Much of the debate leading up to the March 2015 adoption of new subdivision regulations for Kenton County focused on new street construction standards. Last month, eight months after that action, a 22-acre subdivision along Shinkle Road in Crestview Hills became the first subdivision to see streets constructed to these new beefed-up standards.
The subdivision, named Crown Point, will create 42 single family lots and approximately 2,300 feet of new public concrete streets that will become the maintenance responsibility of the city when finished. Work began on the subdivision in July of this year and areas were readied for paving in November.
“This is the first subdivision—and likely the only one this year—to benefit from the new street standards,” said Scott Hiles, CPC, PDS’ director of infrastructure engineering. “Being that this was the first development approved under the new regulations, there were a few bumps along the way. That was to be expected. In the end though it all came together and there’s no reason this street shouldn’t last its complete design-life and beyond.”
About 1,300 feet of new street was constructed that will allow the first 16 homes to begin construction, according to Hiles. Crown Point will be the site for a Home Builders Association Home Show in the spring of 2016. Work to complete the remaining 1,000 feet of street will likely also begin in the spring.
The new street design standards that were adopted as part of the subdivision regulations represent a marked increase over street design standards in the past. A few of the new street design regulations include the following:
1. greater pavement cross-slope to keep storm water in the gutter section and ultimately the catch basin instead of on the street surface where it could infiltrate beneath the street causing it to fail;
2. skewed contraction joints instead of ones directly perpendicular to the street that ensures impact from only one vehicle wheel load at a time;
3. crushed (angular) limestone within the concrete mix for better aggregate interlock at the joints as well as helping to ensure better pavement freeze-thaw resistance;
4. greater subgrade cross-slope as well as an edge drain along both sides of the street to keep surface and ground water draining toward the edge of pavements and away from directly beneath the pavements;
5. increased testing requirements for soils supporting the streets which serve as the foundations beneath every street pavement; and
6. mandatory geotechnical explorations for every subdivision that focus on providing the proper materials and methods for every street to help ensure longevity.
The new regulations were developed by the Kenton County Planning Commission and staff with extensive input and participation from multiple stakeholders around several overriding goals. The first of which—and arguably the most important—was to create “Greater taxpayer protection through new street design standards” to combat the problems of new streets that fail prematurely.
The new Kenton County Subdivision Regulations may be found on the PDS website.