over 7m in length (only on bus routes). All traffic calming installed on the existing road network as part of a s278 agreement should include a speed reduction feature prior to any vertical feature where the 85th percentile approach speed is greater that 30mph.
3.69 Please refer to Part 4.
3.70 In the interests of sustainability, new development should be located in areas well served by alternative means of transport to the private car, including buses, taxis and cycle routes.
3.71 Particularly if your development requires any form of transport assessment (see Part 2 Table PDP1), you should seek early advice from us and bus operators on:
(Systems are being installed at bus stops in Leicester and Leicestershire to provide waiting passengers with details of when the next bus is due and the route number. This is known as ‘real-time information’, and the system currently used in Leicester and Leicestershire is ‘star trak’.)
3.72 You should discuss these issues and agree the general approach as soon as possible as the outcomes are likely to have a bearing on:
3.73 Additionally, where a development requires a concept proposal (see Part 2 paragraph 2.17), you should clearly identify and detail any agreed public transport facilities and routes.
3.74 Where you are proposing public transport as a sustainable alternative to using cars, the service must realistically be capable of delivering a shift away from the car. To achieve any significant shift, it is likely that the service will have to be more frequent than once an hour during the day, Monday to Saturday, with an evening and Sunday service for larger developments.
3.75 We will consider developments on a site-by-site basis. We will assess any estimates for likely levels of public transport use included in any transport assessments or draft travel plans, against existing or proposed bus routes, vehicle capacities and timetables. We will need to be satisfied that a public transport service can be provided that is realistically capable of achieving the proposed level of use by the development’s occupants.
3.76 We will also consider any phasing in of services, particularly for larger developments, on a site-by-site basis. Issues that will need to be discussed and agreed include:
3.77 Through the planning process we will normally recommend to planning authorities that developers fund public transport services through a Section 106 agreement which, among other things, specifies the level of support which must be provided to the service and over what time period. While we will seek to work with you to reach a suitable agreement, we will resist (for example by recommending refusal of any planning application) development proposals that do not meet the policies and objectives set out in this document, (see Part 1, paragraph 1.24 onwards)
3.78 Generally walking distances to bus stops in urban areas should be a maximum of 400m and desirably no more than 250m. In rural areas the walking distance should not be more than 800m.
3.79 You should design pedestrian routes to bus stops to be as direct, convenient and safe as possible to encourage use of public transport You should design the routes in line with principles set out in paragraph 3.108. They should:
You should place bus stops in employment or commercial areas near building entrances and avoid locations where passing traffic speeds are high. In rural areas there should always be at least a footway from any proposed development to the nearest bus stop.
3.80 Where there is a footway on the opposite side of the road, a pedestrian crossing point should normally be provided next to a bus stop, and designed in line with the appropriate standard drawing. The crossing point should be located as close as is possible to the stop, bearing in mind safety considerations.
3.81 You should think carefully about the proposed layout of the development in the immediate vicinity of a bus stop to:
3.82 You should not site bus stops within 30m of vertical traffic-calming features (including domed mini roundabouts). This is to minimise the risk of passengers waiting to get off the bus being thrown about the inside of the bus, and to allow boarding passengers time to sit down.
3.83 To erect a new bus stop or relocate an existing bus stop on an existing public highway you need to get agreement from:
3.84 The minimum footway width at a bus stop should normally be 3m. Where a shelter is to be provided (see paragraph 3.86), there should be at least 0.5m clearance between any part of the shelter and the edge of the carriageway. There should be a clear footway of at least 1.3m (1.8m in the city) between the shelter and the rear edge of the footway (both for cantilever-style shelters where the roof extends beyond the support and enclosed shelters). Where you cannot achieve this, but there are no alternative locations to site the shelter, then we will consider site-specific shelter designs.
Figure DG7 Bus shelter siting
3.85 Accessible raised kerbing to a height of 180mm will be required at all stops. The length of raised kerbing should normally be 6m in the county and 4m in the city (plus 1m transition kerbs at either end) with a minimum run of 3m (plus transition kerbs). The stop should be located and laid out so a bus can stop parallel to and close to the raised kerbing.
Figure DG8 Raised kerbing at bus stops
3.86 Shelters will usually only be required at key access points where there are likely to be higher passenger flows, for example, near:
3.87 Where we will not own a bus shelter, you will need a licence from us to erect it. Where shelters will display advertising, you will also need planning permission from the planning authority. We will also need to be satisfied that appropriate arrangements are in place for the shelter’s future maintenance.
Note: in Leicester City new bus shelters may only be introduced through the contract we have with JC Decaux. All installation and maintenance costs will be met by the developer.
3.88 We will consider how bus service information will be provided at bus stops on a site-by-site basis. Depending on the nature and size of the development, the information provided could consist of:
Figure DG9 Examples of bus service information
3.89 Lay-bys will normally only be required at places where a large number of people will want to board a bus such as local shops, schools or other locations where buses may wait for a time and could cause localised congestion or be a safety hazard.
3.90 Where lay-bys are to be provided, they should normally be designed to accommodate 15m long buses as indicated in Figure DG10 below.
Figure DG10 Bus lay by
3.91 When the development is being constructed, you should, where appropriate, make provision for shelter lighting and real-time bus information facilities to be installed at a future date. This should include, for example, installing suitable underground ducting.
3.92 We will normally require a commuted sum payment to cover future maintenance of bus stop facilities that we are to maintain. Please see Part 4 for further details.
3.93 Where a development is likely to be accessed using public transport, any roads which buses are likely to run along should normally be at least 6m wide (subject to tracking assessment) and should be reasonably straight. A more generous swept path is also likely to be required to take account of where vehicles might park on-street, for example. It will not be acceptable to route bus services along either shared-surface roads (that is, access ways, see Section 3 ) or through Home Zones. We may consider exceptions for services operated by smaller vehicles (for example, minibuses) where there is no practical alternative to serving the development by public transport.
3.94 Buses should be able to enter and exit from the development as easily and directly as possible. Where appropriate, bus-priority measures such as bus lanes and traffic signals should be used to help bus movement. You should discuss and agree provision for specific sites with us and bus operators.
3.95 Any horizontal speed-control features, including 90-degree bends and horizontal traffic calming measures (for example, chicanes) , should normally be designed to accommodate the swept path of a 15m long rigid bus (the largest vehicle size now permissible). You should discuss and agree design details jointly with us and the bus operators. You will need to give us computer assessments of vehicle swept paths to demonstrate that your proposals will work in practice.
3.96 You should not use vertical traffic calming on bus routes unless there is no other speed control solution. If there is no suitable alternative you should:
Note: Please see our standard drawings for junction tables, speed cushions and road humps.
3.97 For certain developments, particularly larger sites, providing bus-only links may be appropriate. You should provide these where:
3.98 You should discuss and agree requirements for specific sites jointly with us and the bus operators. But generally you will need to provide (and pay for) traffic regulation orders (TROs) to restrict the link’s lawful use. You also need to consider the following.
3.99 We will normally need a commuted sum payment to cover the future maintenance of any control systems. Please see Par |
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