New Jersey Administrative Code
Title 16 - TRANSPORTATION
Chapter 47 - STATE HIGHWAY ACCESS MANAGEMENT CODE
Subchapter 2 - ACCESS CLASSIFICATIONS
Section 16:47-2.1 - Definitions
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Words in the singular shall include the plural and words in the plural shall include the singular where the context so requires.
"Access application" means documents submitted to the Department to initiate the access permit process.
"Access classification" means an identification system for regulating access to all State highways, based on function, environment, and traffic characteristics. A change in the function, surrounding environment, traffic characteristics, speed limit, or desirable typical section may be a basis for changing the access classification and associated access level.
"Access envelope" means the segment of a lot or site frontage on a State highway within which a driveway may be located pursuant to an access management plan.
"Access level" or "AL" means the allowable turning movements between a State highway and a lot or site based on the access classification.
"Access management plan" or "AMP" means a plan showing where driveways can occur for each lot or site on a specific State highway segment and the identification and location of future improvements to highway capacity and operation. An AMP is developed jointly by the Department, the municipality, other interested parties, and the county, if a county road intersects the State highway.
"Access permit" means a permit issued by the Department allowing for the construction, maintenance, closure, and use of a driveway or street that provides State highway access for a lot or site, for lot subdivision, or lot consolidation.
"Adjustment of driveway" means changing the width of the curbline opening of a driveway by five feet or less, changing the location of a driveway by 10 feet or less, moving a driveway away from the centerline of the State highway (such as when the State highway is widened), or changing the elevation or profile of a driveway, in conjunction with a State highway project advanced by the Department or others.
"Administrative permit" means an access permit issued by the Department, at no cost to the lot owner and not requiring execution by the owner.
"Alternative access" means access that is provided when driveways are modified or removed as a result of actions by the Department in implementing a State highway project advanced by the Department or others and that has been administratively determined to satisfy the criteria set forth in N.J.S.A. 27:7-89et seq., and this chapter.
"Applicant" means the current owner of a lot, site, or street applying for an access permit.
"Band width" means the time in elapsed seconds between the passing of the first and last possible vehicle in a group of vehicles moving at the design speed through a progressive traffic signal system.
"Bifurcated driveway" means a single driveway with a physical island separating the ingress traffic from the egress traffic. The distance between the ingress and egress lanes shall be a maximum of 130 feet measured centerline to centerline of the curbline openings. Curb cuts separated by a distance of more than 130 feet are considered two driveways.
"Border area" means that portion of the right-of-way (ROW) that lies between the curbline and the ROW line.
"Certificate of construction acceptance" means a document issued by the Department to indicate that the applicant has satisfactorily met the construction conditions of the permit. This certificate is required in advance of using the access and obtaining a certificate of occupancy.
"Certificate of final acceptance" means a document issued by the Department, subsequent to the issuance of a certificate of construction acceptance, for all permits subject to developer agreements to indicate that the applicant has satisfactorily met all of the conditions of the permit and developer agreement.
"Channelized right turn lane" means a lane for exclusive right turns that is separated from other traffic by an island.
"Collector-distributor lane" means a supplementary lane, approximately one-quarter to one-half mile in length, designed to accommodate right-turn access to and from the State highway at more than one driveway or street and normally terminating at an intersection or an interchange ramp. Collector-distributor lanes are not intended for through traffic and are not physically separated from through lanes.
"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation or such person as the Commissioner may designate, when legally permissible.
"Conforming lot" means a lot that meets the standards for spacing between lot centerlines.
"Convenience market with gas pumps" means any facility that sells gasoline and has a building size of 3,000 square feet or less for the primary purpose of selling convenience items such as food, beverages, newspapers, and magazines, regardless of the number of fuel pumps.
"Convenient" means, as it applies to alternative access, that the route between a State highway and a lot or site is direct and does not require excessive travel time, and that any altered driveway is compatible with the business or use on the lot or site.
"Corner clearance" means the distance along the curbline between the point of curvature of the corner radius at an intersection and the point of curvature of the lot's nearest curbline opening.
