E 000 General Provisions

PURPOSE

The Street Design Manual (Manual) is one part of the Bureau of Engineering Manual (BOE Manual), which historically was published as a reference and training guide for all BOE employees. This Manual covers the design of streets.

Historically, the BOE Manual summarized and outlined policy, practices and procedures that were developed to increase the efficiency of BOE operations. The BOE Manual's purpose was to inform and instruct employees about the current standards in Bureau practice. The standards were adopted to encourage uniformity in the work of division and district offices of the Bureau of Engineering.  (The various sections of the BOE Manual as dated in the upper right-hand corner of each page supersede all prior dated Standard Practice Instructions, Office Standards, Special Orders and other directives relating to material covered.)¹ 

This site is intended to furnish a digital version of the existing City of Los Angeles Street Design Manual (Manual), last published in whole in July 1986. The Bureau of Engineering (BOE) and the City bureaus and departments responsible for the planning, improvement, maintenance, and management of streets and public rights-of-way and delivery of critical services within the City have recognized the need to revise the information contained in this Manual to align with current City policies and procedures. Minor changes or edits to the information contained in the Manual are indicated by footnotes at the bottom of pages. 

SCOPE

The BOE Manual covered all phases of work in the Bureau. Elementary information available in standard engineering and public administration textbooks is not included. Graphs, office standards, and data applicable to City usage are included to assist in the solution of typical problems; however, it is not practical to cover all operations in detail.

The BOE Manual is a guide. It is not a substitute for professional experience. Sound judgment must be exercised in the application of Manual provisions to specific circumstances. For routine operations and procedures, the BOE Manual instructions should be the standard. The contents do not preclude use of different methods when special or emergency conditions warrant and when proper authorization is obtained.

If a major deviation from the standard is necessary or desirable, the Engineer of Design should be informed by memorandum, so that it can be evaluated as a possible BOE Manual change.

ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITY

The Bureau of Engineering Manual (BOE Manual) was historically published in sixteen parts. Each part was a separate volume of related material. (The Engineer of Design had the primary responsibility for coordination and preparation of the material or revisions to the BOE Manual. The divisions designated below will, upon request, assisted the Engineer of Design in preparing text and illustrations for the BOE Manual:)²

REVISION 

(The Manual was revised as needed to keep it current and to include new or changed policy, data or methods. 

In general, revisions were implemented by issuance of a “Manual Revision Transmittal” accompanying revised sheets to be inserted in the Manual. Superseded sheets were to be discarded.

The transmittals were numbered consecutively by parts and will indicate the scope of the revisions,  any superseded Special Orders, and/or Memoranda and the reasons why changes were being made in the BOE Manual.

In some cases, Special Orders may have been issued which supersede sections of the Manual and serve as interim instructions. In these cases, revisions to the Manual were to be prepared as soon as possible after issuance of the Special Order.

Detailed instructions for Manual revisions would have been included in the BOE Manual Part C, Operations and Control.)¹ 

More substantial revisions or changes to information contained and accessed on this site are being identified, considered, and/or prepared by an interdepartmental committee and, once approved, will be published on this site periodically.

Manual FORMAT

1. (The Manual is organized on the Closed Decimal System as illustrated in Figure GP1.
2. The Manual and revisions are typed on sheets with headings illustrated by Figure GP2. In general, each major division of a section (140, 230, 670) should start on a new page. When it is not appropriate to start on a new page, the heading of the next major division should start at least two inches below the preceding section to facilitate future revisions. Long, self- contained, secondary divisions (142, 234, 678) may start on a new page when appropriate.
3. Each part of the Manual consists of the following:
   1. General Provisions - Identical for all parts.
   2. Preface - A brief general statement of the scope of that part.
   3. General Outline - A list of chapters by general subject matter, the Index and an appendices listing.
   4. Table of Contents - A table immediately preceding each chapter and listing section numbers and topic headings.
   5. List of Figures - A list when appropriate following the Table of Contents. Unless otherwise noted, the figures are inserted at the end of the text.
   6. Index - Follows the last chapter for each part.
   7. Appendix - As needed lengthy to incorporate for important references too lengthy to incorporate in the text.)¹

This site provides a digital, online version of the existing City of Los Angeles Street Design Manual (Manual), last published in whole in July 1986. The site features information organized and presented using consistent formatting standards, a search bar that allows one to search for specific terms, and a site map that serves as a table of contents.

DISTRIBUTION

(To Bureau of Engineering Offices

Each division and district office is assigned at least one complete copy of the Manual (16 parts). Additional parts as necessary are assigned to those offices with personnel who require them for frequent use.
Assignment and distribution of the Manual and its revisions is the responsibility of the Engineer of Design.

To Other Bureaus, Departments, Agencies, and Individuals

The Manual is intended primarily for use by Bureau personnel. Because costs of reprinting are high, the supply of full size Manuals is limited and therefore restricted to Bureau personnel. However, the Manual is available on microfiche for sale at a nominal price by the Administration Division. Persons requiring full size copies are advised to purchase the Manual on microfiche and have it reproduced in full size by a private reproduction firm.)¹

This site provides access to the existing Manual to all. 

Footnotes

1. The text in parenthesis is from the legacy Street Design Manual text and has been superseded by the text that follows.
2. The text in parenthesis is from the legacy Street Design Manual text and does not reflect the current City organizational structure and departmental roles. An interdepartmental committee has been assembled to advise on the City bureau and department representatives who will assist the Bureau in preparing text and illustrations for subject matters of the BOE Manual.