--- title: "Roads Design" description: "Estate roads, entrances, footpaths and public lighting to DMURS and council standards, with swept paths, sightlines and safety audits." updated: "2026-10-12" url: "https://www.petruf.ie/services/civil-engineering/roads-design" --- # Roads Design > Estate roads, entrances, footpaths and public lighting to DMURS and council standards, with swept paths, sightlines and safety audits. The road into a housing scheme is judged three times: by the planner, against the street design manual; by the road safety auditor; and by the council, when it decides whether to take the road in charge. A design drawn for all three is drawn once. We design the layout, the entrance, the footpaths and the public lighting, run the swept paths and sightlines the planning application needs, carry out the road safety audits with an audit team independent of the design, and prepare the taking in charge submission at the end. Roads, drainage and levels are drawn together, so the falls, the gullies and the SuDS in the verge agree before anything is laid. ## What we design ### Estate roads and streets Layouts to DMURS, with the widths, junction radii and traffic calming it sets for streets in towns and villages. ### Entrances and junctions New entrances onto local and regional roads, with the visibility the speed of the road requires. ### Swept path analysis Refuse trucks, fire tenders and delivery vehicles tracked through the layout, so the bin lorry can turn where it has to. ### Sightlines Visibility splays drawn to the standard, and kept clear of walls, hedges and parking. ### Footpaths, kerbs and paving Footpaths, dropped kerbs and tactile paving, with permeable paving where the drainage design uses it. ### Public lighting Lighting layouts and design in the form the council needs to take the lights in charge. ### Road safety audits Audits from feasibility to early operation, by an audit team independent of the designers. ### Markings and signs Road markings and signage for the layout and the entrance. ### Taking in charge The as built drawings, test certificates and submission for the council to adopt the roads, paths and lights. ## Road safety audit stages Audits follow TII's road safety audit standard, carried out by a team independent of the designers. The council decides which stages a scheme needs, often as a condition of planning. ### Stage F: Feasibility The safety of each option while they are still being compared. ### Stage 1: Preliminary design The layout and the junction strategy, before the detail is fixed. ### Stage 2: Detailed design The detail: kerbs, crossings, lighting, signs and markings. ### Stage 1 and 2: Combined, on smaller schemes Both in one audit, where the design is developed in one go. ### Stage 3: Completion, before opening The road as built, checked on site before it is opened. ### Stage 4: Early operation How the road is actually being used, a few months after it opens. ## What you receive Drawn to what the council will take in charge, not to what fits the site plan. - Road layout, long sections and construction details - Swept path and sightline drawings for the planning application - A DMURS statement of consistency, where the council asks for one - Road safety audit reports, and the design responses to them - The public lighting layout and design - The taking in charge pack: as built drawings, test certificates and the submission ## From our projects ### [Ardbrae Park](https://www.petruf.ie/projects/public-infrastructure/ardbrae-park) The road layout for twenty nine houses with swept path and sightline analysis, drawn to what the authority will take in charge. ### [Mill Lane Development](https://www.petruf.ie/projects/public-infrastructure/mill-lane-development) Swept path and sightline analysis at the entrance, internal roads, parking and public lighting for four houses in Naas. ## The questions that come first ### What is DMURS? The Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets, the national standard for roads and streets in towns, villages and suburbs. It puts walking, cycling and low speeds first, and a planning application for a housing scheme is usually expected to show the layout is consistent with it. ### Do I need a road safety audit? Usually, for a new public road or a new junction onto one, and councils often make it a condition of planning. Which stages are needed depends on the scheme and is set by the council; the audits follow TII's road safety audit standard. ### What sightlines does a new entrance need? They are measured from a point set back from the edge of the road, along the road in each direction, for a distance set by the speed of the road. DMURS sets the distances for urban streets and TII's standards for national roads, and the council confirms which applies. ### What is taking in charge? The council adopting the roads, footpaths, public lighting and usually the surface water drainage of a development once they are built to its standard, after which it maintains them. It is applied for with as built drawings and test certificates, and the design is easiest to get through when it was drawn for it from the start. ### Can a driveway or parking area be permeable? Yes, and council SuDS policy favours it: permeable paving stores the rain in its own build up and lets it soak away or drain slowly. It is designed with the drainage rather than added afterwards.