True or False:

• A highway access permit is not needed if a vacant property already has a driveway cut.
• The new use is only slightly different than the previous use. Highway access can be addressed by filing a permit application at the end of the project.
• State and county transportation departments have no control over the number and location of driveway cuts that will best fit your development plans.

The answer to all is false. Site development is loaded with constraints. One of these constraints, highway access, can be among the most time-consuming and frustrating. Whether major or minor, access issues must be evaluated early in the process and incorporated into site design parameters. If neglected or postponed, this issue has the potential for growing into an expensive showstopper.

One site, one driveway, many cars.

The impacts of over-congestion caused by the “one site, one driveway, many cars” strip development mindset of the last 50 years has forced highway policy makers to adopt new traffic management techniques. These techniques are now being used by permitting agencies to manage or limit direct access onto congested highways. Since the most desirable real estate is generally located in these busy areas, obtaining a highway access permit has now become time-consuming and expensive. Despite the opinions of developers and business owners, highway officials are not trying to limit development or disrupt commerce. They are simply addressing the public's outcry over traffic congestion and accidents. Reducing congestion makes travel more convenient and safer. And with easier access, customers are happier.

Access Management.

A common technique used to decrease congestion is to combine several private driveway entrances into one shared major entrance. The major entrances are controlled by traffic signals that provide convenient access on to and off of the highway system. Access to individual sites is provided with frontage or loop roads that link all of the parcels together. This provides motorists the opportunity to pull off the main highway, look for their destination, and park.

Access Management is relatively uncomplicated but it can be very frustrating when the permit requirements are identified late in the design process. Suddenly, a simple concept can slow down or even derail a site development project. In addition to the painful process of redesigning your site, relocating or removing a driveway can be a costly design change. Lost square footage, increased engineering fees, wasted time, and interest on borrowed money all equate to a developer’s nightmare.

In contrast, early detection of issues such as access management allows them to be addressed up front, before the flexibility to address design changes is gone. Assistance from a professional engineer early in the process can identify and resolve permitting agency concerns, saving developers from last minute, expensive redesigns.

Agency Coordination.

Many municipalities realize the importance of congestion management techniques and may already have access management or other traffic policies in effect. A developer must be aware of this before signing on the dotted line of a real estate purchase so that sufficient acreage is purchased and reasonable cost estimates are developed.

Working with these agencies during the early stages of the real estate search and during the project planning phase will also assure that the development process gets a good start and keeps on moving. With so much at risk in site development, it is paramount to get the design parameters right the first time and start moving earth as soon as reasonably possible.

If you are in need of a traffic engineer to evaluate your highway access requirements, contact Lorenzo Rotoli, P.E., PTOE at (585) 334-1310, ext. 245 or lrotoli@fisherassoc.com