AGENDA #3r
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Council Member Ed Harrison
SUBJECT: Status of Potential U.S. 15-501 Congestion Solutions – Beyond the Superstreet
DATE: January 15, 2004
On February 11, 2002, I petitioned the Council to hold a work session on potential solutions to congestion on U.S. 15-501. My focus was on the corridor from Ephesus Church Road to I-40. Council Member Ward amended this to extend it to Manning Drive. Council adopted a resolution which was sent to the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro MPO, which also adopted one and transmitted it to NCDOT. All parties expected that NCDOT would be the lead agency in any study and analyses, with assistance from MPO staff. No action has been seen so far.
In my opinion and that of many others (including our Transportation Board), the improved function for transit of this section of U.S. 15-501 will be a critical component of any expansion of Chapel Hill Transit operations and configurations. It is my intention to re-start a Council conversation on this issue, with active involvement of our new members.
Attachment – February 11, 2002 Petition (p 2).
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Ed Harrison
SUBJECT: Work Session on Traffic Congestion
DATE: February 11, 2002
This is a petition to the Town Council to hold a work session on potential solutions to congestion on the major transportation facility within our boundaries, U.S. 15-501(Fordham Boulevard).
The most likely potential solution to be implemented in this corridor is the “Superstreet” in the Erwin Road area. NCDOT expect that there will be a formal public hearing on this as early as mid-Spring this year. This would be a central part of the process required under the National Environmental Policy Act, triggered because Federal funds are expected to be spent on this.
In its discussion of a possible moratorium in the Erwin Road/15-501 vicinity, our Planning Board passed a resolution recommending an examination of problems from the Ephesus Church Road intersection east to I-40. To my knowledge, Council has never taken any action on this Resolution. Meanwhile, these intersections continue to have varying degrees of congestion and danger.
The ongoing and increasing dysfunction of Fordham Boulevard in the corridor outlined by the Planning Board has had, and will continue to have, important implications for the welfare and safety of our citizens. Neighborhoods such as mine are affected in several ways by truck traffic which opts to take secondary roads to and from I-40 and Durham to avoid a series of failing Fordham Boulevard intersections. With increasing congestion, transit and pedestrian connections to several neighborhoods and commercial locations will become more and more challenging, and at some point may become virtually impossible to sustain.
A number of us were not on Council when the Superstreet was first presented to Chapel Hill as part of a solution to 15-501 congestion some 16 months ago, and we have not been educated on its workings. While I have been involved in examining the problems and possibilities of 15-501 for over a decade, those who joined the Council alongside me have not been. A work session on structural problems and solutions for this critically important corridor could be invaluable in clarifying our collective thinking about this corridor.
This proposal is for a Council-only work session. The actual content and format should be a product of the entire Council, not only this member. It could, and probably should, be followed by a public workshop and design charette. My impression is that both NCDOT and Town staff would find both sessions helpful in their own planning and operations.
I look forward to discussing this with my colleagues.