Municipal Code

Title 17H Engineering Standards

Chapter 17H.010 Street Development Standards

Section 17H.010.050 Right-of-Way

Public right-of-way widths shall be in accordance with the city's comprehensive plan, the city’s engineering design standards or as directed by the director of engineering services. Minimum right-of-way widths are as shown in Tables 17H.010-1 and 17H.010-2. The right-of-way width varies based on the required street elements including number of lanes, on-street parking, bike lanes, medians, turn lanes, roadside swales, pedestrian buffer strips, transit needs and street trees.

Where infill development occurs on partially constructed blocks, the proposed right-of-way width shall at least match the existing right-of-way width for the rest of the block and adjoining blocks.

Private streets shall be located on a tract; street easements are not permitted. The width of the tract for private streets shall meet the minimum right-of-way widths designated in Tables 17H.010-1 and 17H.010-2.

Public rights-of-way or private tracts shall contain all street elements including paving, curbing, gutters and pedestrian buffer strips or swales in accordance with the city’s design standards.

Narrower right-of-way widths may be allowed at the discretion of the director of engineering services. Variance requests will be evaluated based on topography, traffic circulation, emergency vehicle access, zoning, existing development and on-street parking requirements.

Table 17H.010-1 Arterial Right-of-way Widths
	Right-of-way Width		Street Width
	Minimum¹	Typical	Curb to Curb
ARTERIAL (all types)
2 lanes²	60 ft	60 ft – 80 ft	Varies³
3 lanes²	65 ft	65 ft – 80 ft	Varies³
4 lanes²	75 ft	75 ft – 100 ft	Varies³
5 lanes²	90 ft	80 ft – 100 ft	Varies³
6 lanes²	100 ft	90 ft - 110 ft	Varies³
7 lanes²	100 ft	90 ft – 125 ft	Varies³
Notes: ¹Additional right-of-way may be required if roadside swales are used to control storm drainage, for bike lanes if designated on the plan, or for wider sidewalks depending on the zoning. ²Lanes can be through lanes, turn pockets, or continuous TWLTL. ³Curb-to-curb width varies depending on street features including number of lanes, on-street parking, bike lane, median and turn lanes. See Design Standards for more detail.

Table 17H.010-2 Local Access Right-of-way and Street Widths
	Minimum Right-of-way Width¹		Minimum Street Width
	Sidewalks in ROW	Sidewalks on Easements	Curb to Curb
LOCAL ACCESS
Commercial/ Industrial	60 ft.	50 ft.	36 ft.
Residential High Density²	60 ft.	50 ft.	36 ft.
Residential Standard³	56 ft.	46 ft.	32 ft.
Residential One-side Parking⁴	51 ft.	41 ft.	27 ft.
Hillside Development^4,5	40 ft.	35 ft.	27 ft.
Cul-de-sac (radius)	56 ft.	51 ft.	50 ft.
Alley⁶	20 ft.	20 ft.	12 ft.
Notes: ¹Additional right-of-way may be required if roadside swales are used to control storm drainage. ²Appropriate in areas where parking on both sides of the street is expected on a regular basis, such as apartment complexes. Refer to SMC 17H.010.070 for more information. ³Appropriate in areas where homes have street-facing garages and driveways for parking. On-street parking is used by visitors and extra vehicles. Refer to SMC 17H.010.070 for more information. ⁴Parking is allowed on one side of the street only. Refer to SMC 17H.010.120 for on-street parking requirements. ⁵Refer to SMC 17H.010.110 for more information. ⁶Alleys do not require sidewalk or curb. The widths shown apply to right-of-way and pavement width.

Date Passed: Monday, November 30, 2020

Effective Date: Sunday, January 3, 2021

ORD C35985 Section 2

Spokane Municipal Code