HelloMiners Infrastructure Department
Highway Regulations
Series 4
Remarks
For a long time, it was thought that strict regulation would lead to good government projects for the development of server-wide infrastructure networks. The reality is that this is only possible by uplifting private organizations. Instead of being held up by bureaucratic processes, the goal now is to streamline the development, funding, and approval of highway systems. Regulations will be less stringent, with expectations only being set to prevent eyesores across large portions of the map. The expectations are outlined below.
Overview
This document outlines the guidelines and expectations for highway approval. Private organizations need to follow the below outlines to receive funding for highway development, as well as protection of developed roadways. The guidelines for approval are loose to allow for a smoother approval process.
Funding
The government is offering to cover the cost of regioning the highways, as well as covering 75% of material costs for roadway development. The approval process involves submitting a google form with an attached spreadsheet outlining region sizes, region marker coordinates, as well as estimated material costs and the stores which they were bought. For self produced material, the buy price of the government trade centre will be used if applicable. If not, a price will be discussed between the department and the private entity. The organization will then receive the funding to procure the material, and a staff member will assist in creating the region. The organization must submit an additional cost sheet with the actual paid costs to receive additional funding upon completion.
Note: Material cost quotes will be verified before approval is given.
Region Ownership
The government maintains co-ownership of the highway region to ensure inactivity does not occur, however the private organization will retain the ability to manage, maintain, and make modifications to the highway. Should the private organization go in active or no longer wish to manage the highway, the government will assume responsibility for maintaining the highway. To be clear, if inactive, the region will remain under the private organization’s network, just maintained by the government. However, after 1 year of inactivity, other organizations may request to bid on the management of a highway.
Highway Design Guidelines
Design
- Highways must consist of at least a two-lane, 3-block wide per lane roadway, having one lane in each traveling direction.
- Each lane must be separated by a 1 block-wide line
- The lanes of opposing direction must be separated by a solid line made from white or yellow concrete at minimum, however alternative median designs are welcomed.
- Lanes in the same direction of travel must be separated by a broken line using white concrete
- Highway road markings may be made from white or yellow concrete depending on function.
- Highways must have a minimum of 1-block buffer on either side of the roadway.
- Highways may be built underground, or on/above the surface;
- Highways must not be entirely elevated from the surface. Elevated portions are permitted, however additional design elements must be present:
- Elevated highways must have a minimum of 2-block buffer on either side of the roadway, with the outermost buffer block being a barrier to prevent falling off the highway.
- Elevated highways must have support structures holding the roadway up. Roadways cannot just be floating roads in the air.
- Merging highways of different lane widths or number of lanes must seamlessly transition/merge lanes
- curves must be made with a rounded design, and the width of the lanes must be maintained throughout the curve
- Roadways cannot have 90 degree turns unless they are turns at intersections
- Typical curves to replace 90 degree turns have a turning radius of 3x the width of the road
Footpath Design Guidelines
Intercity footpaths are recommended to be between 3 and 5 blocks wide, with a nice design. Footpaths can be made of any material, and approval is not required from the infrastructure department. However, pathways deemed to be an eyesore on the map by the government may be removed.
Application Form
The application form consists of 6 fields which you need to include:
- Your discord name for contact, as well as in game name and private organization (if applicable)
- The location coordinates of any region markers needed
- A screenshot of the worldmap highlighting the proposed area
- A screenshot of a snippet of the highway design showing the core design of the roadway. An example can be found below, courtesy of nightemperor:
- Screenshot of discord or chat logs showing permission from any cities within 200 blocks of the proposed highway
- Completed spreadsheet using the provided template
You will receive a response on discord once approval has been granted, and a ticket will be made in the government discord to create a line of communication throughout the build process.
The application form can be found here: Transportation Department Highway Approval Form
Player and City Regioning
- Players may region directly next to the highway, structures must have a 1 block buffer from the road.
- The organization responsible for managing the highway system cannot prevent cities from expanding around the highway, or adjusting the highway to connect to their city.
- Private organizations may charge a connection fee up to F10,000 for cities to access the highway.
- It is the responsibility of the city owner/manager and highway operator to determine how the connection will be built.
- Expansions/connections must maintain the originally approved highway design
- In the case that the city pre-exists the highway, no fee may be charged to connect.
Private cities are responsible for funding the connection development, following the system outlined in Funding.
Road Signs
Road signs must be 2 blocks high, and end on the highways 1 buffer block. Or they can hang over the road by 5 blocks, or 3 blocks in the case that the road is in a tunnel. Signs must be on top or on the side of a structure, or built on top of walls / fences.
Directional Signs
- Directional signs show the direction of traffic
Highway Name Signs
- Name signs contain the name of the highway.
- Highway name signs can also be used to show what highways are at intersections using directional signs…
City Signs
- City signs contain the name of the city in which the direction of highway is heading in. The signs may also contain the amount of Kilometers away that city is.
- City signs may show routes to cities using different highways with directional signs
- The sign may have an arrow showing the direction of travel.
- City Signs must be green or blue
Stop Signs
- Stop signs tell drivers to stop before entering an intersection
Road Height
Road Structures may go over highways, but all highways must have 5 blocks above the road surface empty over any point on the road.
Grandfathering Guidelines
Highways built according to previous government regulations are all considered to be approved under the new rules. Un-approved highways are subject to enforcement of the most up-to-date version of guidelines which has been outlined within this document.
Enforcement of Guidelines
The enforcement of these guidelines is the responsibility of the Infrastructure Department in combination with the HelloMiners Staff team. Highways deemed to be eyesores by neighboring cities or department staff. In extreme cases, eyesores may be submitted by players, which will be investigated by department staff. The enforcement of each case will follow the same structure outlined here.
1. Non-Adherence Notice
Owners of eyesore highways will be contacted and informed that their highway is considered to be an eyesore, and needs to be updated to comply with the guidelines. The department will then attempt to establish a timeline for adherence with the owner, as well as establish any contracts to fund the development following Funding. Contracts established between the department and the owner will outline the timeline for completion.
2. Eyesore Notice
Owners of eyesore highways who fail to establish an agreement with the department within 15 days of contact will be issued an eyesore notice. Eyesore notices require highways to meet or have substantial progress in meeting the guidelines outlined in this document within 40 days of the eyesore being issued.
It is not the goal of the transportation department to limit development from private entities. It is only the goal to preserve the overall look and quality of the overworld. Unsanctioned eyesore highways may be subject to removal without compensation if a resolution cannot be reached.