Comprehensive Master Plan - City of Alvin

Appendix A, Land Use Supplementdetermine the required capacity of utilities to be installed by developersvia impact fees or a pro rata share of the improvement costs.• Access control goes beyond the curb‐cut approach by limiting thefrequency of curb cuts, principally on thoroughfares and collectorroadways. The distance between curb cuts is based on the classificationand design of the roadway as well as the posted speed limit. For example,this precludes lots containing single‐family detached housing fromconnecting to a major thoroughfare. It can be demonstrated that suchtechniques avoid endless turning movements that congest traffic andoften result in dangerous situations of people backing onto a heavilytraveled four‐lane thoroughfare. In rural areas, such as those in theoutlying extraterritorial jurisdiction, if the thoroughfare plan anticipatesfarm‐to‐market or county roads becoming thoroughfares or majorcollectors ‐ as they will with increased suburbanization ‐ access controlscan require initial development to access internal rather than abuttingmajor streets, which will improve safety and preserve widening optionsas suburban development occurs.A second level of access control is based on traffic volume.Developments generating a certain traffic volume would have to makeboth on‐ and off‐site improvements at identified access points. This isuseful to ensure that traffic is unimpeded and flows smoothly. Accesscontrol can be carried a step further to require dedication of additionalrights‐of‐way for thoroughfares and required off‐site improvements. Bothof these levels remain focused on transportation planning rather thanland use.Carried one step further, however, access control may provide land usecontrol. Commercial, office, and industrial uses could be prohibited fromobtaining curb cuts on minor (local residential) streets or residentialcollector roadways. This ensures that businesses would not be located inthe heart of a residential neighborhood. Since it is based on roadcapacity, there is a rational basis for the regulation. Care is needed wherethe minor streets intersect with major collectors or thoroughfares. In somecases it is more desirable to allow commercial traffic to have access to aside street rather than having multiple curb cuts on the main road. Thistype of control would be more effective in conjunction with an adoptedthoroughfare plan since there would be a visual document identifying alllevels of roads.Page A-5