Local Roads and Smart Growth

“First fix the streets, then the people and businesses will follow.”
                    --Dan Burden, Walkable Communities, Inc.

One of the issues that localities face when trying to reduce sprawl and grow in compact ways, is statewide road requirements. Mark Graham, Albemarle County's Director of Community Development said that, “There are a lot of particulars with New Urbanism. People are trying to do special things that don’t fit neatly into boxes, and that require special consideration.”

Some of the road issues that are often associated with compact development are: smaller curb radii, narrower streets, smaller building setbacks from the road, street plantings, street lamps, smaller utility and maintenance right of ways, and more.

Local Roads Resources

Albemarle County's Neighborhood Model Ordinance is a regional example of a neotraditional planning ordinance. Supporting documents in the comprehensive plan outline the goals of the Neighborhood Model and how it works. For additional information click on the following links: Introduction to the Neighborhood Model, Building in the Neighborhood Model, More In-Depth Information on the Neighborhood Model

Prince William County is the first county in Virginia to draft county-wide neotraditional road standards which are alternate standards accepted by VDOT to accomodate neotraditional development elements into road design. These are the standards that Prince William County wrote (note, these standards were not adopted by Prince William's Board of Supervisors, and are only guidelines in that county). To view the standards click here.

For the current state standards on subdivision road design, look at VDOT's 2005 Subdivison Street Requirements. Upcoming changes to these subdivision street requirements will be posted in Appendix B of VDOT's Road Design Manual.

Fiscal Benefits of Walkable Communities from The Village Project (2001) is a short article examining the financial aspects of walkable communities.

Street Design Guidelines for Healthy Neighborhoods by Dan Burden (TRB Circular E-C019: Urban Street Symposium) presents a more detailed look at the effect of street design on neighborhood quality.

Click here for a general overview of neotraditional road design from the Federal Highway Administration.

The National Association of Realtors presents an interesting aricle about the costs and benefits of Investing in New Urbanist Development.

Recommended Print Resource:

American Planning Association (2004). Codifying New Urbanism. PAS Report # 526. Available at www.planning.org or by calling (312) 431-9985