Road Classification System

The existing road classification system of the County of Brant offers limited guidance for the design, operation and maintenance of roads in rural areas compared to urban areas. Considering the current and planned patterns of land use and development in the County, a new classification structure is proposed that includes:

• Rural and Urban designations;

• Rural road classes that are consistent with existing County standards; • Urban road classes of arterials, collectors, locals and public lanes; • Residential and Industrial sub-classes for Urban roads;

• A comprehensive set of classification characteristics.

An expanded road classification system for the County of Brant has been developed, satisfying the above-mentioned recommendations. The proposed road classification policies for the County are primarily based on the core classification structures outlined in the TAC design manual. The classification structure of arterials, collectors and locals, as proposed by TAC, is recommended for urban areas within the County to provide a comprehensive roadway framework for future urban development, especially in the Paris and St. George areas. However, this more detailed classification structure is not warranted for rural areas where the County’s existing Arterial and Collector classifications can continue to be used so that continuity in design and functionality is maintained in rural areas.

Introducing separate classifications for urban and rural roads is recommended because roads in rural settings are characterized by factors that make their operational characteristics, design

requirements and associated impacts different from roads in urban areas, as summarized on Exhibit 6-2. The term “Rural” refers only to the predominant characteristics of adjacent land use along roads, and as indicated in the Exhibit, rural roads have fundamentally different characteristics than urban roads regarding density and type of land use, density of street and roadway network, natural of travel patterns and the way in which these elements are related.

More specifically, land use is the most important factor dictating rural road standards. The intensity of access needs change in rural settings, with associated roadway geometric requirements dictated by the agricultural, residential, industrial or commercial areas being served. For example, roads in rural residential areas, serving individual farmsteads up to rural estate subdivisions, are designed to

achieve many objectives other than serving passenger car residential traffic, including

accommodating agricultural and industrial (i.e. aggregate extraction) traffic. Unlike roads in urban settlements that serve specific arterial/collector/local functions, rural roads are more multi-purpose, and so geometric design standards for rural roads tend to be more “generous” than in the more strictly controlled urban areas. Rural roads also tend to serve vehicular traffic only, with little if any dedicated facilities for pedestrian and cycling users (i.e. gravel shoulders and no sidewalks).

Exhibit 6-2: Comparison of Rural and Urban Roadway Characteristics

Roadway Characteristic Rural Urban

Service Function, such as degree of mobility and land access

Relatively unlimited land access and maximum mobility

Controlled land access with associated mobility limitations Traffic Volume and

associated Level-of- Service (LOS)

Generally low traffic volumes and high LOS

Generally medium/high traffic volumes (depending on type of road) with LOS reductions during peak periods Traffic Flow/Composition

of Traffic

Free Flow Mixed Interrupted Flows Running Speed of traffic

during off-peak conditions

Medium to High (50-90 km/h)

Low to Medium (40-70 km/h) Vehicle Types (proportion

of cars, trucks, buses)

Can include high percentage of heavy vehicles. May include slow moving vehicles including farm vehicles

May include high degree of heavy vehicles but only on designated major routes

Under the proposed guidelines, every road in the County of Brant that is not under provincial jurisdiction (Controlled Access Highway 403 and Provincial Highway 24) would be categorized as one of the following:

• Urban Public Lane • Urban Residential Local • Urban Industrial Local • Urban Residential Collector • Urban Industrial Collector • Urban Arterial

• Rural Arterial Road • Rural Collector Road • Rural Local Road

Note that with this classification structure, careful planning is crucial when performing new construction or reconstruction work in rural areas. If long-term growth is anticipated in an area currently under a rural designation, roadways should be designed appropriately (i.e. as settlement designation or with allowance for upgrades) to accommodate this future growth.

The proposed guidelines for this road classification system are summarized in Exhibit 6-3. The table provides the primary functional and design characteristics of each roadway class listed above.

Urban Rural Local Collector

Characteristic

Urban Public

Lane Residential Industrial Residential Industrial Arterial Arterial Collector Local

Land /Traffic Service Land access only function

Land access primary function. Traffic movement secondary

consideration

Traffic movement/land access of equal importance Traffic movement primary Traffic movement primary Traffic movement/land access of equal importance Individual property access primary Traffic volume (veh/day) < 250 < 1,000 < 3,000 1,000 – 20,000 1,000 – 12,000 5,000 – 30,000 1,000 – 20,000 200 – 10,000 200 – 5,000 Design Speed (km/h) 40 - 50 60 60 – 70 80 - 90 80 - 100 60 – 100 50 - 80 Average off-peak running speeds (km/h) 20 - 30 40 - 50 50 – 60 70 - 80 60 – 100 60 – 90 50 - 70 Vehicle Type Passenger and service vehicles Passenger and service vehicles

All types _{service vehicles} Passenger and All types All types All types up to _{20% trucks} All types up to 10% trucks mostly single _{unit type} Desirable

Connections

Public lanes,

Locals Public lanes, Locals, Collectors Locals, Collectors, Arterials

Collectors, Arterials, Freeways Collectors, Arterials, Freeways Collectors,

Arterials Collectors, Locals

Pedestrian and Bikeway Facilities

No sidewalks or bike lanes/paths

Sidewalks on one or both sides. Shared bike route. No on-road

bike lanes.

Sidewalks on both sides. On- road bike lanes

or wide curb lanes. Sidewalk on one side. No on-road bike lane Sidewalks on both sides. Dedicated on- road bike lanes where required.

Sidewalks not required, but shoulder bike lanes may be considered if speed limit is less than 80 km/h14

Transit Service Not Permitted Generally Avoided Permitted Permitted Generally Avoided

Road Right-of-Way Width (m) (typical) 6 –10 15 – 22 (20 m) 20 – 26 24 - 45 24 – 45 20 – 24

Travel Surface Width

(m) (typically) 5 – 6 8.5 13 10 14 8.5 - 15 8.5 – 13 8.5 – 13

Parking Provisions No Parking Parking on One Side Parking on One Sides No parking No Parking Traffic Calming Not Provided Where

Required Not Provided

Where

Required Not Provided Not Provided Not Provided Exhibit 6-3: Road Classification Guidelines for the County of Brant

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