"Corner lot" means a lot located at the intersection of a State highway and a street, having contiguous frontage meeting at the intersection of the State highway and street. Lots abutting a jughandle or ramp will not be considered as corner lots for the purpose of calculating conformance.
"Curbline" means the outer edge of the shoulder or paved highway furthest away from the travel lane, whether curbed or not.
"Curbline opening" means the driveway's maximum width at the curbline. If the driveway is curbed, the opening dimension is measured between the points of tangency of the driveway radii.
"Day" means calendar day, unless otherwise specified.
"Department" means the New Jersey Department of Transportation.
"Design standards" means the standards and parameters for design as contained in N.J.A.C. 16:47 Appendix E, which is incorporated herein by reference.
"Designated center" means a Center having a compact form of development with one or more cores and residential neighborhoods that has been officially recognized as such by the State Planning Commission, which is defined in the Glossary at Appendix D of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan adopted March 1, 2001. The State Development and Redevelopment Plan and related maps are available at the New Jersey Department of State, Office for Planning Advocacy website at: http://nj.gov/state/planning/plan.html.
"Desirable typical section" or "DTS" means the Department's long-range plan for State highway configurations, as shown in N.J.A.C. 16:47 Appendix B-2. Each DTS shows the number of through lanes for that highway segment.
"Developer agreement" means an agreement between the Department and another party, which outlines obligations required by an access permit.
"Direct" means, as it applies to alternative access, that the route between a State highway and a lot or site is apparent, visible, or has a limited number of turns.
"Director" means the manager of the division within the Department responsible for making access determinations, or his or her designee.
"Diverted link" means trips that are diverted from the traffic volume on roadways within the vicinity of the generator and require a diversion from those roadways to another roadway to gain access to the lot or site.
"Divided highway" means a highway separated by a physical median.
"Driveway" means a private roadway providing access between a State highway or street and a lot or site that does not exist in its own right-of-way. A driveway provides ingress, egress, or both. A driveway is not a State highway or street.
"Driveway width" means the narrowest width of a driveway measured across the driveway parallel to the State highway or street, and located between the curbline and the State highway or street ROW line.
"Edge clearance" means the distance measured along the curbline from the extended lot line to the curbline opening.
"Emergency driveway" means a driveway, which shall only be used by police, fire, and emergency service vehicles when responding to an emergency situation. Such driveways shall not include access to a police station, fire house, or emergency service facility.
"Existing use" means the permitted size and type of land use that exists, or that apparently exists, on a lot or site at the time an access application is submitted or at the time the Department notifies the lot or site owner of an access alteration. See N.J.A.C. 16:47 Appendix F-1.2, Development Description, for further information on land use.
"Extended lot line" means a line perpendicular to the highway centerline, at each end of the lot frontage, extending from the ROW line to the curbline.
"Fair share obligation" means the proportionate mitigation obligation by a lot or site owner to correct LOS violations, identified through a traffic analysis, for traffic impacts attributable to the development of the lot or site for which a permit has been requested. Mitigation may include, but not be limited to, construction of off-site improvements or financial contributions, as determined by the Department.
"Frontage" means the length of a lot line along the State highway ROW line.
"Frontage road" means a service road, usually parallel to and separated from the State highway, designed to reduce the number of streets and driveways that intersect a State highway.
"Government driveway" means an entrance or driveway exclusively serving a public school, Federal, State, county or municipal facility.
"Grandfathered permit" means the access permit assumed to exist for a lot or site with State highway access prior to September 21, 1992, if no permit has been subsequently issued for the lot or site. A grandfathered permit allows continued use of the driveway and the size and type of land use on the lot or site as of that date, and is subject to the same permit conditions had a permit been issued.
"Half-trip" means half the distance of a trip.
"Highway control" means regulation and management of the State highway system including, but not limited to, controlling access; reviewing permits for roadway openings, driveways, and utilities; reviewing all proposed geometric changes; and setting speed limits, no parking zones, and other traffic controls.
