STREETSCAPE STANDARDS MANUAL __________________________________ ______________ Approved, Director of Public Works Date March 2006 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS Table of Contents PAGE Chapter PART 1-Purpose 5 1. Introduction 6-7 2. Utility Undergrounding Policy and Landscaping Policy for New Construction Projects 8 3. Streetscape Districts and Standard Types 9 4. Streetscape Maps 10 4.1 Street Classification 11 4.2 City Gateways 12-13 4.3 Designated Boulevards 14 4.4 Historic Districts 15-16 4.5 Commercial Districts 17-18 4.6 Office Park/Industrial 19-20 4.7 City Interstate Gateways 22-22 PART 2 23 5. Streetscape Standards 24 5.1 Street Name Signs 25 5.2 Sign Posts 26 5.3 Traffic Signal Poles/Cabinets/Signal Heads 27 5.4 Traffic Signal Pole Types 28 5.5 Street Light Poles 29 5.6 Street Light Fixtures 31-31 Revised 3/16/06 2 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS Table of Contents PAGE 5.7 Utility Fixtures 32 5.8 Guardrails 33 5.9 Pavement Types 34 5.10 Curbs & Gutters 35 5.11 Sidewalk 36 5.12 Crosswalks 37 5.13 Bike Lanes 38 5.14 Landscaping 39 5.15 Trees 39 5.17 Street Cross-Sections 40 5.171 Minimum Arterial Standards 41 5.172 Arterial Standards with Bike lanes 42 5.173 Minimum Collector Standards 43 5.174 Minimum Residential and Non-Residential Local Street Standards 44 5.175 Minimum Residential Route and Alleyway Standards 45 6. Specific Districts 46 6.1 Downtown 47 6.2 Ghent- 21st , Colley Avenue 48 6.3 East Beach 49 6.4 Broad Creek Renaissance 50 Revised 3/16/06 3 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS Table of Contents PAGE 6.5 Fort Norfolk 51 6.6 Bayfront Residential 52 6.7 Five Points 53 6.8 Fairmont Park 54 6.9 ODU 55 6.10 Wards Corner A, B 56-57 Appendix 58 A. Landscape Restrictions 59-62 B. Site View Guidelines 63-64 C. Approved Street Trees 65-76 D. Norfolk Telecommunications Policy 77-79 Revised 3/16/06 4 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS Part 1 PURPOSE Founded in 1692, the City of Norfolk has population of 241,000 residents and is the cultural, educational, business, and medical center of Hampton Roads, Virginia. The City proudly boasts over 120 unique neighborhoods and a vibrant downtown. The City is experiencing a tremendous revitalization with new residential and commercial development which is drawing tourists and attracting new residents to the city. The City’s slogan “Come Home to Norfolk where life is celebrated daily” is truly evident. Street design is an integral part of creating attractive neighborhoods to entice people to “Come Home to Norfolk”. Streetscape features, such as street lights, trees and landscaping, and street furniture can contribute to the unique character of a block or entire neighborhood. Streets should be designed to balance the needs of all users, and streetscape design is critical to this balance. The movement of automotive traffic and transit vehicles, pedestrian and bicycle pathways, areas for public interaction, and areas for placement of street trees and landscaping all need to be considered when deciding standards. In order to provide guidelines and standards for the City to be used by City staff, developers, contractors, and the Virginia Department of Transportation, the City Charter (Section 54) authorizes the Director of Public Works to promulgate streetscape standards. Working in partnership with other stakeholder agencies, including the Division of Parks & Forestry, the Department of City Planning & Community Development, and the Norfolk Redevelopment & Housing Authority NRHA, the Department of Public Works established the streetscape design manual. The manual provides guidelines and establishes minimum standards for a coordinated and consistent streetscape treatment for roadways throughout the City of Norfolk. This Manual is not intended to supersede City Council approved plans and standards established for specific designated areas which are incorporated herein by reference. Revised 3/16/06 5 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS INTRODUCTION This Streetscape Manual establishes minimum standards in streetscape construction for the City of Norfolk. The standards are established for a matrix of street types and streetscape districts and establish standard criteria for materials to be used while permitting flexibility for enhanced designs for specific situations. Street types used in this manual are as follows: (Map 1) • Arterials consist of highways designed for connecting the major districts of the city and adjoining cities, and for movement between the freeway and collector system. Arterials may secondarily serve the function of providing access to abutting property. • Collectors As stated in the City’s General Plan, collectors consist of highways designed to collect or distribute traffic between arterials and local streets, and to provide access to abutting property. • Locals consist of highways designed to provide