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City of Providence
City of Providence Zoning Ordinance
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§ 1407

DRIVEWAY DESIGN

1407 DRIVEWAY DESIGN

  • A. Driveway Design When new areas of pavement do not require a building permit, the owner must obtain a zoning certificate for compliance indicating conformance to all provisions of this Ordinance.

  • 1. Residential Driveways: Excluding Multi-Family and Rowhouse Dwellings

    a. A residential driveway that provides access to a garage or parking area is limited to a maximum width of 12 feet. A driveway apron, the width of the garage, as measured from the garage walls, is permitted to extend for a distance (depth) of 20 feet from the garage doors before tapering back to the required driveway width for access to the additional spaces.

    • b. A residential driveway may be shared by adjacent lots. This shared driveway location is only allowed if agreed to by the owners of each lot, and the agreement is recorded as a shared driveway easement on each plat of survey.

  • 2. Multi-Family and Rowhouse Dwellings, and Non-Residential Driveways With the exception of loading berths, driveways are limited to a maximum width of 12 feet for oneway drives, and a maximum of 24 feet for two-way drives.

    • B. Curb Cuts

      1. Curb cuts shall be required to provide access to parking areas from the public right of way. All curb cuts require approval of the Department of Public Works and the Traffic Engineer.

  • 2. Single-family, two-family, and three-family dwellings are limited to one curb cut. Each dwelling unit in a rowhouse dwelling is permitted no more than one curb cut.

  • 3. All other uses are limited to one curb cut per street frontage. Additional curb cuts are permitted on a street frontage as long as there is at least 100 feet of street frontage for each curb cut. In the case of frontage on an alley, additional curb cuts are permitted as long as there is at least 50 feet of alley frontage for each curb cut.

    • C. Cross-Access Easements

      1. Adjacent non-residential uses, including mixed-use development, with dedicated parking areas are encouraged to provide a cross-access drive to allow circulation between sites. Property owners are encouraged to pursue cross-access with adjacent property owners at the time of development. If cross-access is provided, the Department of Public Works and Traffic Engineer may require that the property owner provide proof that adjacent property owners have been contacted in writing regarding the provision of cross-access. (Figure 14-4)

  • 2. Joint use driveways and cross-access easements shall incorporate the following: a. Bump-outs and other site design features to make it visually obvious that the abutting properties are tied together.

    • b. A unified access and circulation plan for shared parking areas.

  • 3. Pursuant to this section, property owners who establish cross-access easements shall: a. Record an easement allowing cross-access to and from properties served by the joint use driveways and cross-access easement.

    • b. Record an easement that remaining access rights along the roadway shall be dedicated to the City, and that any pre-existing driveways shall be closed and eliminated after construction of the joint-use driveway.

    • c. Record a joint maintenance agreement defining the maintenance responsibilities of each property owner.

  • 4. Property owners who establish cross-access easements are eligible for shared parking reductions in accordance with Section 1411.