In general, the Virginia Department of Transportation maintains streets and roads in most counties including Chesterfield. However, VDOT only does so for streets and roads accepted into the state system. The new regulations specify the criteria for acceptance of subdivision streets into the Virginia system so that the state will maintain them.
The main change in the Subdivision Street Acceptance Regulations is increased connectivity requirements for subdivisions. This is important because it will result in more connections between new and existing subdivisions. In turn, this is important because residents of existing subdivisions generally do NOT want prospective new residents to be able to drive through their streets to get to major arterials. They (the existing residents) fear an increase in traffic with an accompanying decrease in safety and general quality of life.
Another important change is a requirement for sidewalks in new subdivisions with an average lot size of 1/4 acre or less and along both sides of new streets that average over 8,000 motor vehicle trips per day. New streets that average between 2,000 and 8,000 trips per day would have to have a sidewalk on at least one side.
The new regulations go into effect on January 1, 2012. They are described here with links to both the new and current regulations.
No comments:
Post a Comment