City of Frisco Engineering Standards

Engineering Standards
Section 2 – Thoroughfare Design Requirements
2.01 General
A. The arrangement, character, extent, width, alignment, and location of all streets, public ways,
alleys, and driveways shall be in conformity with the City’s Thoroughfare Plan and
Comprehensive Plan and should be considered in their relation to existing and planned streets,
alleys and driveways, topographical and environmental features, scenic views, and the land uses
proposed to be served by such streets.
B. All thoroughfare designs shall meet the guidelines in AASHTO’s current A Policy on Geometric
Design of Highways and Streets.
2.02 Street Design
A. Thoroughfare Definitions – The City recognizes five basic classifications of public roadways that
include highways, major thoroughfares, minor thoroughfares, collectors, and local streets as
identified in the transportation element of the Comprehensive Plan. Each class provides a certain
degree of continuity, capacity, and accessibility to adjacent land uses. While differentiated by
function, there is also a variance in geometric design. Table 2.1 summarizes the general design
criteria of roadways within the City. The typical cross sections are depicted in Figure 2.1.
1. Major Thoroughfares – Six-lane divided roadways defined herein as Type A thoroughfares.
Type A thoroughfares are typically initially constructed as four-lane divided roadways with a
wider median and then widened to six lanes at a later date. Frontage roads are also
considered major thoroughfares.
2. Minor Thoroughfares – Four-lane divided roadways defined herein as Type B thoroughfares.
3. Collectors – Commercial collectors provide access from a Type A or B thoroughfare to nonresidential
properties and are defined herein as Type C thoroughfares. Residential collectors
connect to a Type A or B thoroughfare, extend more than six hundred feet (600’) into a
residential neighborhood, and have no homes fronting on them. Residential collectors can be
built with the cross section of a Type D, F, or G thoroughfare.
4. Local Streets – Residential streets with homes fronting on them are defined herein as Type D,
E, F, and G thoroughfares, each with different design characteristics depending on whether
the homes are front entry or alley served and whether or not the street is adjacent to a school
or park.
5. Private Streets – Private streets shall be designed and constructed to the same standards as
public streets. Any gated entrances shall also meet the requirements of Section 2.05.K.
6. Public Ways – Public ways shall be designed and constructed to the same standards as public
streets and shall meet the design criteria of a commercial collector (Type C thoroughfare)
unless otherwise allowed under Subsection a below. Public ways shall be privately
maintained, shall be dedicated to public use, and shall not be gated.
a. A public way can be reduced to the design criteria of a Type F thoroughfare if the owner
agrees to prohibit parking on the public way and to actively enforce such prohibition.
The parking prohibition shall be recorded on the plat and shall be clearly posted along the
public way.
Section 2 – Thoroughfare Design Requirements May 2012 Page 2-2