The buffer zone is an area outside the highway area or road area owned by the landowner. No structures or buildings may be placed in the buffer zone without the consent of the highway authority. The width of the area varies according to the administrative class of the road. On main and regional roads, it generally extends 30 meters, on motorways and expressways 50 meters, and on local and connecting roads 20 meters from the centerline of the roadway or, if there are multiple roadways, from the centerline of the nearest roadway.

Image: Delimitation of different areas within and outside the City plan area

The highway area or the road area (fin tiealue) extends two meters from the edge of the ditch or, where there is no ditch, from the outer edge of the road embankment or cut (if boundaries have not been determined in the cadastral procedure).

The buffer zone (fin maantien suoja-alue) extends 20 meters from the centerline of the roadway or, if there are multiple roadways, from the centerline of the nearest roadway. For a special reason, the distance can be specified as less than 20 meters or extended up to 50 meters in the road plan for a specific road or section of the road.

Lateral clearance area (fin maantien näkemäalue): In a curve of the road or where another road or a significant private road joins the road, or where a railway crosses the road, the construction of buildings is prohibited even outside the buffer zone in an area where keeping the visibility area free from obstructing obstacles is necessary for traffic safety (lateral clearance area).

Highway traffic areas (fin maantien liikennealue) are areas designated in the zoning plan for roads, railways, waterways, ports, and airports. Road traffic areas can be designated for main, regional, and connecting roads, as well as for roads that connect and extend these roads, which primarily serve non-local traffic.