§ 5.4. Street Names and Signs.  


Latest version.
  • a.

    General Rules.

    1.

    Street names must be submitted to the City for review and approval in accordance with the City's adopted policy for the naming of streets. Proposed street names shall be submitted for review along with (and as a part of) the construction plat application, and shall become fixed at the time of approval of the construction plat.

    2.

    On the final plat, street names shall not be changed from those that were approved on the construction plat unless special circumstances have caused the major realignment of streets or a proposed street name(s) is discovered to have already been used elsewhere in the City, ETJ or in the same zip code (or some other similar eventuality). If additional street names are needed for the final plat, then they must be submitted for review and approval by the City, along with the final plat application.

    3.

    A fee may be established by the City for the changing of street names after approval of the construction plat.

    4.

    The property owner shall provide payment for street name signs for the development (two signs for four-way intersections, and one sign for three-way intersections). The cost of each street name sign installation shall include the cost of the sign assembly, pole and all costs associated with installation. Payment by the property owner will be due prior to acceptance of the subdivision by the City. The City will provide and install all street name signs unless otherwise directed.

    5.

    Street name signs shall be installed in accordance with the City's guidelines before issuance of a building permit for any structure on the streets approved within the subdivision.

    b.

    Street Naming Protocol.

    1.

    Use only accepted suffixes (see table below).

    2.

    Homonyms for street names are not acceptable. Any combination of words that can be homonyms with acceptable suffixes are not allowed. For example, Park Way, or High Way.

    3.

    Street/Road names should be unique and not repeated in the same zip code in as the City (75160) or in the County from this point forward, with the exception of continuation of existing streets.

    4.

    The City and the County may develop a list of acceptable or recommended names for use in its jurisdiction. If there are duplications on such lists or another Municipality or the County has utilized the name within the 75160 zip code, the name will be removed from the acceptable or recommended list of street names.

    5.

    Within the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) of around the City, streets/roads will be named using City names, not County road numbers. Outside the ETJ boundary, County road numbers will be used. Street names, rather than County Road numbers, will be used for internal roads in County subdivisions (per Interlocal agreement establishing the Terrell Subdivision Regulations as adopted in the ETJ).

    6.

    In the unincorporated area any road that serves as an access to multiple properties must be named. Multiple properties accessing a single point from a County Road may not use the single access point as a common address.

    7.

    Continuous roads should have continuous names (with the exception of circle roads). Names should not change at the City limits but should continue to the ETJ boundary before changing to a County Road or State Highway designation.

    8.

    Street names must be simple to pronounce. Foreign words or spelling shall not be used in lieu of the English word or spelling.

    9.

    The names of corporations or businesses shall not be used as street names unless approved by the City Council.

    10.

    Cardinal directions cannot be used in the name. Directions are used only to designate the portion of an existing road in which case the direction shall be abbreviated so as not to be confused with the actual street name, i.e., N. Main Street, etc. (not acceptable - North Main Street, North Street, Northstar Drive, North Star Drive, etc.).

    11.

    No objectionable terms shall be used for street names.

    12.

    Numerical addressing will not change from the current process.

    13.

    All names shall be of the commonly accepted spelling according to a standard dictionary (ex.: Smith is acceptable, Smyth or Smythe would not be acceptable unless the name has historical significance and Smith has not been used elsewhere and is subject to approval by the City).

    14.

    Street names cannot contain any punctuation or special characters. Only alphabetical symbols A through Z, and numbers 0 through 9 and blank spaces may be used in street names. Maximum length of a street name is 18 characters including blank spaces and directional designations.

    15.

    Anytime that a street makes an abrupt directional change of approximately ninety degrees or more, the street name shall change. A directional change of approximately ninety degrees shall mean a horizontal curve where a reduction in the design speed or complete stop is required (i.e. a sharp turn vs. a sweeping curve).

    16.

    Street names shall not continue where the street tees into another street then jogs over and continues where the offset exceeds one hundred (100') feet. The continuation of the street shall have another name designation.

    17.

    Existing street names shall continue across intersections and roundabouts.

    18.

    These are meant to be minimum standards for street naming within the City's jurisdiction. The primary objective is to provide clear street names for citizens and for emergency dispatch to minimize the possibility of emergency personnel being unable to find a location. The City reserves the right to reject names that are deemed not in the best interest of public safety or image of the City.

    19.

    These rules apply to new streets or roads and are not meant to be retroactive.

    20.

    Any suffixes not listed in the Table below are not acceptable.

    21.

    Abbreviations for all acceptable suffixes shall be those abbreviations adopted by the US Postal Service in USPS Publication 28, Appendix C as amended.

    c.

    Standard Table of Suffixes.

    Alley Alleys are service roads and are not named. Alley is not an accepted suffix
    Arch Not an accepted suffix
    Avenue A roadway or thoroughfare that is continuous and not limited to a single subdivision
    Bend Not an accepted suffix
    Boulevard Street with a landscaped median dividing the roadway
    Canyon Not an accepted suffix
    Causeway Not an accepted suffix
    Circle Discouraged but allowed, at the discretion of the City. Specifically, a looped street that terminates on the same road at two points is discouraged, particularly in situations where confusion may arise to emergency responders due to duplicate intersection descriptions
    County road Used to designate roads numerically in the County only
    Course Not an accepted suffix
    Court Permanent dead-end street or terminating in a cul-de-sac. Must physically connect to the main collector after which it is named, i.e., Griffith Court shall connect to Griffith Avenue
    Cove Not an accepted suffix
    Crescent Not an accepted suffix
    Crossing Not an accepted suffix
    Drive A curvilinear street
    Expressway Not an accepted suffix
    Freeway Not an accepted suffix
    Highway Used to designate State or Federal roads only
    Junction Not an accepted suffix
    Landing Not an accepted suffix
    Lane Minor street within a subdivision
    Loop Not an accepted suffix (see circle)
    Parkway A thoroughfare designated as a collector or arterial, with a median reflecting the parkway character implied in the name
    Place Permanently dead-end street, terminating in a cul-de-sac, or short through street. Must physically connect to the main collector after which it is named, i.e., Griffith Place shall connect to Griffith Avenue
    Point Not an accepted suffix
    Quay Not an accepted suffix
    Road A designated thoroughfare
    Run Not an accepted suffix
    Street The common or default suffix
    Terrace Permanent dead-end street, terminating in a cul-de-sac, or short through street. Must physically connect to the main collector after which it is named, i.e., Griffith Terrace shall connect to Griffith Avenue
    Trail Limited to use on non-vehicular trails and recreational trails. An exception would be for historical uses that include the suffix of trail, such as "Overland Trail." Not allowed for new vehicular streets
    Turnpike Not an accepted suffix
    Walk Not an accepted suffix
    Way A curvilinear street
    Plaza, Mall, Square, Walk All reserved for non-motorized areas and paths