ENTRANCE PERMITS - POLICY
Background
A driveway or an entrance is an access right that is given to the landowner by the authority in charge of the particular road. The Ministry of Transportation gives permits for driveways on Provincial Highways and the County of Grey grants permits for driveways on County Roads. Entrances onto Township roads must therefore be approved by the Township of Georgian Bluffs.
Purpose
It is the responsibility of the Township to control the number and type of entrances onto Township roads. This policy is meant to provide Township staff with guidance in the areas of issuing, formatting, and cancelling entrance permits.
Terms
The Township of Georgian Bluffs Operations Department will consider the following criteria when reviewing all applications for new entrances or alterations to entrances:
- Protection of the public through the orderly control of traffic movements onto and from Township roads, including possible requirements for left and/or right turning
- Maintenance of the traffic travelling on Township
- Protection of the public investment in Township
- Minimizing Township expenditures on the maintenance of private
- Providing legal access onto Township roads from adjacent private
- Reduce future maintenance problems and reconstruction
1. Entrance permits are required for:
- Construction of a new entrance (paved or unpaved)
- Changing the design of an existing entrance
- Changing the location of an existing entrance
- Changing the use of an existing entrance (i.e. from residential to commercial)
- Construction of a temporary entrance or the use of any part of the right-of-way as a means of temporary access
- Paving of an existing entrance
- Construction of an off-road parking area
2. Definitions:
- Field entrance: Provides access to agricultural
- Farm entrance: Provides access to farm buildings and agricultural
- Residential entrance: Provides access to residential facilities of four units or
- Commercial/Industrial/Institutional entrance: Provides access to a business where goods or services are manufactured or sold to the public and includes, as well, residential facilities of five or more
- Temporary entrance: Provides access to properties for a limited period not to exceed six months for the purpose of construction, repairs or improvement on that property or to facilitate a staged
- Emergency access: Provides access to subdivision developments for emergency vehicles only, in the event that the access to the development is not Adequate measures are to be incorporated in the emergency access to prevent (adequately discourage) use by private residents or delivery vehicles.
- Public entrance: Provides access onto a Township road from a registered subdivision by means of a public road or The Township will have the right to dictate the access point of this entrance and the construction design.
- Off-road parking area: Provides a parking area along a Township road for a property that cannot gain yearly access from a Usually reserved for locations with steep slopes and small lot sizes.
3. Location of Accesses:
The proposed access location is to be clearly illustrated on a sketch that is to accompany the application for an access permit.
The sketch must provide enough information to enable staff to locate it on the property, i.e. dimensions to existing buildings and/or landmarks like fences, hedgerows, tree lines, etc.
The Township may restrict the placement of an access onto a Township road in the interest of public safety. New accesses must be located so as to provide, in the opinion of the Roads Supervisor:
- No undue interference with the safe movement of public traffic, pedestrians, or other users of the
- Favourable vision, grade, and alignment conditions for all traffic using the proposed access to the Township
In general, new entrances will not be permitted at the following locations:
- Along a lane that is identified for the purpose of an exclusive vehicular turning
- In close proximity to intersections and bridges (minimum of 50 metres in 80 km zone for intersections).
- Where the following minimum sight distance requirements are not met:
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Speed limit
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Minimum sight distance
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50 km/hr
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120 m
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60 km/hr
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140 m
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70 km/hr
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160 m
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80 km/hr
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180 m
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90 km/hr
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200 m
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In measuring the sight distance, the following standards will be used:
- The driver’s eye level is defined as 05 metres (3.5 feet) above ground.
- The height of the object (representing the roof of a vehicle) is defined as 3 metres (4.25 feet) above the road surface.
- For vehicles entering the roadway, visibility is measured from the driver’s eye level, at a point set back 3 metres from the edge of pavement of the through land, in both
An entrance adjacent to a bridge or other structure, which may interfere with the clear vision of traffic using the entrance, must be located as follows:
- A commercial entrance in an area where the speed limit is 80 km/hr or more must be located at least 145 metres (475 feet) from the end of the deck of the bridge or from the nearest part of the structure, which actually interferes with the clear vision of traffic using that
- A residential, farm or field entrance in an area where the speed limit is 80 km/hr or more must be located at least 30 metres (100 feet) from the end of the deck of the bridge or from the nearest part of the structure which actually interferes with the clear vision of the traffic using that entrance.