" In-kind replacement" means complete or partial removal of a driveway within the State highway ROW and reconstruction of the driveway at the exact same location, with the exact same dimensions, geometric design, and materials. To be considered in-kind replacement, no relocation or change in dimensions or materials, such as adding a curb where none exists, can occur. In-kind replacement may require a highway occupancy permit pursuant to N.J.A.C. 16:41.
"Inscribed circle area" means the border area along the circumference of the outer edges of the circulatory roadway of a roundabout.
"Interchange" means a grade-separated system of access to and from State highways where vehicles may move from one roadway to another without crossing mainline traffic streams.
"Intersection" means the location where two or more State highways, or a combination of a State highway and a street, cross at grade. A driveway may be an approach to an intersection, but will not be considered a street.
"Jughandle" means an at-grade ramp provided at or between intersections to permit motorists to make indirect left turns and/or U-turns. Jughandles exit from the right lane of a highway in advance of an intersection with a street (forward jughandle), or past the intersection with a street (reverse loop jughandle). Jughandles may also serve driveways.
"Jurisdiction" means highway control or maintenance responsibility. Jurisdiction may be permanent or temporary, as in the case of streets within the construction limits of Department projects.
"Level of service" or "LOS" means the operating conditions along a State highway or street or at a particular intersection. LOS designations range from a "best case" of "A" to a "worst case" of "F" and reflect factors, such as speed, travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, and delay.
"Limited access highway" means a State highway, especially designed for through traffic, to which abutting lot owners have no right to access.
"Lot" means a single tax map parcel.
"Lot centerline" means the mid-point of the State highway frontage of the lot.
"Lot consolidation" means the combination of two or more tax map parcels, at least one of which fronts a State highway.
"Lot owner" means the owner of the lot as per the deed. A lot owner may be a private or public entity. The term does not include a contract purchaser, tenant, developer, or holders of easements or licenses.
"Lot subdivision" means the division of a tax map parcel into two or more tax map parcels, at least one of which fronts on a State highway.
"Maintenance" means the continuous work or in-kind replacement required to repair or service a driveway, street, State highway, or structure due to deterioration, and to preserve its general character without alteration in any of its component factors.
"Major access application" or "major access permit" means an access application or permit for a lot or site with an expected two-way traffic volume of 500 or more daily trips between it and a State highway.
"Major with planning review access application" or "major with planning review access permit" means an access application or permit for a lot or site with an expected two-way traffic volume of 500 or more daily trips and 200 or more new trips in any peak hour between it and a State highway.
"Major traffic generator" means a use that generates 500 or more daily trips between a State highway and a lot or site.
"Maximum trip limits" mean the greatest number of trips per A.M., P.M., or weekend peak hours permitted between a State highway and a nonconforming lot or site.
"Median" means a physical feature that divides a State highway and separates traffic traveling in opposite directions.
"Median opening" means a paved area between opposing directions of a divided State highway. A median opening is designed to permit traffic to cross at least one direction of travel.
"Midblock lot" means a lot with frontage on a State highway that is between two other lots that have frontage on a State highway.
"Milepost" means the location along a State highway as identified in the Department's Straight Line Diagram utilizing the primary direction for that State highway.
"Minor access application" or "minor access permit" means an access application or permit for a lot or site with an expected two-way traffic volume of less than 500 daily trips between it and a State highway.
"Modification of driveway" means changes to driveways in conjunction with the implementation of a State highway improvement advanced by the Department or others, with Department approval, which changes the number of driveways, the width of the curbline opening of a driveway by more than five feet, or the location of a driveway by more than 10 feet. It includes replacing all ingress or all egress between a State highway and a lot or site with ingress or egress via a private easement on a different lot or site; or elimination of ingress, egress, or both between one State highway and a lot or site, while still providing ingress, egress, or both between a different State highway and the lot or site. Modification of driveway does not refer to changes made by a lot or site owner to his or her own driveway.
