COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS PRESENTED AT THE OCTOBER 18/OCTOBER 27, 2004 PUBLIC HEARING ON A REQUEST TO CLOSE THE LAUREL HILL ROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY BETWEEN COKER DRIVE AND FORDHAM BOULEVARD ON THE NORTH CAROLINA BOTANICAL GARDEN PROPERTY

*Botanical Garden Director, Dr. Peter White, stated that the University is on record that the street would not be closed until the Manning Drive right-turn lane, Coker Drive/Laurel Hill Road intersection improvements and the bicycle/pedestrian corridor improvements were installed as agreed. Dr. White also agreed to lend the support of the Garden in working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to: Conduct safety and improvement studies at the intersections of Fordham Boulevard with Morgan Creek Road, Oteys Road, and Kings Mill Road, and Manning Drive; and to study the feasibility of constructing a bicycle/pedestrian underpass and a bus pull-off on Fordham Boulevard in the vicinity of Old Mason Farm Road.  Dr. White also agreed to work with other University officials to consider installation of a pedestrian/bicycle corridor through the golf course property adjacent to the Garden.

*Mr. Willis Brooks, an eleven year resident of Laurel Hill Road, stated that he believes that Laurel Hill Road should be kept open because its closure would eliminate one of only four access ways serving the neighborhood.  When icy conditions are a problem, Laurel Hill Road provides the best route into and out of portions of the surrounding the neighborhood.  Mr. Brooks stated he is unaware of any precedent in Chapel Hill for closing an existing residential street to create a pedestrian-way.  Mr. Brooks also stated that he believes that closing the street would be contrary to the public interest and would deprive individuals of reasonable ingress and egress to their property.

*Mr. Robert Hals, a Sourwood Circle resident, stated that he believed that the Garden was asking for too much at one time.  Mr. Hals noted that the University was building housing for 400 families at the end of Mason Farm Road and he predicted that U-turns would increase at Kings Mill Road and Morgan Creek Road, and that traffic would increase in the area neighborhoods.  Mr. Hals also stated that he believed that the Garden could achieve some of its goals by narrowing Laurel Hill Road through the Garden, adding bricks and/or screening the pedestrian section of the road.  He thinks there is a contradiction in keeping one end of Laurel Hill Road open for access to the Garden staff parking lot while not compromising to allow the residents access to and from Fordham Boulevard.  Mr. Hals said that he thinks that many residents might be willing to have a gate on the street for much of the day, rather than closing it permanently.

*Mr. Nelson Minnich, a Kings Mill Road resident, urged the Council to oppose the road closing.  Mr. Minnich said that he uses the road on a regular basis and that he thinks it is the most logical and safest egress for the neighborhood.  He stated that he believed that the Garden’s proposal was extreme and was a “land grab under the cloak of safety concerns”.  He noted that there is little traffic on the street, and there are no reported accidents.  He suggested the use of stop signs, cross-walks, and/or other traffic calming devices; or a chain across the street during certain periods.  Mr. Minnich said that he thinks the street is a natural egress to the east and closure of the street would waste time and gasoline.

*Mr. Loren Hintz, a Kings Mill Road resident, supported closure of the road.  Mr. Hintz told the Council he had witnessed near misses on the road and that he believed that closing the street would make visits to the Garden safer.  Mr. Hintz stated that he thinks that the Garden project is worth the inconvenience of using the Manning Drive intersection; and, that since there are no sidewalks on this section of Laurel Hill Road, that a bicycle/pedestrian connection through the Garden would improve bicycle and pedestrian access and safety.

*Mr. George Entermann stated the closing would inconvenience he and his wife, but supported the closure because it would enhance the natural area in and around the Garden, and would minimize traffic on Kings Mill Road.  He urged the Council to approve the closure with appropriate oversight.

*Ms. Laura Moore, president of Kings Mill/Morgan Creek Homeowners Association, said that the Association has been working proactively with the Garden for three years.  She stated that the Association is optimistic that the proposed expansion would be successful and that the new education center would be an asset to the neighborhood, the Town, and the State.  Ms. Moore reported that the Association Board had supported the closure (9-4) with the following conditions:  that a right-turn lane be added to Manning Drive; complete redesign and construction of the Laurel Hill/Coker Drive intersection; unrestricted pedestrian and bicycle access through the Gardens, and; a commitment by the Garden for snow and ice removal on the section of Laurel Hill Road proposed for closure.