direct access to abutting property. • Interstates consist of multi-laned, divided highways for high-speed, relatively long-distance travel, providing access only at grade separated intersections. Streetscape Districts are broken down into twelve separate classifications: • City Gateways are primary access points where traffic enters the community. (Map 2) • Neighborhood/Commercial gateways are primary access points where traffic enters into a neighborhood or commercial area, or are central areas where a commuting drive can be developed. • Designated Boulevards are areas with wide streets and medians dividing the directional traffic lanes. (Map 3) • Downtown are streets in the downtown area reflected in the general plan. There are separately developed downtown streetscape standards. • Historic Districts are districts listed in the National Historical registry or locally designated. (Map 4) • Residential areas designated in the general plan and zoning for neighborhood land usage. • Commercial Districts are areas with a concentration of commercial activities. (Map 5) ♦ Office Park/Industrial are collector and local streets with a concentration of office buildings or industrial offices. (Map 6) ♦ Interstate/Interchange are the points where the interstates intersect with local streets. • City Interstate Gateways are areas where the interstate system enters the community. (Map 7) ♦ Neo-Traditional is a multi-use, walkable community with moderate to high residential densities and mixed use core. Revised 3/16/06 6 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS ♦ Specific Districts are all special districts where there are specifically tailored streetscape standards not covered above. The standards provided by this manual represent a visual of how the City streetscapes should look and subject to budget constraints are to be applied to any new construction by the City or private developers. (The standards will be applied within the budget constraints at the time of installation (construction or maintenance/replacement).) Also, these standards shall be applied according to the current street classification at the time of construction and not the proposed street classification. Maintenance and repair material shall be based upon retaining the existing, in place, standards for particular streets. It is not intended that maintenance/repair budgets bear the burden of improvements beyond the existing standards. However, on a selective basis or where there is little or no added cost, maintenance and repair may be used to upgrade streetscapes. Upon issuance of these standards, it is expected that all current and future construction will abide by the streetscape policy manual within fiscal constraints. Revised 3/16/06 7 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS UTILITY UNDERGROUNDING POLICY AND LANDSCAPING POLICY FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS A. Utility Underground Options: Defined as options to improve appearance by removing utility lines. The option or combinations of options used on new construction projects will be determined by the budget targets listed in paragraph B. 1. Move the lines back from the edge of the street 2. Underground Secondary Lines a. When crossing the street (transverse lines) b. At intersections c. Along corridors 3. Underground Primary Lines a. Along the corridor b. At intersections 4. Underground All • Project Budget Targets: The following represent guidelines on the percentage of road construction project budgets to be devoted to streetscape related items. The intention is to typically spend up to the amount listed for streetscape items. Components Budget Limits (% of project cost) Streetscape Undergrounding Up to 5% Landscaping Up to 10% Street Lighting Up to 5% Road Construction Remaining 80% or more Revised 3/16/06 8 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS STREETSCAPE DISTRICT AND STANDARD TYPES Streetscape Districts Arterial Collector Local Interstate City Gateways X Neighborhood/Commercial Gateways X X Designated Boulevards X X Downtown X X X Historic District X X X Residential X X X Commercial Districts X X Office Park/ Industrial X X Interstate/ Interchange X Interstate/ Gateway X Specific Districts X X X Neo-Traditional X X Revised 3/16/06 9 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS STREETSCAPE MAPS Revised 3/16/06 10 STREETSCAPE STANDARDS E L I Z A B E T H STREET CLASSIFICATION R WILLOUGHBY I V E R L A BA Y F A Y E T T ED E G E W A T E R H A V E N Streets R I V E R CO LL M E A Y S A O B Y C RAB N CREE K C R E REEK E C K Interstate NI TI G T N K LL Arterial MI L A F A Y Collector E T T E TH E S AVEN Revised 3/16/06 E A T H H A G U O E N RT H ETT A F AY E L R B AN CH RI R V E I R V C E R H E S A W A Y N E P S O U T C H R E E E R K N E B R A A N C H K E E A E L I S Z A T B E E R T H O I N S P TC O C REEK R I V E R EK R E A C AR ESC P B R A N C H E L I Z W A B E T H L I T N T L E L A K