Transportation Development Review Information
It is the user’s responsibility to check to ensure that the most current standards are obtained from City of Vancouver sources.
The City of Vancouver’s Public Works Department provides mobility to the community by managing and maintaining the existing transportation system, including streets, traffic signals, street lighting and sidewalks. We respond to requests for traffic control, manage uses of the public right of way, protect the public investment in our transportation network and coordinate those efforts with many City departments, citizen groups and other governmental agencies.
Proper planning, design and construction of our street network are essential for providing and maintaining effective services to residents, organizations and businesses throughout the City of Vancouver.
The City’s Engineering and Construction Services and Traffic Engineering division of the Department of Public Works provide design guidelines, requirements and oversight for the development and installation of these transportation systems, which are vital to our community. Design and construction requirements and recommendations can be found in the documents below. Standard detail plans are also included.
Standard Plans
Transportation Development Review and Capital Standard Plans (Details)
Transportation Standard Plans are for the purpose of providing construction standards and requirements for city transportation projects. Engineering plans for transportation and private development projects that affect streets shall include all applicable Transportation Standard Plans. Private development civil plans require inclusion of the Transportation general notes which incorporate by reference the current Transportation Standard Plans and effective date. Capital improvement projects require the details to be part of the plans.
Street Light Materials List (.xlsx) (You will need to right click this link and Save Link As to download the file if you are logged into Office 365). Please check for most current information as this materials list will be periodically updated and may not necessarily be updated at the same time as the standard plans. Questions? Please contact trafficengineering@cityofvancouver.us.
Drafting Standards
Capital or Private Development Traffic Signal Plan Drafting Standards
The purpose of this manual is to aid consultants in the production of engineering plans for Traffic Signal contracts for Capital or Private Development Projects. The intent is to assemble all files in a consistent fashion to provide ease of use and transfer of information.
Traffic signal plans layouts (16 MB, zip) are available to download. The City of Vancouver has primarily switched signal detection from loop detection to video detection, but please contact us and check prior to starting your signal design. For scanned plans for Traffic Signal plans throughout the city and scanned Communications-Fiber Optic plans, please contact Traffic Engineering team: trafficengineering@cityofvancouver.us
Transportation Development Review Drafting Standards Manual
(within Public Right of Way and Private Streets Only)
The City of Vancouver has prepared these Drafting Standards for the Transportation Department’s review of Development Review projects. The intent is to present the developer’s engineer with comprehensive guidelines when preparing plans. The uniformity of plans will help the city in their review process thereby accelerating the review time.
Capital Transportation Drafting Standards Manual
The purpose of this manual is to aid consultants in the production of engineering plans for city contracts. The intent is to assemble all files in a consistent fashion to provide ease of use and transfer of information.
Cover, Legend and General Notes sheet and 22×34 borders templates (33 MB, zip) are available to download. Note some changes to the legend sheet along with changing the version for WSDOT specifications to 2024 which will be required after April 1, 2024. The COV MasterNew Civil 3d.dwt contains most styles including some pipe network for water, sewer and drainage.
Various Truck Turning Radius Information
Users of AutoTurn software and Autodesk’s Vehicle Tracking software can download a single zip file that contains drawing files for current truck turning radius dimensions. This includes information for the Vancouver Fire Department, garbage/recycling trucks and wastewater vactor trucks.
Vancouver Fire Department
- Fire engines (pumpers)
- Fire ladder trucks currently in use
Garbage/Recycling
- Front loader truck
- Side loader truck
Wastewater
- Vactor truck 2100
Please note that that both the City’s Solid Waste Services and Vancouver Fire Department have active roles in reviewing plans and inspecting the installation of projects in partnership with Vancouver’s Community and Economic Development. Click here for specifications and details specific to the Vancouver Fire Department.
Street System Development
Traffic Impact Fees
Traffic impact fees (TIF) are charged for development that generates additional automobile trips.
Concurrency
Concurrency, as defined by the Washington Growth Management Act, is the requirement that adequate transportation capacity be available to support development. A proposed development may not proceed if it would lower the Level of Service (LOS) of a transportation facility below the adopted standard. Transportation improvements that would bring the LOS back to the adopted standard must be reasonably funded and scheduled for completion within six years.
Concurrency helps balance the timing and sequencing of development in relation to transportation improvements, such as new streets and traffic signals. The two main parts of a concurrency program are an ordinance, which defines how concurrency is administered, and the Comprehensive Plan, which establishes transportation Level of Service (LOS) standards. Concurrency only applies to arterial streets in the City; local streets are not included in concurrency requirements.
Vancouver recently updated its transportation concurrency ordinance. The three documents at the links provided below describe the current standards, practices and procedures for the transportation concurrency program.
For more information, please contact:
Eric Hahn, PE, Senior Civil Engineer
eric.hahn@cityofvancouver.us
Phone: 360-487-7702
Fax: 360-487-7139
4500 SE Columbia Way
Vancouver, WA 98661
Files
Checklists
Transportation Civil Plan Review Checklist
City of Vancouver minimum requirements for transportation civil plan submittal.
Evergreen Highway Street Restoration Requirements
If any portion of SE Evergreen Highway is removed with utility extensions, special trench restoration and pavement restoration will be required. Most of the existing roadway consists of plain jointed Portland Cement Concrete pavement without load transfer devices. The roadway has transverse joints across the entire width with no longitudinal joint. In places, the existing PCC pavement has been covered with patches of Hot Mix Asphalt. There are also some intermittent areas where the roadway has been widened and the existing surface was removed and replaced with asphalt concrete. In general, the PCC surface is in poor condition.
Restoration Requirements – The restoration of the roadway surface should provide a maintainable facility after completion. A combination of asphalt concrete and PCC across the width of the roadway is prohibited; it shall be one or the other. Restoration shall be from transverse joint to transverse joint. The applicant shall have the option of restoring the pavement with Portland Cement Concrete or Hot Mix Asphalt.
Portland Cement restoration – The cement concrete pavement shall be (6) six inches of plain jointed cement concrete pavement over (6) six inches of crushed aggregate base. No load transfer in the joints is required The restoration shall not leave pieces of cracked concrete pavement adjacent to the saw cut at the transverse joint, but should be saw cut and repaired with current concrete pavement using the same section as identified above.
Hot Mix Asphalt restoration – The pavement section for a Neighborhood Circulator shall be used.
Control Density Fill (CDF) will not be required for trenches on Evergreen Highway as full street reconstruction will be performed.