Right-of-Way Scenic Corridor Recommendations

Scenic Corridor Recommendations: Draft 10/5/98

Recommendations re: Right-of-Way Issues

Issues Covered:

Width Medians Alignment Driveway Access and Intersections

Curbs Vegetation Signs Poles: Signals, Streetlights

Utilities Sidewalks/Paths Drainage

Issue: Width

Current Policy: 150' major arterial

Recommendation:

Maintain 150' right-of-way (ROW) even if traffic projections are reduced in more northern areas.

Rationale. Scottsdale should keep its options open to have room for trails and in case additional lanes are ultimately needed. In the short-and intermediate term more native plants will remain.

Issue: Medians

Current Policies: Shown on cross sections for arterial streets. Adjacent development typically constructs medians under zoning or plat stipulations.

Recommendations:

Where appropriate and when no opportunities are left for private installation, begin planning city projects to install medians on Scottsdale Road and other scenic corridors.
Install where adequate setbacks are maintained and where vegetation can still be retained.
Develop a guide for maintaining the medians that clearly defines what should and should not be done by the city or by private maintenance companies.
Budget sufficient funding and provide staff for an appropriate level of city maintenance of medians.

Rationale. Medians with native landscaping are more pleasing aesthetically and break up the width of the pavement along corridors with several travel lanes. The existing cross-sections standards containing medians should be followed for public or private improvements.

Issue: Alignment

Current Policies: Vertical and horizontal alignment of streets is typically a constant with the median a constant width and lanes in each direction at a similar vertical alignment.

Recommendations:

Preserve natural features such a cacti, trees and boulders, by identifying good opportunities for using a split alignment where the vertical and horizontal alignment can vary in each direction.

Rationale. If the width of the median and the elevation of the street in each direction varies more of the significant natural features can be preserved in place. This technique has been used in some master planned developments.

Issue: Driveway Access & Intersections

Current Policies: Transportation is using intersections spacing standards for different classifications streets for reviews and stipulation on developments.

Recommendations:

Limit the number of new intersections and driveways as much as possible to have fewer breaks in the vegetation.

Rational. Fewer median breaks means there are more opportunities for vegetation in medians for a more pleasing appearance and less requirements for street lighting. More driveways and intersections mean more places for a vehicle to cross pedestrian and shared use trail facilities. In addition, controlling the locations of intersections and driveways increases safety.

Issue: Curbs

Current Policies: Standard for arterial streets is a vertical curb.

Recommendations:

Provide ribbon curbs on edges of pavement and medians.
Provide paved pullouts with ribbon curbs for education purposes.

Rational. Ribbon curbs are less obstructive than vertical curbs and will provide a more open look. If vehicles, whether passenger cars or tour busses, can use a paved pullout for stopping there will be less disturbance to any plants and the soil on shoulders. Sightseeing should be accommodated since scenic corridors are used by tour busses and visitors to see the desert.

Issue: Vegetation

Current Policies: Shoulders are generally kept clear of vegetation to accommodate vehicles pulling off the pavement and stopping and for greater fire safety.

Recommendations:

If necessary, reduce speed limit to allow vegetation to be closer to the road.
Preserve existing vegetation where possible.
Prune and remove vegetation only as necessary in sight triangles, along streets and trails to remove safety hazards.
Develop a guide for maintaining vegetation that clearly defines what should and should not be done by the city, utilities and/or private maintenance companies.
To maintain the lushness of the Sonoran Desert revegetation plans should use native plants in the same proportions as the natural desert areas.
Revegetation may add plants to an area to increase the effectiveness of plants when used for screening; vegetation is preferred for screening over walls.

Rationale. Sonoran Desert plants are very important for the appearance of the scenic corridors. Some enhancements of areas with comparatively sparse vegetation with plants found in the vicinity is desirable. The objective is to keep plants where they are visually pleasing and will not have adverse safety impacts.

Issue: Signs

Current Policies: Traffic signs installed by City. Political signs allowed during campaigns. Weekend development sales signs, and 2 off-site signs for master planned areas OK.

