1999 Eugene Arterial & Collector Street Plan

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Arterial and Collector Street Types and Functions In general, the primary function of arterial streets is to provide a high degree of vehicular mobility; however they also serve a secondary role to provide land access. Arterial streets are used as primary bicycle, pedestrian, emergency response routes, and transit routes. Some major arterials are freeways or expressways, which have unique geometric criteria for their design and function. Because their characteristics necessitate separate design standards, they are not addressed in this document. In general, the primary function of collector streets is to assemble traffic from the interior of ari area and deliver it to the closest arterial street. Collectors provide for both mobility and access to property and are designed to fulfill both functions. They usually serve shorter trip lengths and have lower. traffic volumes than arterial streets. Collector streets are also used as important emergency response routes and are frequently used as transit routes. Arterials and collectors are divided into several sub- classifications: • Major Arterials • Minor Arterials • Major Collectors • Neighborhood Collectors Major Arterials: Major arterials are the primary "arteries" for intra-urban travel. They provide for through travel movements and for travel from the city to outside destinations. One of the key charac- teristics of urban major arterials is the high degree of connectivity they provide within the urban area. These streets and highways connect various parts of the region with one another and with the "outside world", and serve as major access routes to various regional destinations. The design of major arterials typically limit property access and on-street parking to improve traffic capacity for through traffic. In Eugene, major arterials typically have four or more lanes, sidewalks and planting strips, striped bicycle lanes, and raised median islands or two-way left turn lanes. Minor Arterials: Minor arterials also provide a high degree of vehicular mobility in that they connect nearby rural areas to cities and function within cities as conduits for a large proportion of intra- urban trips. They provide the next level of urban connectivity below major arterials. Minor arterials sometimes provide intra-regional connectivity; in most cases their main role tends to be serving intra- city mobility. In Eugene, a typical minor arterial contains two lanes plus a center turn lane, bike lanes, planting strips, and sidewalks. Some minor arterials are only two lanes wide, while others contain up to 4 lanes plus turn lanes or median islands. On-street parking is provided on some minor arterials. Major Collectors: Major collectors assemble traffic from the interior of an area and deliver it to the closest arterial street. These streets provide for both mobility and land access to property and are designed to fulfill both functions. Major collectors are found in residential, commercial and industrial areas. Major collectors frequently have continuous left turn lanes and are normally provided with sidewalks, planting strips, and striped bike lanes; provision for on-street parking varies by location. Major collectors may be designed with raised medians to reduce conflicts, provide a pedestrian refuge, restrict turning movements, limit land access, or to furnish an aesthetic separation be- tween traffic lanes. Neighborhood Collectors: Neighborhood collectors are found only in residential neighborhoods and provide a high degree of access to individual properties. This street type does not apply to com- mercial and industrial areas, nor to most multifam- ily residential areas. As a rule, both right-of--way and paving widths are narrower than major collec- tors. Left turn lanes are only infrequently used on neighborhood collectors, and then only at intersec- tions with higher volume streets. Neighborhood collectors are required to have sidewalks and planting strips. A great deal of flexibility exists for on-street parking on this street type. On most neighborhood collectors, bicycles share the travel lane with other motor vehicles, eliminating the need for striped bicycle lanes. Exceptions to this can occur in situations where traffic volumes or speeds, roadway geometry, or other factors suggest that striped lanes will provide a safer design. 4