*Ms. Betsy Malpass, a resident of Woodbine Drive, supported planned improvements to the Botanical Garden but did not support closing the street.  Ms. Malpass stated the Garden had acknowledged closure of the road was not essential to their plans.  She also believes that the closure would add traffic to other intersections around the Garden and that the widening of the intersection at Manning Drive would add more pollution and noise in that vicinity.  Ms. Malpass requested assurances from the Garden that, if the street closure was approved, construction traffic and buses would not travel through her neighborhood.  Ms. Malpass also requested extension of the sound barrier south of Manning Drive parallel to Woodbine Drive and that the guardrail be extended to the Manning Drive intersection.

*Mr. H.R. Malpass, a resident of Woodbine Drive, opposed the road closure because he believes that it would increase traffic and the potential for more accidents at the Manning Drive intersection which he believes is already a dangerous intersection.  Mr. Malpass stated that Laurel Hill Road belongs to the citizens of Chapel Hill and that he believed it was in the public interest to keep it open. 

*Ms. Heidi Chapman, a Bartram Drive resident, stated that three of the five entrances to the neighborhood were often impassible at rush hour and that she believed that Laurel Hill Road was the best route out of the neighborhood.  Ms. Chapman also expressed concern that the street closure could “land lock” the neighborhood.

*Ms. Nancy Tripoli spoke in support of the street closure, but also stated that not having good egress during an emergency could frighten people.  She questioned if there was a way to provide a limited paved access through the Garden rather than closing it entirely.

* Mr. Dave Morgan, a Coker Drive resident, read a statement from Kate Torrey, a neighborhood resident supporting the closure.  The statement suggested that the street closure would reduce the number of cars cutting through the neighborhood; that the Garden had been a good neighbor and  had assumed responsibility for engineering studies in the area, and had agreed that the road would not be closed until the proposed improvements were installed.

* Mr. Bill Daniell, Chair of the Neighborhood Association Subcommittee, said that the Garden had worked with the Association for more than two years and had responded constructively to all of he Association’s concerns.  He stated that his personal preference was to leave the road open, but that the Garden had now addressed all of his concerns.  Mr. Daniell stated that he believed that the Coker Drive/Laurel Hill Road intersection is already dangerous and that the benefits that could be derived from agreements tied to the road closure outweighed the negatives.

*Mr. Bill Bracey, Botanical Foundation Board Member, said that the Garden’s onsite facility improvement project would be better with the road closed.  He stated that special needs children and other vulnerable citizens visited the Garden, and that he believed that they do not see the Garden as an environment where one expects to encounter cars.  Mr. Bracey urged Council members to close the road.

*Mr. Gregory Georges, a Kings Mill Road resident, expressed support for the closing.  He pointed out that the closure would increase green space rather than removing it.

*Ms. Diana Steele, an Old Mason Farm Road resident, said that she thought the section of Laurel Hill Road through the Garden could be frightening, because cars are rare and one does not expect to encounter them on that street.  She said the reason she supported the closure was because of the possible installation of a pedestrian underpass on Fordham Boulevard in the vicinity of Mason Farm Road.

*Council Member Harrison questioned if the Council is being asked to take action only on the road closing.

*Mayor Foy noted that no action would be taken on the night of the Public Hearing.

*Council Member Green questioned if it was possible to close the street with conditions and stated that the closure of the right-of-way could be considered a land trade for a pedestrian/bicycle trail.

*Dr. Peter White, Director of the Botanical Garden, stated there is a future plan to extend the pedestrian/bicycle corridor to the Glenwood School vicinity, and that the Garden would agree to maintain the section of the corridor through the Garden property.  Dr. White also noted that the section of Laurel Hill Road right-of-way in question was once owned by the University and was originally dedicated to the North Carolina Department of Transportation as right-of-way.  It became Town right-of-way in the early 1980’s.

*Mayor Foy stated that the pedestrian/bicycle corridor would likely not directly follow the existing Laurel Hill Road right-of-way, and that it would be necessary for a route to be approved by the Council.

*Council Member Wiggins commented that she was concerned that the closure would create a larger disconnect between the area neighborhoods and the rest of the Town.

*Council Member Harrison asked about alternatives, other than adding to the existing sound wall, to deal with the opening where Laurel Hill Road intersects with Fordham Boulevard.

*Dr. White stated that anything other than a sound wall, such as a gate, would not effectively mitigate highway noise.

The Council voted to close the Public Hearing and directed the Manager to return with recommendations for Council action(s) regarding the request to close a section of Laurel Hill Road through the North Carolina Botanical Garden property.