The city of Starkville is looking to implement new access standards for its roadways, which could affect future developments.

City Engineer Edward Kemp said a draft of the policy, presented at Friday’s work session, is a “first stab” and a starting point for discussion about access management in the city.

Access management’s primary goals are to increase the overall safety of Starkville’s transport system, to minimize congestion and to reduce the number of curb cuts or entry points into roadways, Kemp said — which, in turn, should reduce the number of conflict points along a road.

Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill said the policy, if it takes effect, will codify some of the things the city would like to see projects consider. To this point, she said, the city has only been able to offer suggestions.

“We’ve got engineers that are doing projects and they’ll say, ‘We want to do this, or, ‘We want to do that’ and Edward will say, ‘Well, we suggest this,'” she said. “But then they go, ‘Where is this in the code? Where is this in the policy?’ We don’t have one.”

Kemp described access management as a balancing act between access to businesses and safety.

“We do have a lot of roadways and we do have a lot that are already at capacity in some situations, and unfortunately we have a lot of roadways where there’s already a lot of access,” Kemp said.

The proposed policy, which is based on the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s guidelines, would reduce access point spacing to one per 200 feet along a frontage, with exception to lots that are used for single-family or agricultural purposes. It also allows for two one-way driveways to serve a commercial property within that 200-foot limit, as long as they have a minimum separation of 25 feet.

The policy also places a 125-foot minimum distance between access points and intersections to avoid impeding traffic flow.

Kemp said the policy sets out to improve safety, without limiting access to businesses.

“As one goes up, the other goes down, so trying to find that middle point where the balance is right is really where the public policy comes into it,” he said.

Starkville’s draft policy also address other matters, such as the width of driveways in certain areas, or the distance a driveway must be from a nearby lot to avoid encroaching onto adjacent property.

The draft policy lays out provisions that are in line with similar cities in Mississippi. Oxford, Brandon and Olive Branch require 300 feet of separation between access points, while Cleveland allows two per 300 feet and Biloxi requires 250 feet. Madison and Tupelo require 200 feet, as Starkville’s draft policy does.

Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.

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