"Nonconforming lot" means a lot that does not meet the standards for spacing between lot centerlines and is subject to maximum trip limitations. Any lot on a State highway designated AL 2 in N.J.A.C. 16:47 Appendix B- 2 shall be considered a nonconforming lot.
" Non-State highway access" or "NHSA" means access between a public street and a lot or site. The access can be either across the lot or site's property lines, by way of a permanent easement across an adjacent lot, or by a private street to the public street. An emergency driveway shall not constitute non-State highway access.
"Pass-by" means a trip made as an intermediate stop at a lot or site on the way from an origin to a primary trip destination, without a route diversion.
"Peak hour" means the 60 consecutive minutes during which the highest traffic volume occurs along a State highway or street, or through a driveway. Generally, there is an A.M. and P.M. weekday peak hour and one weekend peak hour.
"Pre-application meeting" means an advisory meeting between a lot or site owner or their representative and Department representatives before the submission of an application.
"Ramp" means, as it applies to measuring conformance of lots, a turning roadway that connects grade separated highways or streets. Ramps are usually one way.
"Reasonable access to the general system of streets and State highways" means access between a State highway or a public street and a lot or site, either across the lot or site's property lines or across adjacent lots or sites' property lines via an easement.
"Removal of driveway" means the removal of all ingress between a State highway and a lot or site or all egress between a State highway and a lot or site, or both.
"Reverse frontage" means frontage on an access road constructed at the rear of a lot or site fronting a State highway.
"Revised access permit" means a driveway access permit that has been issued to reflect changes to a lot or site's driveway while still maintaining State highway access. Where the revisions to existing and grandfathered driveway permits are initiated by the Department, or others with Department approval, the revisions will be documented through the issuance of an administrative permit.
"Revocation" means termination of an access permit by the Commissioner, when all State highway access is removed after a determination that alternative access will be available for use at the conclusion of the highway project.
"Right -of-way" or "ROW" means property and property rights, including border areas, with defined boundaries intended for use as a State highway or street.
"Right -of-way line" or "ROW line" means the outer edge of a State highway or street, separating the State highway or street from each abutting lot or site.
"Rural area" means any area of the State that is not within Planning Area 1, Planning Area 2, or a designated center whose boundaries are shown on the approved maps of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan available at the New Jersey Department of State, Office for Planning Advocacy website at: http://nj.gov/state/planning/plan.html, or rural areas within the Pinelands Area, the Hackensack Meadowlands District, or the Highlands Region.
"Setback" means the distance between the ROW line and permanent structures.
"Shared driveway" means the only driveway between a State highway and two or more adjoining lots or sites. A shared driveway may be located on one of the lots or it may straddle the lot line between two lots. A lot or site with a shared driveway may also have non-State highway access.
"Shoulder" means the portion of the roadway between the edge of the travel lanes and the curbline, generally intended to accommodate stopped vehicles or emergency use.
"Significant increase in traffic" means an increase of 100 or more trips in any peak hour, measured cumulatively from the last executed permit or, if applicable, grandfathered volumes established for the lot or site.
"Single -family residence and business driveway" means a driveway serving a combination of private residence and business uses with an expected two-way traffic volume of less than 500 daily trips between a State highway and a lot or site. The operator of the business shall be the occupant of the residence.
"Single -family residential" means a lot either with one single -family residential unit or vacant and zoned for one single -family residential unit.
"Site" means the use of more than one lot for a development, such as a shopping center or an office complex, where the lots are contiguously situated and function interdependently, in whole or in substantial part, for purposes of site circulation. Ownership of the lots may be by one or more parties. The combination of the lots will be treated as one lot for purposes of determining conformance.
"Specialty retail center" means a shopping center consisting of a maximum of 20,000 total square feet, with a minimum of two shops. Centers of this type generate low traffic volumes and include tenants, such as real estate offices, dance studios, and florists. Centers with high traffic generators including, but not limited to, fast food restaurants with or without drive-thru windows, banks, delicatessens, and post offices, shall be classified as shopping centers. This definition supersedes the definition found in ITE's Trip Generation Manual. Lot or site owners applying for a specialty retail designation shall be required to deed restrict the lot from high traffic generating uses and provide the Department with a copy of the restricted deed before the permit is executed.
