Mauritius

Bus

3.0m

Lorry

3.0m

Van/Mini Bus 2.6m

1.6m

2.4m

3.25m

2.0m
Cycle

4.2m

Technical Sheet

Car 2.0m

1.0m

Industrial & Commercial Roads

November 2004
Ministry of Housing and Lands

TECHNICAL SHEET
Industrial & Commercial Roads
Vehicular Access and Layout
Individual direct access will not normally be allowed off
a motorway or other main (Class A or B) roads. Access
arrangements should be planned in conjunction with
adjoining sites and where feasible, connected to existing
major junctions.
In designing accesses for industrial and commercial
development the following requirements should be met:
Access for all road users should be in a safe location
Adequate visibility splays should be provided
Adequate vehicular turning radii should be achieved

Access gates should open inward and normally be set

back a minimum of 15 metres from the edge of the
carriageway of the road to allow vehicles to draw off
the road while waiting for the gates to open

Note that where this

symbol is placed, the
guidance provided
alongside it is
considered to be the
minimum/maximum
acceptable and
should normally be
provided.

Large industrial plots where there is a significant fire risk

may require more than one point of road access
It may be appropriate to provide a separate
pedestrian route, especially for large industrial uses
generating frequent vehicle movements.

A 7 metre carriageway is generally preferable. 6 metres

is considered an absolute minimum. It is important that
industrial premises should have direct access to roads of this
standard.
In general, culs-de-sac are not appropriate in industrial
areas due to the space requirements for commercial vehicle
turning areas. Culs-de-sac within industrial areas can cause
serious problems if they become congested or blocked. A
network of connected loop roads or grid layout can help to
avoid this problem.

keep clear
between 0.6
and 2.0m.

Sightline requirements for

different vehicles

Visibility
Traffic Speed

To enable drivers to see a potential hazard in time to slow

down or stop comfortably before reaching it, it is necessary
to consider the drivers line of vision, in both the vertical and
horizontal planes, and the stopping distance of the vehicle.

Y Dimension

50 Km/hour

70m

60 Km/hour

90m

70 Km/hour

120m

85 Km/hour

160m

verge width

x
Y

Stopping distances related to

vehicle speed

The eye level of drivers can vary from 1.05 metres above
the carriageway in a standard car to approximately 2.0
metres in commercial vehicles. Unobstructed visibility should
be provided at least between these heights above the
carriageway.
To enable drivers emerging from a non-priority road to see
and be seen by drivers on a priority road unobstructed
visibility is needed within the shaded area illustrated opposite.

DESIGN GUIDANCE Industrial & Commercial Roads

Ministry of Housing and Lands, November 2004

TECHNICAL SHEET
Industrial & Commercial Roads
For industrial roads where traffic flows are likely to be low, a
distance of 4.5 metres is the minimum X dimension necessary
to enable a driver to see down the priority road without
encroaching onto it.
Where the non priority road is likely to be busy (e.g. where it
serves as the main connection between a Main, Class A or B,
Road and an industrial estate development) an X distance of
9 metres may be required to allow following vehicles to see
down the priority road whilst slowly moving up to the junction
point, thus allowing two or more vehicles to exit in a stream.

Ensure car parking areas are

overlooked to provide natural
surveillance and enhance
security

The Y dimension will depend upon the speed of traffic on the

priority road and this is illustrated in the table on the previous
page.
X and Y dimensions of 2.4 metres should be provided where
a driveway meets the back edge of a footway. There should
be clear visibility at a level of 0.6 metres above road level in
areas where there may be children.

Internal Roads

As a general guide, access roads within an industrial

development area should preferably be 7m wide but no less
than 6 metres wide.
It is essential to provide sufficient manoeuvring space to
enable vehicles to enter, turn around and leave the site in
forward gear. There should never be any need for vehicles to
reverse out of individual sites onto the public road.

Kerb Radii

S
Use landscaping to reduce the
visual impact of large areas of
car parking

As a general guide it is suggested that:

Kerb radii should be 10m at junctions with Main Class A and B
Roads and 6m at junctions with local/ access roads.

Vehicle Parking Areas

Adequate on-site parking spaces should be provided for
both staff and visitors. The car parks should be hard surfaced,
clearly laid out and retained for such use.
Table 1 below identifies general guidelines for the provision
of on site vehicle parking for industrial development. The
guidelines represent the levels of parking normally required to
avoid on-street parking.

Frontage car parking areas

should be no more than two
bays wide and incorporate
landscaped areas

The industrial site should be a self-contained development

capable of accommodating its own on-site parking needs.
The use of the public street for car parking and staging of
service and delivery vehicles is not aacceptable unless
specific and safe provision has been made for this in the
design proposal.

