Site conditions: road right of ways

It is critical that your project team understands the function of adjoining land uses and the activity that occurs in and around your retrofit site. Once an initial desktop assessment of the site is complete, the next step is to assess site conditions in order to confirm your assessment, determine the technical feasibility of implementing LID practices within the municipal road right of way (ROW), (i.e., the existing drainage conditions and general ROW characteristics), and identify and confirm any existing constraints.

Site specific constraints, considerations, and conditions that can be identified during a field visit include:

• Road type
  • Local residential road
  • Residential collector road
  • Local industrial road
  • Industrial collector road
  • Minor arterial road
  • High density commercial road

• Local landscaping features and the landscape aesthetic of surrounding site area

• Overhead or underground utilities

• Utility lines not marked in the drawings

• Traffic patterns or safety concerns - how could the LID practice assist in traffic calming?

• Parking volume and location

• Encroachment issues – are there structures or features, such as fences, present?

• Paved boulevard areas

• Irregular surface drainage patterns, ponding, or lack of conveyance

• Adjoining land use – what activities are present that could impact ROW retrofit design, construction, or maintenance (i.e. excess garbage)?

• Use of the site – do residents use the ROW site to access other amenities, such as a transit shelter?

• Current maintenance practices within the ROW

• Are mature trees present? Could they impact construction, operations, and maintenance of the LID feature?

• Project support –property owners might choose to get involved in LID, but renters might not be inclined

Low Impact Development. A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

A road on which traffic movement and access to property have similar importance.

A road primarily for through traffic.

Movement of water from one location to another.