Entrance corridors play a vital role in shaping the perception and functionality of a city. Here's a breakdown of their importance and how the City protects, maintains, and enhances them:

Why Entrance Corridors Are Important:

• First Impressions: They create the initial visual experience for visitors, influencing their overall perception of the city.
• Economic Impact:  Attractive corridors can boost property values, attract businesses, and encourage tourism.
• Community Identity:  They contribute to a city's unique character and sense of place.
• Safety and Functionality:  Well-designed corridors improve traffic flow, pedestrian safety, and accessibility.  
• Environmental Considerations:  they can be designed to incorporate green spaces, and sustainable practices.

How Staunton Protects, Maintains, and Enhances Entrance Corridors:

• Comprehensive Planning and Zoning: The City’s Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code strive to protect natural, scenic, historic, cultural and architectural resources within the entrance corridors.
• Design Guidelines and Standards: The implementation of Section 18.83, Entrance Corridor Overlay District promotes consistent style by establishing standards for height, signage, landscaping, and utility placement.
• Infrastructure Improvements: The city has invested in road maintenance, sidewalk improvements and alternative transportation options within the entrance corridors.
• Preservation of Historic Resources: 10 out of 13 entrance corridors lead into a historic district. These entrance corridors act as a transition zone and guidelines ensure new development won’t clash with the existing historic aesthetic.
• Community Engagement: The City developed design guidelines, including specific guidelines for signage, through a public engagement process.

The Entrance Corridor Overlay District is composed of 13 corridors, with 10 of them leading into historic districts in the City.  The City provides design guidelines, including specific guidelines for signs, which are not laws, but recommendations developed through a public process and formally adopted by City Council.  

These standards and guidelines promote the general welfare of the community by creating attractive, human-scaled environments, increasing commerce, improving property values, and increasing public awareness of the City's natural, scenic, architectural, and cultural resources surrounding the Historic Preservation Districts. 

Entrance Corridor Guidelines

The City’s 13 entrance corridors are located in the following areas and can also be found on the district map:

• Augusta Street 

• Churchville Avenue 

• Coalter Street 

• Commerce Road 

• Frontier Drive

• Greenville Avenue

• Middlebrook Avenue 

• North Central Avenue

• North Lewis Street

• Richmond Avenue 

• Route 262 and 275 (Woodrow Wilson Parkway)

• Statler Boulevard 

• West Beverley Street

The City partnered with Frazier Associates to update the design guidelines for its Entrance Corridor Overlay Districts. These updated guidelines will provide valuable assistance to property owners, developers, and contractors planning new construction, redevelopment, or property modifications while reflecting community needs. However, to ensure these guidelines fully align with the city's long-term vision, as outlined in the ongoing comprehensive plan update, the completion and adoption of these revised entrance corridor guidelines will occur after the comprehensive plan is finalized in 2026. This delay allows for a more integrated and consistent approach to city planning.

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