- In areas where the speed limit is less than 80 km/hr, the Roads Supervisor may restrict the location of an entrance to that distance from the bridge or other structure that he deems
4. Design Standards:
- Entrance Grade and Backslope (For All Entrances)
The finished surface of the access must drop away from the edge of the roadway-driving surface to the end of the shoulder rounding at a rate equal to the slope of the shoulder. The entrance slope is determined by the depth of the ditch:
- Where the depth of the ditch is 1 metre (3 feet) or less, a 3:1 slope is
- Where the depth of the ditch is more than 1 metre (3 feet), a 2:1 slope is
- Rock fill slopes are calculated at 1.25:1.
Shall be surfaced with at least 150 mm (6”) pit run gravel (Granular “B” and 30 mm (2”) Granular “A”) and where a culvert is required, its length must be sufficient to provide the required slope from the ditch invert to an entrance width of 5 metres. A minimum cover on the culvert is to be 300 mm (12”).
Required upgrading of a field entrance to a farm or residential entrance is at the discretion of the Roads Supervisor and requires an entrance permit.
- Farm or Residential Entrance
Shall be surface with a minimum of 150 mm (6”) crushed gravel (Granular “A” and 150 mm (6”) pit run gravel (Granular “B”)). Where a culvert is required, its length must be sufficient to provide the required slope up from the ditch invert to an entrance width of 5.0 metres.
A minimum cover on the culvert is to be 300 mm (12”).
- Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Entrance
Shall be surfaced with hot mix asphalt and where a culvert is required, its length will be dictated by the entrance design which will be site specific, having regard for the number and type of vehicles expected to utilize the entrance. A minimum cover on the culvert is to be 300 mm (12”).
Shall be surfaced with a depth of 300 mm minimum Granular “B” material and 150 mm minimum of Granular “A”. The area must be sloped at a 3% grade away from the edge of the road.
The parking area can be either parallel or at right angles to the road and will be at the discretion of the Operations Supervisor.
The parking stall dimensions will vary depending on the size of vehicle, but must not exceed a length of 7.5 metres and a width of 4.0 metres.
This area is not for the temporary or permanent storage of building materials, boats, recreational vehicles or unlicensed automobiles.
No curb or headwall can extend above the surface of the roadway shoulder within the limits of the shoulder and its rounding. All curbs and headwalls are constructed at the sole expense and risk of the applicant.
Property owners having access to a Township road are fully responsible for the maintenance of the access including the surface (gravel, asphalt, concrete, etc.) as well as the removal of snow and ice and keeping the portion of the access within the right-of-way in a safe condition for vehicular traffic. Once a new entrance is installed which requires a culvert, the property owner will be responsible for the maintenance of the culvert and drainage through the culvert, along with any replacement of the culvert due to age, heaving, etc.
Each entrance to a Township road must be designed, constructed, and maintained in a manner that will prevent surface water from the entranceway or from the adjoining property being discharged via the entrance onto the traveled portion of the roadway.
Where curb and gutter exists at the location of the proposed entrance, the applicant will be required to construct a drop curb at the entrance location. The existing curb shall be cut or removed and replaced using materials and construction methods acceptable to the Roads Supervisor.
The area between the curb and sidewalk is to be paved with hot mix asphalt, concrete or paving stones, in accordance with the Township’s requirements. If there is no sidewalk, the entrance is to be paved a distance of two metres behind the curb.
- Temporary/Emergency/Public Entrance
The design and construction of temporary/emergency and public entrances must be submitted to, and approved by, the Township and an access permit issued prior to work commencing on the entrance within the limits of the road allowance of a Township road or any works related to said entrance.
Temporary entrance permits will not be issued for access to unopened road allowances without a specific agreement between the property owner and the Township stating terms of access.
- Number and Width of Accesses
It will be the policy of the Township of Georgian Bluffs to:
- Limit the width of accesses to discourage the construction of entrances wider than that required for the safe and reasonable use of the
- Limitthe number of accesses to a property to the number required for the safe and reasonable access to the Township road and in general, conformity with the following:
- Residences: one entrance per property except where it is deemed to be safer with a circular
- Farm buildings: one per farm except in exceptional
- Field: one field entrance per farm with additional field entrances where natural obstructions within the field prevent reasonable access from across the
- Commercial/industrial: maximum of two entrances with a minimum spacing of 30 metres between
- Filling in Drainage Works
Filling in the drainage works in front of properties will be discouraged by the Township and only allowed in special circumstances through a property-specific agreement with the Township.
