AGENDA DATE: 5/6/2020
TITLE:
Title
Sidewalk Maintenance Agreements
BODY
SUBJECT/PROPOSAL/REQUEST: Consideration of (a) a Comprehensive Sidewalk Maintenance Agreement between the County and VDOT and (b) agreements between the County and Responsible Parties for sidewalk maintenance
ITEM TYPE: Regular Action Item
STAFF CONTACT(S): Richardson, Walker, Kamptner, Herrick, Filardo, Pohl, McDermott
PRESENTER (S): Kevin McDermott, Andy Herrick, Frank Pohl
LEGAL REVIEW: Yes
REVIEWED BY: Jeffrey B. Richardson
BACKGROUND: Objective 4 of the Transportation Chapter (Chapter 10) of the County's Comprehensive Plan is to "(s)trengthen efforts to complete a local transportation system that includes access to pedestrian and bicycle facilities." Specific strategies provide additional detail on construction and funding of pedestrian facilities. This item is being brought to the Board of Supervisors to further those efforts.
The County frequently works with developers through the public street approval process to ensure that new streets are accepted for maintenance by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). VDOT's policy and design standards are detailed in its Secondary Street Acceptance Requirements (SSAR). The SSAR requires adequate pedestrian facilities ("sidewalks") on most secondary streets. In most cases, those sidewalks are located within rights-of-way dedicated to the County and ultimately maintained by VDOT. County staff routinely directs developers toward this preferred alternative.
However, circumstances occasionally place those sidewalks outside of a VDOT-maintained right-of-way. Many projects have already undergone a series of reviews, or possibly construction, with sidewalks located outside of the right-of-way, and cannot be altered without significant cost to the developer.
In these circumstances, VDOT also accepts maintenance of streets whose sidewalks are outside rights-of-way as long as sufficient agreements can ensure the sidewal...
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