Transportation System Plan 2018-2038

In addition to the access m anagem ent standards id entified above, an agreem ent between the Oregon Transportation Com mission and the City of Medfor d stipulated access m anagem ent conditions in the vicinity of the new South Medford interchange. This agreem ent requires preparation of an access managem ent plan and an interchange managem ent plan that must be adopted by the City of Medford. These plans can also be incorporated into a future update of the City ’s Transportation System Plan . The managem ent plans will “protect the function of (the) interchange to provide safe and efficient operations between connecting roadways and to minimize the need for major improvements of existing interchanges”12. As a condition of receiving OTIA funding for the South Medford interchange, the City is also required to develop land use and subdivision ordinances that address access control m easures and signal spacing standards consistent with the functional classification of roads, and standards to protect the future operation of state highway s. Progress towards developm ent of these ordinances m ust be m ade prior to contracting for intercha nge construction. Draft access m anagem ent and signal spacing standards are currently under developm ent by the City ’s Public Works Departm ent as discussed below. Along City/County Streets in Medford UGB As noted above under the discussion of state highway access, the Medford Public Works Departm ent is currently preparing m odifications and additions to ex isting standards for incorporation into Chapter 10, Article IV (Public Im provem ent Sta ndards and Criteria) of the City ’s Land Development Code . These changes are expected to provide m ore detailed information related to street intersection design and spacing, driveway spacing, and traffic signal spacing. When com pleted and adopted, these standards will guide developm ent of access based on specific street classification and/or vehicle speeds. The City of Medford currently has provisions in its Land Development Code related to access managem ent that are intended to ensure that the traffic-m oving function of higher order arterial and collector streets is not unduly com promised by frequent property access or side street intersections. Access m anagem ent enhances safety and provides m aximum capacity for accom modating the higher volum es of traffic ty pically using the arterial and collector street system . Current code includes provisions that address intersection spacing, driveway location and access design, intersection design, provision of shared driveway s between parcels, intern al vehicle circulation between parcels off the city street, and the use of m edians to lim it vehicle m ovem ent at driveway s or intersecting streets to right- in/right-out operations where necessary . The City should utilize access m anagem ent, including access location and spacing, as a strategy to increase the capacity and safety of the transportation sy stem . Access m anagem ent strategies that could be implem ented based on individual assessm ents of need during street design engineering or land developm ent review m ight include: raised m edians, access m anagem ent plans, driveway consolidations, driveway relocation and closure of driveway access. Level of Service Standards The City will continue with its existing Level of Serv ice D standard for m ajor/m inor arterial and collector streets as the threshold for determ ining when street im provem ents or developm ent m itigation for traffic impacts will be required. See Table 3-4 for a description of service levels. It should be noted that state highway deficiencies ar e not determ ined on the basis of m eeting or exceeding level of service standards. According to the Ore gon Highway Plan, state highway s are evaluated on the basis of m eeting or exceeding standards based on volum e-to-capacity ratios. These ratios and their applicability to the state highway s in the Medford UGB are discussed in Chapter 3. 12 Staff Report to Oregon Transport ation Com mission on OTIA project s, ODOT, page 3. Medford Transportation Syst em Plan 5-26 Street Plan