Overview

Below are some of the benefits that have been realized in communities with effective access management policies:
  • Delaying or preventing costly highway improvements,
  • Improving roadway safety conditions (reduced crash rates),
  • Reducing traffic delay and congestion, which has a positive economic effect on market areas (as seen in Figure 1-4),
  • Promoting properly designed access and circulation systems for development,
  • Improving the appearance of transportation corridors and increasing the area available for landscaping, which can help attract investment and enhance the image of an area,
  • Providing property owners and customers with safe access to roadways,
  • Reducing air pollution, and
  • Making pedestrian and bicycle travel safer.
Another significant benefit is that access management requires a more coordinated, long-term approach to land use and transportation; therefore, effective access management promotes intergovernmental cooperation relating to land development and transportation decisions.