AGENDA #5d
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Response to a Petition Requesting Directional Signs for Farmers Market in Southern Village
DATE: March 27, 2006
PURPOSE
The following information responds to a petition from Ms. Sheila Neal requesting directional signs for the Farmers’ Market in Southern Village.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has denied the request because the requested signs do not meet the State guidelines.
At its January 23, 2006 meeting, the Council received and referred a petition from Ms. Sheila Neal, Manager, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Farmers’ Market, Inc. requesting directional signs for the Farmers’ Market in Southern Village. In her petition, Ms. Neal stated that the Town of Carrboro installed such signs in Carrboro and requested that the Town install similar signs to the existing “Southern Village” signs on both on and off ramps to NC 54 at South Columbia Street. A copy of the petition is provided in Attachment 1.
Both Highway NC 54 and South Columbia Street are maintained by the State and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) would need to agree to any new sign installations. We forwarded Ms. Neal’s petition to NCDOT and requested approval of the “Farmers Market” signs.
NCDOT sent us an e-mail (Attachment 2) informing us that the requested signs cannot be approved because they do not meet the State guidelines for such signs. Per NCDOT, the Farmers’ Market in Southern Village is not a major traffic generator and directional signs cannot be approved unless it generates 250,000 trips per year.
ATTACHMENTS