Road Designations

3.  Roadway Designations

The designation of roadways was done many decades ago. The categories are very broad and do not always reflect the current or future land use patterns very well.  You’ll notice this when you compare roads of the same color!

General Principles of Designation:

Arterials, both minor and principle, connect Tallahassee and surrounding towns.  These are the “spokes” of the road network and many are named for the towns connected, such as Thomasville, Miccosukee, Blountstown, Woodville, etc.  Some are State Roads.  These roads are supposed to be less “interrupted” by driveways and intersections.  One is supposed to “get to speed” and travel on these roads.

Collectors, both minor and major, connect local roads to arterials.  These roads are shared by many neighborhoods, commercial centers, etc.  These roads are supposed to have a lot of “interruptions” because folks have to get “collected” from somewhere!

Local roads are, well, everything else.

The distinction between collections and local is fuzzy outside the Urban Services Area because residential density is so low.  The designation of minor or principle arterial appears to be mostly a function of number of lanes, but again, these designations do not reflect changes in traffic volume in the Urban Services Area and the distances between towns and Tallahassee.

Finally, it is the road designations that determine what size commercial development occurs where as well as the Future Land Use (FLU).  So both matter a lot!

These are maps and tables that indicate the roadway existing and future uses and capacity.

Roadway Functional Classification Maps1

Roadway Functional Classification Maps2

Roadway Functional Classification Leon

Roadway Other Maps