§ 123-36. Driveway access., Article IV. Design Standards, Part 1. Subdivision Regulations, Chapter 123. Subdivision and Development of Land, Part II. General Legislation, Code of Ordinances, Lower Providence

Location.

(1)

Driveways shall be so located as to provide adequate sight distance at intersections with streets.

(2)

Driveways shall be located in a manner which will not cause the following:

[Amended 8-10-1992 by Ord. No. 384; 9-21-2006 by Ord. No. 555]

(a)

Interference to the traveling public;

(b)

A hazard to the free movement of normal highway traffic;

(c)

Areas of undue traffic congestion on the highway; or

(d)

Be closer than five feet from any property line.

(3)

Driveways shall be located, designed and constructed in such a manner as not to interfere with or be inconsistent with the design, maintenance and drainage of the highway.

Criteria for review. The Board of Supervisors shall use the following criteria to guide it in determining driveway access to feeder and higher classification roads. The Supervisors may use more restrictive criteria when required.

(1)

Driveway accesses shall be at least 200 feet apart. Driveways shall be located to provide the greatest possible sight distance in accordance with PennDOT standards.

(2)

No more than five lots may have direct access to a feeder and higher classification road. All the road frontage shall be considered a part of this requirement for lands held in single ownership.

(3)

Alternates to be considered for larger subdivisions shall be as follows, subject to the approval of the Township Board of Supervisors upon recommendation of the Planning Commission:

(a)

Reverse frontage interior roads shall be provided, to be built according to standards for subdivision roads.

(b)

Marginal access roads shall be provided, as per § 123-30B.

Distance from street intersection. Driveways shall be located as far from street intersections as is reasonably possible but not less than the following distances:

(1)

Individual residential lots: 50 feet.

(2)

Multifamily residential and nonresidential lots: 100 feet.

Number of driveways. All residential properties shall be limited to one curb cut. The following standards shall apply to nonresidential properties:

(1)

Properties with frontages of 100 feet or less shall be limited to one curb cut.

(2)

Not more than two curb cuts may be permitted for any single property, tract or lot for each street frontage.

(3)

More than two curb cuts per street frontage may be permitted only if anticipated traffic volumes warrant more than two and when supported by a traffic study prepared by a qualified traffic engineer.

Choice of streets. When streets of different classes are involved, the driveway shall provide access to the street of lesser classification.

Pavement widths and grade. Driveway paving widths and grades shall be as follows:

Land Use		Minimum Paving Width (feet)	Maximum Paving Width (feet)	Minimum Radius at Curb (feet)	Maximum Grade
Single-family residential		10	20	5	12%
Multifamily residential
	One-way	12	15	10	9%
	Two-way	24	28	10	9%
Commercial and industrial (two-way)
Low volume		20	24	15	7%
Medium volume		28	28	15	7%
High volume		PennDOT standards shall be used

NOTE:

See § 123-37M(2) for driveway classifications. A one-way driveway may be reduced to half the width of the two-way driveway.

Stopping areas. Regardless of the driveway classification, all driveways shall be provided with a stopping area within which the grade shall not exceed 6%. The stopping area shall be measured as follows:

(1)

The length of stopping area shall be a minimum of 20 feet or the length of the longest vehicle anticipated to use the driveway, whichever is greater.

(2)

Stopping areas shall be measured from the ultimate right-of-way line for arterial streets and from the edge of paving or curbline of local access streets.

Clear sight triangles. Clear sight triangles shall be provided where driveways intersect streets, in compliance with the standards of § 123-34F and G. The dimensional standards shall be determined by the classification of street which the driveway intersects.

Paving requirements and drainage. All driveways shall comply with the paving, drainage and stormwater runoff provisions of the Lower Providence Engineering Standards and shall be approved by the Township Engineer.

Editor's Note: See , included at the end of this chapter.

No driveway location, classification or design shall be considered finally approved until permits have been granted by the state and/or Township and preliminary plan approval has been granted by the Board of Supervisors for the subdivision and/or land development which the driveway(s) will serve.

No building permit shall be issued nor shall any occupancy permit be issued as to any improvement or improvements in any district in this Township until the application for a driveway permit shall have been made in writing and a permit approved by the Township authorities or other authority which may have jurisdiction over the road.