(a)

Purposes.

(1)

The following standards are designed to encourage pedestrian and bicycle mobility that can reduce dependency on the automobile, reduce the number of daily trips by single occupancy vehicles, and preserve the capacity of existing roadways while reducing parking demand. Consideration shall be given to alternative transportation modes, bicycle and pedestrian ways, and paths through the development design process.

(2)

This Section is intended to ensure that pedestrian and bicycle access is available to serve uses that need and benefit from such access.

(b)

Sidewalks and walkways.

(1)

Sidewalks are required along all streets adjacent to a building site, except in the LI, Light Industrial District.

a.

Sidewalks shall be five (5) feet in width in multifamily, mixed-use, and commercial districts, or eight (8) feet in width if installed adjacent to a curb.

b.

Sidewalks built in all other districts shall be four (4) feet in width.

c.

The construction specification of sidewalks will conform to the Standards and Specifications for Public Improvements, Town of Mancos, Colorado, 1998, on file with the Town.

d.

Existing development that does not have a sidewalk along a frontage where a sidewalk would be required pursuant to this Section shall install a sidewalk at such time where combined site and structure redevelopment total sixty percent (60%) of the building permit value of the structure as of August 1, 2019.

(2)

All development in multifamily, mixed-use, and commercial districts shall provide a connected pedestrian walkway system as follows:

a.

There shall be a walkway from the perimeter public sidewalk to the principal building entrance.

b.

Where there are multiple entrances, pedestrian walkways or sidewalks shall connect all primary building entrances and must be provided along any facade featuring an entrance that exits into a parking area or travel lane.

c.

Pedestrian walkways shall also connect all on-site common areas, parking areas, storage areas, open space, and recreational facilities.

d.

Where a sidewalk is not required by Paragraph (b)(1), a walkway may be provided that is surfaced in pavers, bricks, colored or patterned concrete, gravel, or other methods approved by the Town to enhance pedestrian safety and the attractiveness of the walkway.

(Ord. No. 751, § 1, 11-13-2019)

(a)

Dedication. Trail easements or rights-of-way shall be dedicated in accordance with the Town of Mancos Comprehensive Plan and Trails Master Plan. Trail construction is not required of an applicant.

(1)

Where a proposed subdivision includes portions of the Mancos River or Chicken Creek, a minimum twenty-five-foot easement or public right-of-way outside and adjacent to the normal river channel shall be dedicated for trail purposes.

(2)

Trails in the Town must be designed as multi-use trails and conform to the following standards:

(3)

If an applicant believes that pedestrians do not need or nor will they benefit from access across or to a project, a written request for interpretation per Section 16-19-3, may be submitted to the Zoning Administrator, describing the use and explaining why pedestrian access should not be required as a condition of the building permit for the proposed use.

(b)

Certificate of occupancy or escrow.

(1)

No certificate of occupancy shall be issued until the requirements of this Section are met.

(2)

Alternatively, and at the discretion of the Town, an escrow for the estimated construction costs of the required sidewalk may be deposited with the Town.

(Ord. No. 751, § 1, 11-13-2019; Ord. No. 761, § 1, 10-28-2020)

(a)

Circulation plan required.

(1)

All new developments and redevelopment in the Town, except for new detached and attached single-family residential uses with fewer than three (3) dwellings, shall require a circulation plan.

(2)

The circulation plan shall address street, pedestrian, and bicycle connectivity; emergency and service vehicle access; parking movements; accommodation of loading operations; turning radii; traffic calming measures where future "cut-through" traffic is likely; and similar issues.

(3)

The circulation plan shall identify how bicycle and pedestrian paths shall connect to existing facilities on adjoining projects and/or to paths, trails, and routes.

(4)

The Zoning Administrator may waive the requirement for a circulation plan for redevelopment or infill development or on a case-by-case basis in the event that a new development is expected to have no impact upon circulation or proposes no change in existing circulation patterns. This provision shall not be construed to exempt development that includes additional parking, driveways, or substantial modifications to the existing pedestrian network.

(5)

A circulation plan shall be submitted with a site plan or preliminary plat.

(b)

Traffic impact mitigation.

(1)

Applicability of traffic impact analysis requirement. The transportation system for new development shall be capable of supporting the proposed development in addition to the existing and future uses in the area. Evaluation of system capacity shall be undertaken through a traffic impact analysis (TIA), that should consider the following factors without limitation: Street capacity and level of service; vehicle access and loading; on-street parking impacts; the availability of transit service and connections to transit; impacts on adjacent neighborhoods; and traffic safety including pedestrian and cyclist safety. A TIA shall be required with applications for development review and approval when:

a.

Trip generation during any peak hour is expected to exceed two hundred fifty (250) trips per day or more than one hundred (100) trips during any one-hour peak period, based on traffic generation estimates of the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Trip Generation Manual (or any successor publication); or

b.

A TIA is required by the planning and zoning commission or Board as a condition of any land use application approved pursuant to the requirements of this Code; or

c.

The Zoning Administrator may require a TIA for:

1.

