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Road Standards

Municipalities need basic regulatory tools and a coordinated administrative processes to ensure a safe, functional system of local roads and driveways. Some communities have no to few standards governing the development of new roads and driveways. Others have multiple standards, found in a stand-alone road ordinance, zoning bylaws and/or subdivision regulations, which may be in conflict. Some municipalities may regulate public roads, but not private roads or driveways. The legislative body, road foreman, tree warden, planning commission, review board and/or zoning administrator may have roles in the review and permitting of new roads and driveways. The results can be confusing for everyone involved.
Road standards need to be tailored to fit local conditions. The characteristics of roads in rural, suburban and urban/village areas are and should be different. So the standards for new roads and driveways need to reflect the context of the area in which they will be constructed. Before revising or drafting new standards, it is important to have an understanding of how the community’s existing highway system functions, the amount of traffic and travel speeds on local roads, the need to accommodate non-motorized use of the roads, and current development trends.
Explore the links below for further guidance on adopting or revising municipal road standards including a sample ordinance developed to address the needs of rural Vermont towns.

 

Resources

Project Documents Downloads & Links
Road Standards chapter from the Northwest Project final report. (796 kb)

Model Highway Standards Ordinance developed by Lamoille County Planning Commission. (PDF: 408 kb / Word: 160 kb) or
Other Resources Downloads & Links

Vermont Planning Information Collaborative

(www.vpic.info)

  • Links to VTrans publications and data sources and a variety of transportation planning resources available online.

Vermont Agency of Transportation

(www.aot.state.vt.us)

  • Vermont State Standards for the Design of Transportation Construction, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation on Freeways, Roads and Streets - A web-based version of this publication with downloadable PDFs of the standard sheets.
    • A-76 Standard for Development Roads. (284 kb)
or
    • B-71 Standards for Residential and Commercial Drives. (896 kb)
or

Vermont Local Roads Program

(http://personalweb.smcvt.edu/vermontlocalroads/)

  • Road Design and Maintenance Handbook: Techniques for Reducing Flood Damage to Local Roads
  • Developing a Highway Access Policy: Guidelines and a Model Ordinance - Recommended minimum standards for the design, construction and maintenance of residential driveways and development roads which enter onto public roads.
  • Vermont Local Roads Fact Sheets - A series of fact sheets on a range of local road issues available for download or in print upon request.
  • Vermont Local Roads Publications and Video Library - Printed publications and training videos on a range of local road issues available to municipalities. Some printed materials and all videos on loan only. Copies available of some publications at no cost.

Better Backroads Program

(www.vt.nrcs.usda.gov/rc&d/bbcoverpage.html)

  • Better Backroads Manual - Details cost-effective procedures towns can use to reduce the impact of their roads on streams, lakes and wetlands. The manual is currently being updated.