Policies – General Practices

• Encroachment or Obstruction
  The Road Commission prohibits and, if necessary, removes any encroachments or obstructions in the county road right-of-way that might impact the safety and convenience of the motoring public. Such removal is at the owner's expense. The encroachments and obstructions range from vegetation to oversized mailboxes or posts (see mailbox policy).

• Establishing Realistic Speed Controls
  www.michigan.gov/msp/0,1607,7-123-1593_25680_25802-87384--,00.html

• Irrigation and Sprinkling Systems
  While irrigation and sprinkling are, at times, necessary, when the spray reaches the traveled portion of a roadway, it can create a hazardous condition. The Road Commission, therefore, prohibits the installation of irrigation or sprinkling systems in the road-right-of-way except by permit and then only in landscaped areas of boulevards and the center islands of turn-arounds. Systems whose spray stretches out onto a road surface must be modified.

• Mailboxes, Supports and Newspaper Boxes
  In the interest of travelers' safety, the Road Commission requires that mailboxes, newspaper delivery boxes and their support structures meet certain specifications. The policy is consistent with U.S. Postal Service rules and regulations.

• Private Roads
  The Road Commission recommends that township boards of trustees develop and adopt ordinances or policies for private roads that require layout and design standards to be equal to or greater than those as set forth by the policies of the Road Commission. Further, the Road Commission requests that each township require by ordinance or policy a standard stop sign as a traffic control device at each location where the private road connects to the public road system.

• Public Road Specifications and Requirements
  The Road Commission's policies deal with the acceptance of new roads into the county public road system. These requirements and specifications apply only to areas outside the corporate limits of incorporated cities and villages in Kalamazoo County of to lands within the incorporated areas that are adjeacent to public highways under the Road Commission's jurisdiction. A copy of the Procedures, Guidelines and Specifications for Developing New Public Roads is available at: [ More ]

• Winter Construction
  Because it is extremely difficult to properly and safely maintain traffic when certain construction is carried out within the road right-of-way during the winter months and because satisfactory restoration of the traveled surface and adjoining areas likewise is challenging at that time of year, the Road Commission restricts subsurface construction during the winter season. However, the policies do provide for emergency situations.