elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council

Chapter 10: Development Management Guidelines and Standards
• Loading spaces may be enclosed within a structure, and must be if located within 15m of the
curtilage of the residence where the use involves regular night operation.
• There shall be appropriate means of access to a street or road as well as adequate manoeuvring
space.
• The maximum width of driveway openings at the street boundary shall be 7.6 metres and the
minimum width shall be 3.6 metres.
Loading facilities shall be provided and maintained as long as the use exists. All reasonable precautions
shall be taken by the owner or occupier to assure availability of required facilities to the delivery and pickup
vehicles. The Planning Authority may modify the requirements of loading and unloading facilities in
any specific case where it appears that it would be in the interests of the proper planning and sustainable
development of the areas to do so.
It is important to identify areas for loading bay adequate to meet local business requirements and in order
to assist with traffic flow in towns such as Castlerea.
10.23.2 Heavy Vehicles
The indiscriminate parking of heavy commercial vehicles or machinery in residential areas detracts greatly
from the amenities of these areas and traffic safety concerns. The Planning Authorities will co-operate
with all other bodies that exercise control over this type of parking, to eliminate the nuisance created.
10.23.3 Cycle Facilities
Cycle routes and bicycle parking shall be well provided for in new office, residential, retail and
employment generating developments. The National Manual for the Design of Cycle Facilities in Urban
Areas (2006) will be the basis for informing the design of cycle facilities. All long-term (more than three
hours) cycle racks should be protected from the weather. From a security viewpoint cycle racks should not
be located in out-of-the-way locations and shall be conveniently located, secure, easy to use, adequately lit
and well posted.
10.24 TRANSPORT (To be read in conjunction with Chapter 4 of this LAP and Chapter 6 of
the RCDP, 2008 - 2014)
In order for the road network to fulfil its primary function in an era of rapid growth in car ownership and
freight movement, it will be necessary to limit the number of accesses and junctions to the network.
Failure to do so would result in:
• Traffic hazard and congestion;
• Reduction in carrying capacity;
• High maintenance costs;
• Inadequate return on public investment.
The Council will not approve a proposal that will create a serious traffic hazard. The positioning of the
access, the ability to obtain adequate sight lines and the number of existing accesses and junctions on the
stretch of road will all be taken into account. The standard of sight lines required will vary according to
the type of road. In siting and designing the access, existing hedgerows and trees should be retained where
possible. The replacement of hedgerows removed with indigenous species will be viewed favorably by the
Council. Car parking standards (Table 14) will also be required to ensure that proposals do not result in
cars or delivery vehicles parking on the public road.
Elphin Local Area Plan 2009-2015 Page 144