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Detached / Details / Accommodating Cars / Designing the driveway, shared accessway or lane /

4.2Driveways for rear sites, and shared accessways

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​​Design Checklist​

  1. Driveways are attractive and safe.

​​​​Driveways to rear sites are often shared by a number of households, are used by both cars and pedestrians and run alongside private backyards.

In addition, the driveway or shared accessway forms the path to the front door of the house and is the most publically visible part of the development. Therefore the design of these should be carefully considered. Poor design of shared driveways and accessways, and the associated negative impact on the street, is a significant reason why rear lot developments can be perceived poorly by the public.

Better Design Practice

Minimise the width of the crossover at the footpath.
Avoid multiple crossings if possible.


Vary the type of fencing, height or planting of any long boundary fence along the Misspelled Wordaccessway. 
This will provide visual interest.


Ensure houses overlook and address the Misspelled Wordaccessway.
Ensure that the front doors of the rear houses are clearly visible.


​Avoid any large areas of asphalt or concrete.
Consider expressing joints in the paving, using modular paving or breaking up any large areas of hard surface with a second material. Using planting to provide further visual interest.


Use appropriate landscaping and lighting to ensure good visibility and make the Misspelled Wordaccessway attractive and safe.

Where it serves a large number of units, design the accessway to look and function like a street.
Houses should address this space and there should be a clear differentiation between what space belongs to the house, what part of the access way belongs to the house and what is common space. 

Accessways serving a large numbers of houses will need to include a footpath.
Or a carefully designed shared space that prioritises pedestrians over cars.