The Carson City Regional Transportation Commission voted unanimously on Sept. 24 to direct staff to develop an Access Management Plan that would address missing guidance in city code on driveway spacing, auxiliary-lane sizing, median turn restrictions and network connectivity.

Casey Sylvester, transportation and traffic engineer, told the commission that access management — the organization of side streets and driveways to optimize how vehicles enter and exit roadways — improves safety and travel-time reliability. He said several important categories are not currently consolidated in Carson City code and recommended staff prepare either code text for missing sections or an access-management policy to augment existing code.

Commissioners discussed the tradeoffs between adopting code amendments versus a policy approach. Chair Bagwell and others emphasized the need to avoid conflicts between traffic impact studies and code requirements and suggested the policy should provide clear thresholds and limits so staff can apply consistent decisions. Commissioner Maloney and others noted network connectivity has been an objective in prior development discussions (for example, Anderson Ranch) but had not been required by code; the plan would clarify expectations.

Commissioner Greg moved to approve staff recommendations to develop the plan; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously. Staff will draft potential code amendments and policy options and return to the RTC for input before any changes go to the Board of Supervisors.