AGENDA #5b
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
Bill Letteri, Director Public Works |
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SUBJECT: |
Response to a Petition for Plantings Adjacent to Christopher Road |
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Date: |
April 11, 2007 |
This report responds to a petition from Greenwood neighborhood residents to the Council on February 26, 2007, requesting installation of a landscape buffer between Fordham Boulevard and Christopher Road. A copy of the petition is attached.
Residents of the Greenwood area submitted a petition to the Council at their February 26, 2007 meeting requesting the installation of a landscape buffer between Christopher Road and Fordham Boulevard. In anticipation of the submittal of this petition, Town staff met with North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) staff on February 23, 2007. At this meeting we discussed possible funding mechanisms and reviewed potential planting areas at the site that would help to reduce road noise and decrease visibility of traffic.
There are opportunities to install additional plantings between Christopher Road and Fordham Boulevard from Brandon Road to the exit ramp at Raleigh Road. Please refer to the attached area map. However, we believe, after consultation with NCDOT staff, that there are not opportunities in the area between Christopher Road and Fordham Boulevard to the north of Brandon Road. This area is unsuitable for additional plantings due to steep slopes and the location of the necessary drainage swale close to the Fordham Boulevard travel lanes.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Town staff and NCDOT staff agreed that the Town would develop a preliminary landscape plan and cost estimate for the request of a buffer to reduce road noise and reduce visibility of traffic. The Town’s Engineering Department has begun developing scaled area maps and once complete, the Town Public Works Department will develop a preliminary landscape plan for review and approval by the NCDOT. Town staff has made a request to NCDOT for possible funding for the project and once cost estimates are determined we will report back to the Council what additional Town resources may be needed to install and maintain these plantings. We anticipate this information to be available by late summer 2007 to permit plantings during the fall planting season if desired by the Council.