Recommendations:

No signs should be permitted along scenic corridors, with the exception of City traffic or street signs and the historic signs of the Desert Foothills Scenic Drive. Political and development signs should be banned.
Master community entries should be behind the landscape setback.
The design of signage should reflect the character of the local area.
Traffic signs should be kept to the minimum necessary.

Rationale. Signs often litter the appearance of scenic corridors and detract from the natural setting. The more signs can be restricted the more the street will be in character with scenic objectives.

Issue: Poles: Signals, Streetlights.

Current Policies: Traffic signals are installed where required. Street lights are installed where needed for safety, not typically along full length of street.

Recommendations:

Limit pole installations as much as possible based upon necessity and consistent with maintaining the historic character of the area.
Define a consistent color and design for poles including low height for all poles, and use shielding and amber light on streetlights when the need for streetlights is proven.
Consider reduced lighting standards and/or requirements for streetlights on scenic corridors.
Install traffic signals at major intersections where the need for signals has been projected and don't automatically add signals for new developments.

Rational. Poles and lights generally detract from the natural appearance being sought for the scenic corridors. The general appearance of the street will be improved if poles and lights are minimized, and if a consistent design is selected for all needed poles. A second objective is to maintain the "dark skies" concept and appearance for the whole area and therefore there should also be regulations regarding allowable light spillover from adjacent development.

Issue: Utilities

Current Policies:

Right-of-way can be used for city and private utility installations. Developers must underground utilities. City does not have authority to tell SRP (Salt River Project) & APS (Arizona Public Service) to underground lines. Policies support placement of cellular antennas on existing poles and buildings.

Recommendations:

Underground all utilities, including utility boxes and cabinets.
Blend in any above ground boxes/cabinets by shielding the facility from view from the street with existing vegetation and/or revegetation
Paint any boxes that cannot be buried the same color as signal/light poles.
Require revegetation over any underground utilities, including City installations.
Use existing vertical elements off the scenic drive for cellular antennas rather than having the antennas within the right-of-way for a scenic corridor; pursue alternatives to locating antennas on scenic corridors and encourage co-location.
Re-negotiate franchise agreements to include these undergrounding, design and revegetation policies.

Rationale. Utilities are generally permitted within the street right-of-way but the desire is to not have these utility installations visible in the landscaped area of the right-of-way. The scenic character of the corridors will be greatly enhanced if utility lines and boxes are generally hidden from view from the street.

Issue: Sidewalks/Paths

Current Policies: Cross sections show paths and sidewalks in the street right-of-way.

Recommendations:

Change the cross-sections to show unpaved or stabilized paths/trails rather than paved sidewalks; prohibit concrete sidewalks.
Locate shared use trails away from the edge of curb/pavement and separate from road with vegetation.
Alternative layouts may place paths or trails in ROW or setback.
Use serpentine or curving designs along contours.
Pursue the installation of continuous paths and trails along scenic corridors, and consider public projects if necessary to eliminate gaps in pedestrian and shared use trail facilities.

Rationale. In keeping with the overall scenic corridor objective of maintaining the desert character of the street, it is recommended that the more urban or suburban paved sidewalks be replaced by pedestrian and trail facilities designed to fit better into the desert surroundings. In general these paths and trails are intended to be designed and located where they will not be readily apparent from either the street or adjacent development.

Issue: Drainage

Current Policies: Designed by developers' engineers according to city drainage specifications when impacted by adjacent development. Designed by city consultant if CIP (City Improvement Project)..

Recommendations:

Headwalls, railings, and other drainage improvements should use desert tones and/or local materials that blend with the surrounding desert.
Keep wet crossings wherever possible to maintain the character of the area.
Provide bridges or culverts for dry crossings but design to keep vertical undulations where in character.
Where bridges or culverts are required under streets, use the drainage structure where feasible for a grade separated trail system crossing.
Preserve the existing drainage pattern and wash locations as required by the city's ESLO ordinance.

Rationale. It is recognized that washes cross scenic corridors and that guidelines and/or policies are therefore needed for the design of drainage facilities. The design of all parts of each drainage facility must be based upon an effort to blend the construction into the surrounding desert and terrain combined with strict adherence to the drainage requirements on lots and subdivisions as specified in the ESLO ordinance.