Virginia: build grids, not cul-de-sacs

State approves sweeping reform

Steve Hawley, Mar 26, 09.

New state regulations in Virginia will require all new subdivisions to contain through streets linking them to other subdivisions, schools, and shopping centers, according to the Washington Post. The regulations were approved by the Commonwealth Transportation Board and supported by Governor Tim Kaine.

The article notes, “State officials say the new regulations will improve safety and accessibility and save money: No more single entrances and exits onto clogged secondary roads. Quicker responses by emergency vehicles. Lower road maintenance costs for governments.”

It continues, “The changes come as cash-strapped states and localities can no longer afford the inexorable widening of secondary roads that are overburdened with traffic from the subdivisions, strip malls, schools and office buildings that feed into them. The system forces drivers to enter these traffic-choked roads to go even 50 yards or so to the neighborhood coffeehouse or elementary school.”

Some homeowners and developers oppose the new rules, saying that cul-de-sac subdivisions promote safety by reducing speeds and controlling access. However, E. Dana Dickens, a Transportation Board member, stated, “Those are often the same people who also complain about paying for building capacity on the collector road if you don’t have the connectivity.”

The assistant secretary of transportation supported the measure and cited public safety concerns, saying, “If a firetruck or ambulance is stuck in traffic on the Fairfax County Parkway, they just can’t turn in to a subdivision and go through local streets, because they don’t connect.”

The Post notes:

So now, Virginia will maintain only new subdivision streets that meet its connectivity, road and sidewalk requirements. That’s a big stick, because unlike in Maryland and most other states, the Transportation Department maintains and plows almost all of Virginia’s roads, including streets with as few as three homes.

The new requirements also call for roads that are dramatically narrower, 24 feet to 29 feet wide for local streets. Now subdivision streets can be 40 feet wide—wider than three highway lanes—and cars often share the asphalt with baby carriages and joggers. ... Narrower roads reduce speeds, decrease storm water runoff and save on maintenance costs, officials say.

According to the article, North Carolina and Portland, OR are considering similar restrictions.

A recent study in California showed that cities designed around branching street networks and cul-de-sacs, like those targeted in Virginia, have three times more auto accident fatalities per capita than those built around grids. According to the study, traffic speed increases through cul-de-sac developments, likely contributing to the increased death rate. In addition, a separate study found that branching street networks increased traffic on arterial and collector roads by 75 to 80 percent.

(photo credit: David Shankbone)

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