DESIGN GUIDANCE Industrial & Commercial Roads

Ministry of Housing and Lands, November 2004

TECHNICAL SHEET
Industrial & Commercial Roads

4.5m
kerb

6m kerb radii

6m kerb radii

radii

4.5m
kerb
radii

Junctions with 4.5m radii. These

allow all vehicles to turn into and
out of the junction but require
vehicles larger than private cars
to use most of the width of both
roads. Junctions of this radii
should be used only for junctions
carrying very low traffic volumes.

Suggested kerb radii

Dimensions of some typical vehicles

and the space required for parking
areas

Junctions with 6m radii. This allows pantechnicons to turn into and

out of the junction using most of the width of both roads, and allows
refuse vehicles to turn without interfering with traffic on the priority
road. Radii of this order will normally be sufficient for junctions within
the residential road layout.

10m kerb radii

10m kerb radii

Junctions designed to the recommended radius of 10m for junctions

with main Class A and B roads. This radius allows refuse vehicles and
heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to turn without interfering with traffic
on the priority road. HGVs may have difficulty in turning past vehicles
on the non-priority road and may have to wait until the junction is
clear. Where the non-priority road is a residential road however, the
lightness of traffic volumes and infrequency of vehicles of HGV size
mean that such delays will be infrequent and of short duration. Radii
of this order should normally be sufficient for most junctions between
residential and main Class A and B roads.

Car

Light Van

Coach

Heavy Goods Vehicles

(60 seats)

Rigid

Articulated

Vehicle Dimensions (metres)

3.8 x 1.7
5.0 x 2.0

Up to
6.0 x 2.6

Up to
12.0 x 3.0

Up to 11.0
x 3.0

Up to
15.5 x 3.0

Recommended Dimensions of
Parking Space (metres)

5.0 x 2.5

5.5 x 3.0

14.0 x 3.5

14.0 x 3.5

18.5 x 3.5

Overall Area per Parked Vehicle

(square metres), including access
and manoeuvring space

20 to 25

20 to 30

100 to 150

100 to 150

150 to 200

Typical vehicle dimensions

DESIGN GUIDANCE Industrial & Commercial Roads

Ministry of Housing and Lands, November 2004

TECHNICAL SHEET
Industrial & Commercial Roads
Parking areas and cars should not be the dominant visual
elements of the site. Large expansive paved areas located
between the street and the building are to be avoided
in favour of smaller multiple parking areas separated by
landscaping and buildings.
Parking areas adjacent to and visible from public streets
should be adequately screened from view through the use
of rolling earth berms, low screen walls, changes in elevation,
landscaping or combinations thereof whenever possible.
In order to enhance security through natural surveillance,
all parking spaces should be visible from the interior of the
adjoining buildings, especially entrances.

Loading Facilities
An important design challenge is the need to cater for the
loading, parking and manoeuvring of light and large goods
vehicles likely to visit an industrial area.
The operational requirement for service and delivery on-site
parking varies considerably according to type of industrial
activity. Typically, a turning head for heavy goods vehicles
requires a large area of land, between 800 and 1200 square
metres.
Generally, service and delivery vehicle turning facilities will be
required within individual plots.
The shape of industrial plots can impact upon the ability to
accommodate large goods vehicles. Deep and narrow plots
are more likely to cause problems for on-site servicing than
those that are roughly square. It is difficult to provide on-site
turning space for articulated vehicles where the narrowest
plot dimension is below 20 metres (Designing for deliveries:
an FTA guide for planners, Freight Transport Association,
1983).

With plots with a frontage that is too narrow to contain a

building and site access, joint access easements should be
used to create satisfactory access arrangements and allow
adequate landscape areas.
In/out arrangements can be used to reduce the need for
on-site turning space, but this could double the number of
openings for each plot, thus potentially exposing more of
the rear service yard to public view. However, it may be an
appropriate servicing arrangement where an in/out access
is shared between more than one plot.

In/Out arrangements may

provide an appropriate shared
access arrangement for narrow
plots

Adequate room should be provided for goods vehicles

maneuvering or waiting to unload; the area within 36 metres
(120 ft.) in front of loading docks should be paved and kept
free of obstacles. In addition, loading and storage areas
should not conflict with connecting pedestrian footpaths or
required parking areas.

DESIGN GUIDANCE Industrial & Commercial Roads

Ministry of Housing and Lands, November 2004

TECHNICAL SHEET

Bus

3.0m

Lorry

3.0m

Van/Mini Bus 2.6m

1.6m

2.4m

3.25m

2.0m
Cycle

4.2m

Industrial & Commercial Roads

Car 2.0m

1.0m

Typical vehicle dmensions

The design objective is to manage noise, disturbance and

potential danger from deliveries, servicing and storage in
order to reduce their impact on neighbours and the general
appearance of the area. The best place for this to occur is
within plots, behind frontage buildings.
To alleviate the unsightly appearance of loading facilities for
industrial uses, these areas should not be located at the front
of buildings where it is difficult to adequately screen them
from view. Such facilities are more appropriate at the rear of
the site where special screening may not be required.
When it is not possible to locate loading facilities at the rear of
the building, loading docks and doors should not dominate
the frontage and should be screened from the street.