"Splitter island" means a raised or painted area on an approach to a roundabout used to separate entering traffic from exiting traffic, deflect and slow entering traffic, and provide a refuge area for pedestrians crossing the road in two stages.
"State highway" means a thoroughfare under highway control by the State or under State jurisdiction.
"State highway access" means a driveway on a lot or site, or an easement over an adjacent lot or site's frontage, that allows for vehicular movement between a State highway and a lot or site.
"Street" means any improved thoroughfare other than a State highway, which serves more than one lot or site and exists within its own right -of-way, separate from the lot or site it serves. Typically, connections are provided along its length with other streets as part of an established roadway master plan. Streets can be either publicly or privately owned. A paper street, which is shown only on a municipal plan or tax map and does not exist physically, is not considered a street until it is constructed.
"Street application" or "street permit" means an application or permit for closing a street, changing the number of lanes on a State highway or on an existing street intersecting a State highway, or constructing a new street intersecting a State highway.
"Street closure" means the elimination of access, both ingress and egress, between a State highway and a street. This usually involves the creation of a cul-de-sac or dead end on the street being closed. Closure of a public street requires the adoption of an ordinance for street vacation by the governing body having jurisdiction over the street and subsequent approval of the ordinance by the Commissioner.
"Substantial completion" means that all work is complete, with the exception of landscaping items listed in the specifications of the particular contract, removal of soil erosion and sediment control measures, final cleanup, and repair of unacceptable work.
"Sufficient design" means, as it applies to alternative access, that the alternative access route, the alternative access driveway, and any necessary on-site circulation improvements have been designed to applicable standards, and can carry the size, type, and volume of traffic for the existing use as of the date of notice to the lot or site owner.
"Super convenience market/gas station" means any facility that sells gasoline and has a building size greater than 3,000 square feet for the primary purpose of selling convenience items such as food, beverages, newspapers, and magazines, regardless of the number of fuel pumps.
"Temporary driveway permit" means a permit for time-limited access for a specific lot or site, use, and estimated volume of traffic. Such uses may include, but are not limited to, site preparation (when done separately from construction of access pursuant to a permit) and environmental testing/monitoring.
"Thoroughfare" means a State highway or a street. A thoroughfare is not a driveway.
"Traffic impact study" means a report that identifies and analyzes the impact of all traffic being generated by a lot or site utilizing a State highway, regardless of how the traffic accesses the State highway system, in both the build and no-build condition. The report includes an analysis of mitigation measures and a calculation of fair share obligation.
"Travel demand management plan" means a set of strategies and policies intended to alleviate traffic problems through improved management of trip demand. The plan is structured to reduce the use of single occupancy vehicles or to encourage travel during less congested time periods.
"Trip" means a single or one direction vehicle movement, with either the origin or the destination (entering or exiting) inside a lot or site.
"Trip limit" means the number of vehicle trips between a State highway and a lot or site.
"Urban area" means an area of the State that is included in Planning Area 1, Planning Area 2, or a designated center whose boundaries are shown on the approved maps of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan available at the New Jersey Department of State, Office for Planning Advocacy website at: http://nj.gov/state/planning/plan.html, or an area within the Pinelands Area, the Hackensack Meadowlands District, or the Highlands Region.
"Valid permit" means a permit for which a certificate of construction acceptance has been issued by the Commissioner. For permits involving a developer agreement, a certificate of final acceptance must also be issued by the Commissioner. Grandfathered permits are considered valid permits. When no construction by the applicant is involved, permits become valid upon execution by the Commissioner.
"Waiver" means the Department's intentional relinquishment of its right to wholly enforce provisions of this chapter. A waiver may either reduce or eliminate requirements.
"Well-marked" means, as it applies to alternative access, that generic signage directs motorists both to and from a State highway and the business or use on the lot or site.
