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Can the City require a vehicular guard rail between properties?

Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
516
Location
Lincoln
A concerned citizen has reported that there is no vehicular barrier that would prevent someone from driving over the edge. The 2009 IBC does not require a guard rail for areas that are more than 5 feet away from walking surfaces. To my knowledge, there is nothing in the current Design Standards that would require a vehicular guard or visual barrier.Although I agree that the situation looks precarious, I am thinking that there is nothing that would require these property owners to do anything about the potential danger.Thoughts?

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BayPointArchitect said:
A concerned citizen has reported that there is no vehicular barrier that would prevent someone from driving over the edge. The 2009 IBC does not require a guard rail for areas that are more than 5 feet away from walking surfaces. To my knowledge, there is nothing in the current Design Standards that would require a vehicular guard or visual barrier.

Although I agree that the situation looks precarious, I am thinking that there is nothing that would require these property owners to do anything about the potential danger.

Thoughts?
Did your jurisdiction adopt appendix J? No barricade requirement but slope constraints. Who created the drop? Is it a cut or fill?
 
That's just what we need a standard for incompetent motor vehicle operators.

A municipality if regulated would have such in site / land development standards but not likely to be a building code issue as per diagram.

No Walking surface, and if we are not able to construct potentially dangerous to the feeble of mind how would Jack*ss and Americas Funny videos make a living?
 
BayPointArchitect said:
The 2009 IBC does not require a guard rail for areas that are more than 5 feet away from walking surfaces.

Thoughts?
I don't find this language in the 2009 - could you reference a code section for the 5 feet away part...?
 
BayPointArchitect said:
A concerned citizen has reported that there is no vehicular barrier that would prevent someone from driving over the edge. The 2009 IBC does not require a guard rail for areas that are more than 5 feet away from walking surfaces. To my knowledge, there is nothing in the current Design Standards that would require a vehicular guard or visual barrier.

Although I agree that the situation looks precarious, I am thinking that there is nothing that would require these property owners to do anything about the potential danger.

Thoughts?
I have seen provisions for something like this either in zoning regulations or in developmental and mixed-use agreements where the risk was assessed at the planning/civil engineering phase. Zoning would be your best bet at this point.
 
Architect1281 said:
That's just what we need a standard for incompetent motor vehicle operators. A municipality if regulated would have such in site / land development standards but not likely to be a building code issue as per diagram.

No Walking surface, and if we are not able to construct potentially dangerous to the feeble of mind how would Jack*ss and Americas Funny videos make a living?
Accommodations for the intellectually disabled?
 
More of a Planning & Zoning issue. It should have been addressed when the original site plan maps were presented to the Planning Commission.
 
A concerned citizen
Maybe they need to re-take their drivers test. It looks like a drive up window lane, how fast will a driver be going? There is a curb and the concerned citizen wants a guardrail to run into.
 
mtlogcabin said:
how fast will a driver be going?
It might depend on the franchise. We have Jimmy John's (delivers sub-sandwiches) franchises here, and they are 'so fast you'll freak' (slogan)...but not sure if that translates to the drive-thru lane as well.
 
BayPointArchitect said:
Design Standards...Thoughts?
Public Works/Civil Engineering Department might have an adopted design standard you may be able to reference. Still I believe it would be a very difficult road to travel to require a guard rail at this juncture. Perhaps if there were actual cases of vehicular endangerment, you could make a case for public safety...still a stretch.
 
What about the interstate system, it does'nt have a guardrail through out?

I could go off the road and my wife would never miss me and start dating that golf pro again.

pc1
 
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