Public Transport
Sustainable development policies aimed to persuade people
to leave their cars at home need to be balanced by the
promotion of attractive alternatives. In all but the smallest
industrial and commercial developments, provision should be
made for public service and company worker bus provision.
Public Transport Stops:
Major industrial and commercial developments should
be designed to take advantage of public transport
opportunities. Development edges along lcoal access roads
and accessways should provide bus stops, including laybys
for bus stops. Public transport stops should be located where
they are available to as many people as possible, especially
in connection with principal pedestrian routes. Developments
which do not allow for public transport facilities and use
should be avoided.

DESIGN GUIDANCE Industrial & Commercial Roads

Ministry of Housing and Lands, November 2004

TECHNICAL SHEET
Industrial & Commercial Roads
1.2 -1.35m

Public Transport Shelters:

Shelters should be provided near major concentrations
of employees. Where a public transport stop is planned
adjacent to a project of at least 2 hectares, the developer
should coordinate with the local authority, the Traffic
Management Unit, relevant operators and the Road
Development Authority to determine a suitable location for a
shelter(s) on site. Freestanding shelters should be integrated
architecturally with the project with respect to architectural
style, materials and colour.

1.15 - 1.25m

0.8 - 0.9m

Pedestrian Circulation
Provision for pedestrians and walking is too often ignored or
forgotten. In industrial areas and within commercial sites the
way that people get around on foot should never be left
to chance. Initial site development design should consider
pedestrian circulation patterns in equal importance to that
of the vehicle and building arrangement. In providing for
people on foot the key considerations are:
The provision of good quality footways:
People prefer to walk along streets where they can be
seen by drivers, adjoining building occupiers and other
pedestrians
If segregated footpaths are provided, they need to be
well-connected, safe and well lit and overlooked by
businesses and other buildings.

0.9 - 1.0m
0.6 - 0.75m

Ensure pedestrian areas are

overlooked to aid security

DESIGN GUIDANCE Industrial & Commercial Roads

Ministry of Housing and Lands, November 2004

TECHNICAL SHEET
Industrial & Commercial Roads

Table 1 CAR PARKING - General Guidelines

Residential

1 car parking space per residential unit plus 1 additional visitors space per 5 residential units
Visitors spaces should remain unassigned (i.e. not limited to a particular residential unit and
remain available for all visitors)and be located conveniently close to associated residential
units.
Hotel and Guest House
1 car parking space for every 3 bedrooms. Where conference or function facilities are
provided, additional car spaces shall be provided at the rate of 1 space for 15m2 of
conference or function space. A hotel dining room (or dining rooms) shall be provided with
additional car spaces at the rate of 1 space for each 30m2 of dining space.
Offices
1 car parking space per 60m2 gross floor area.
Banks
1 car parking space per 75m2 gross floor space for staff and 1 car parking space per 25m2
public floor area for customers
Shops
1 car parking space per 30m2 gross floor area (subject to a minimum of 1 space/shop unit)
Supermarkets
1 car parking space per 18m2 gross floor area.
Restaurants, Cafeterias, Eating Houses
1car parking space per 8m2 dining area.
Bars
1 car parking space per 6m2 of the predominant drinking area.
Discotheques
1 car parking space per 8m2 public floor area
Industry
1 space per 115m2 of gross floor space but with no less than 2 car spaces per industrial unit. If
offices are included in the development then their requirements will be assesed separately at 1
space per 60m2 gross floor area.
Heavy goods vehicle parking should be: Light Industry/Service industry - 1 space per 500m2
gross floor space or part thereof. General Industry - 1 space per 200m2 gross floor space or part
thereof.
Cinemas, Theatres, Concert Assembly and Wedding Halls
1 car parking space per 4m2 public floor area.
Note. In all employment premises, a proportion of car parking spaces should be designed for specific use
of disabled people at a ratio of 5% of all spaces (minimum of 2 spaces).

The above parking guidance will be applied in a manner appropriate to local circumstances together
with local and national trends in transport policy making. For example reduced on plot provision may be
acceptable where it can be demonstrated that spaces are not required e.g. highly accessible locations,
locations well served by public transport, specific user/operational requirements etc.
For the purpose of calculation, fractions of car spaces shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.

DESIGN GUIDANCE Industrial & Commercial Roads

Ministry of Housing and Lands, November 2004