WHEREAS, the proposed Draft Collector Street Plan has made citizens aware of a long-planned facility, Southwest Durham Drive, proposed to connect existing Meadowmont Lane to other parts of southwest Durham County; and
WHEREAS, citizens have expressed alarm for several months about the impacts of this connection on existing Meadowmont Lane and its adjacent residents; and
WHEREAS, residents of the Oaks have expressed alarm about similar implications for their residential streets which are proposed for future connection to Southwest Durham Drive; and
WHEREAS, on July 8, 1991, at the request of existing eastern Chapel Hill neighborhoods and others, the Town Council went on record in support of the facility now called Southwest Durham Drive (SWDD) as a “minor thoroughfare” intended to connect US 15-501 in the City of Durham to NC 54 “in [a] revised.. alignment,” a road which “should be limited to two travel lanes in width and should include appropriate bicycle lanes and sidewalks;” and
WHEREAS, the Town has previously required construction of a part of the alignment approved in 1991 from NC 54 north by the developers of Meadowmont, and the City of Durham has done likewise with the developers of Patterson Place from US 15-501 to the south; and
WHEREAS, on November 8, 2006, the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee voted to begin a study of re-aligning SWDD, with a proposal to align it with George King Road, starting at Ephesus Church Road and continuing along George King Road for 2/3 of its overall length; and
WHEREAS, the feasibility of connecting Meadowmont Lane to future sections of Southwest Durham Drive depends on obtaining NCDOT funding for a Transportation Improvement Program item for construction of a major bridge crossing from Chapel Hill to a part of the future City of Durham; and
WHEREAS, NCDOT’s funding constraints make it likely that the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization will seek earlier, less-expensive solutions to access and congestion issues; and
WHEREAS, an element of the draft Collector Street Plan proposes to connect George King Road to NC 54 via a facility largely on land which is part of a pending development project whose consultants have actively participated in public consideration of the Plan; and
WHEREAS, Durham City and County development approvals have resulted in requirements to improve almost 20 percent of the length of George King Road from Ephesus Church Road to NC 54; and
WHEREAS, significant areas of eastern Chapel Hill currently have extremely difficult access, particularly in peak travel hours, to NC 54 and I-40 due to limited roadway connection; and
WHEREAS, a connection to NC 54 from Ephesus Church Road to a point east of the Chapel Hill limits would add travel options for Chapel Hill residents to NC 54, and connections between east-central and south-eastern Chapel Hill would be improved with minimal impact on Chapel Hill’s neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, this new route could address the concerns of a number of Chapel Hill neighborhoods from Old Durham Road to NC 54 regarding mobility and cut-through traffic;
WHEREAS, this new route could add bicycle and pedestrian access, including access to an elementary school, to a rapidly growing section of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Urban Area which currently has none;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Chapel Hill Town Council that the Council requests that that the DCHC-TAC direct MPO staff to initiate a process to secure a combination of public and private funds to upgrade George King Road as a collector road which connects Ephesus Church Road to NC 54 east of the Chapel Hill limits.
This the 20th day of November, 2006