The Township will make reasonable attempts to maintain existing road grades during road reconstruction as not to alter the grades of private driveway entrances. The Township reserves the right to reinstate paved/hardtop private driveways on Township property with the material of its choice (i.e. asphalt instead of concrete or paving stone). Existing gravel entrances will be reinstated with 5/8” crusher run to blend into the new road surface.
5. Mutual Entrances:
- Mutual (or “common”) entrances are entrances serving more than one Typically, they serve two lots, but it is not uncommon for such entrances to serve three or four lots as well.
- Because of potential ownership problems, mutual entrances are generally discouraged and should only be considered in the following situations:
- Individual entrances are not possible due to physical
- It is impractical to build a road due to the small number of lots
6. Culverts:
- Culverts are open-ended underground pipes, conveying surface storm water across a roadway (“roadway culvert”) or across an entrance (“entrance culvert”).
- Only new CSP and CSA approved plastic pipe will be
- Culverts required for new or re-designed entrances must be of sufficient diameter to maintain the free flow of water in the It must also be properly installed in order to avoid future maintenance problems. The Roads Supervisor will establish the appropriate diameter.
- When the roadway ditch is part of a municipal drain, the diameter of the culvert is subject to municipal The Roads Supervisor will establish the appropriate diameter.
- Where the upstream culvert is larger than the minimum standard, the culvert for the proposed entrance must be at least the same diameter in order to avoid
- The length of an entrance culvert is determined by the width of the entrance plus the width of the slopes on both sides of the entrance, as measured at the bottom of the
- The culvert should be placed in the centre of the roadway ditch and be embedded a minimum of 100 mm – 150 mm (4” – 6”) of granular material or dependent upon subgrade
- OPSD standards (800 series) should be used to determine the specifications of the culvert pipe (type, material, gage, ) and the bedding requirements.
- When reviewing entrance applications, it is important to do a field review, consult with the area property owners in order to:
- Identify potential flooding problems and drainage concerns;;
- Identify nearby roadway culverts; and
- Establish the size of existing upstream entrance culverts and the depth and width of the roadway
- In areas where flooding is a concern, consult with local Conservation
NOTE:
To prevent breakage or other types of disturbance to the laneway due to shoulder grading or snowplowing, the Township will not be held liable for damage done to paving stones, surface treatment, asphalt pavement or concrete pavement on the Township road allowance. Any surfacing work done by a property owner on the Township’s road allowance such as mentioned above can only be done with the Township’s approval. The use of asphalt shingles for laneway paving on the Township’s road allowance will not be allowed.
Permission must be granted from the Operations Department prior to a property owner paving from his property limits to the paved edge of a Township roadway.
7. Permit Fee:
An application for a new permanent entrance permit must be accompanied by an application fee, permit fee and deposit according to the current Fees and Rates By-law. The deposit fee will be refunded after the entrance has been installed as per the specifications noted in this policy.
An application for a new temporary entrance permit must be accompanied by an application fee, permit fee and deposit according to the current Fees and Rates By-law. The deposit fee will be refunded after the entrance has been removed and inspected by the Roads Supervisor.
- Alterations to Driveways:
An application for an alteration to an existing entrance must be accompanied by an application fee and permit fee according to the current Fees and Rates By-law. An alteration to an existing entrance will include such things as paving, widening the driveway, etc.
8. Cancellation of Permit:
Where the entrance permit is denied by Operations staff or Council, the applicant will receive a refund of all money paid except for the application fee.
Where the entrance has not been constructed and accepted by the Township within one year of the date of the permit, then the permit shall be null and void and the applicant will receive a refund of all money paid except for the application fee.
9. Retirement of Deposits
Where the applicant has not requested an inspection of a completed entrance within three years of the date of issue of the permit, the deposit will be retired into a reserve fund set aside for expenses related to the completion of unfinished entrances and the correction of improperly installed entrances. Upon retirement, Operations staff will inspect the entrance in question and complete any necessary work to bring the entrance up to municipal standards or remove the entrance entirely.