Any project that proposes access to a street with Level of Service "D" or below (as determined by the most current version of the Transportation Research Board's Highway Capacity Manual);

2.

Any application for a rezoning or specific plan review;

3.

Any case where the previous TIA for the property is more than two (2) years old;

4.

Any case where increased land use intensity will result in increased traffic generation; or

5.

Any case in which the Zoning Administrator determines that a TIA should be required because of other traffic concerns that may be affected by the proposed development.

(2)

Traffic impact analysis and development review process.

a.

A scoping meeting between the developer and the Zoning Administrator shall be required prior to the start of the TIA in order to determine the parameters of the study. This may be conducted as part of a pre-application meeting. The Zoning Administrator shall define the vicinity of the TIA study in as limited a geographic area as is feasible to make adequate traffic determinations for the project. Where a larger boundary is necessary to make adequate traffic determinations, the town shall work with the applicant to provide traffic information and perform such modeling as is necessary to study the area outside of the project vicinity.

b.

The TIA shall be submitted with the applicable development application.

c.

When access points are not defined or a site plan is not available at the time the TIA is prepared, additional studies may be required when a site plan becomes available or the access points are defined.

(3)

Traffic mitigation measures.

a.

The applicant shall, as part of the TIA, recommend measures to minimize and mitigate the anticipated impacts and determine the adequacy of the development's planned access points. Mitigation measures shall be acceptable to the Zoning Administrator and may include, without limitation: An access management plan; transportation demand management measures; street improvements on or off the site; placement of proportionate pedestrian, bicycle, or transit facilities on- or off-site; or other capital improvement projects such as traffic calming infrastructure or capacity improvements.

b.

Following Town approval of the TIA, developer and Town shall enter into an agreement specifying the implementation program and timeframe for the required traffic improvements and identifying mitigation requirements where the project construction timeframe varies from the anticipated traffic improvement timeframe.

(Ord. No. 751, § 1, 11-13-2019)

(a)

Street standards. All streets shall meet the design standards of the Chapter 11 of the Town of Mancos Municipal Code, and shall be consistent with the transportation element of the Mancos Comprehensive Plan.

(b)

Street connectivity.

(1)

Purpose. Street and block patterns should include a clear hierarchy of well-connected streets that distribute traffic over multiple streets and avoids traffic congestion on principal routes. Within each development, the access and circulation system should accommodate the safe, efficient, and convenient movement of vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians through the development, and provide ample opportunities for linking adjacent neighborhoods, properties, and land uses. Local neighborhood street systems are intended to provide multiple direct connections to and between local destinations such as parks, schools, and shopping. These connections should knit separate developments together, rather than forming barriers between them.

(2)

Residential streets.

a.

Residential streets shall be laid out so that use by through-traffic will be discouraged. Traffic-calming techniques such as diverters, neck-downs, street gardens, and curvilinear alignments are encouraged to reduce speeds and cut-through traffic.

b.

Should topography or other constraints require the use of straight streets that extend more than six hundred (600) feet without being punctuated by cross streets, an oblong median, traffic-calming device, or similar feature shall be used to slow traffic and break-up the "runway" appearance.

c.

To the maximum extent practicable, streets shall be arranged to follow the natural contours of the site.

(3)

Vehicular access to public streets and adjacent land.

a.

All development shall provide public street connections to all existing, proposed or preliminary platted adjacent public streets.

b.

If there are no adjacent public streets, subdivisions and/or site plans shall provide for connections along each boundary abutting adjacent vacant land for future connections spaced at intervals not to exceed one thousand (1,000) feet for arterials, or six hundred sixty (660) feet for other street types.

c.

When connections to surrounding streets are required, public right-of-way shall be dedicated and streets developed pursuant to existing paved rights-of-way. The Town may also require temporary turnarounds to be constructed for temporary cul-de-sacs between development phases.

(4)

Cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets discouraged.

a.

The design of street systems shall use through-streets. Permanent cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets shall only be used when topography, the presence of natural features, and/or vehicular safety factors make a vehicular connection impractical.

b.

All permanent dead-end streets shall be developed as cul-de-sacs and extend no further than six hundred sixty (660) feet.

c.

All cul-de-sacs shall conform to the requirements of the present adopted International Fire Code.

d.

Half streets (i.e., streets of less that the full right-of-way and pavement width) shall not be permitted except where such streets, when combined with a similar street (developed previously or simultaneously) on property adjacent to the development, creates or comprises a street that meets the right-of-way and pavement requirements.

e.

Whenever cul-de-sac streets are created, at least one (1) eight-foot wide pedestrian access sidewalk shall be provided, to the maximum extent practicable, between each cul-de-sac head or street turnaround and the sidewalk system of the closest adjacent street or pedestrian pathway. This requirement shall not apply where it would result in damage to or intrusion into significant natural areas such as stream corridors, wetlands and steep slope areas. The pedestrian access sidewalk will be dedicated to the Town and maintained as part of the sidewalk system.

(Ord. No. 751, § 1, 11-13-2019; Ord. No. 761, § 1, 10-28-2020)