Hillsborough County Complete Streets Guide

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Safer Roadways: A Complete Streets Guide

spacing to one every one‐quarter mile (1,320 feet) on major thoroughfares with posted speeds below 45 MPH. In Suburban Town (C3T) and Urban General (C4) contexts, a grid network of streets should still intersect the major thoroughfare between signalized intersections to provide better connectivity, neighborhood access and locations for crossings. Context Based Classification indicates the characteristics and spacing of cross-street intersection spacing and driveway connections. In general, higher intensities of use, including Suburban Town (C3T), Urban General (C4), require less restrictive access management. In these Context Based Classifications, frequent intersections, smaller blocks, and a higher degree of connectivity and access support the multimodal needs of the area. 23 Caution should be used in adapting FDOT access management guidelines to local roadway networks. While access management principles are founded on safety measures, FDOT’s network priorities are for higher classified roads. Their priorities are 1) safety, 2) traffic efficiency, 3) functional integrity, and lastly 4) context classification. This priority is in direct conflict with national guidance on Complete Streets principles and the County’s mobility and land use goals. Emergency Vehicle Accommodations Emergency vehicle operations prioritize the minimization of response times and the vehicle needs have often been a controlling element in how streets are designed. It bears repeating that a key goal of Complete Streets is to improve the safety of street users; these improvements are in-line with the goals of the emergency responders and are intended to reduce the severity and frequency of crashes on Hillsborough County streets, thus increasing the overall safety within the community. Major roads are the primary conduits for emergency response vehicles including police, fire, and ambulance. Emergency vehicle access and operations should always be considered in traveled way design. Many factors affect emergency vehicle response time including congestion, width of street and travel lanes, geometric design of intersections, access management features, signal timing, and the presence of signal pre‐emption devices. The Traveled Way Zone must be designed with consideration for the needs of emergency response vehicles. However, design without consideration for context can have the unintended effect of increasing the number of emergency responses. The following should be considered in designing traveled ways to accommodate emergency vehicles:  High levels of street connectivity improve emergency response time by providing alternate routes. Look for opportunities to improve overall network connectivity.  When establishing new or reviewing existing access management configurations, care should be taken to permit direct routing capability to emergency vehicles.  On streets with medians, traffic circles, tight corner radii, or other access management features, emergency response time may be reduced by the implementation of mountable curbs to allow emergency vehicles to cross.

23 Florida Department of Transportation, FDOT Context Classification Guide, July 2020

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