AGENDA #4a
BUDGET WORKING PAPER
TO: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
FROM: George N. Small, Director of Engineering
SUBJECT: Response to a Petition from the Public Housing Residents’ Council Regarding Traffic Improvements and Drainage
DATE: May 15, 2002
This report responds to a petition from Ms. JoAnn Shirer-Mitchell, Director of the Public Housing Residents’ Council, requesting improvements to traffic control at two locations and drainage improvements to the South Estes Drive neighborhood near Bolin Creek.
Attachment #1 is a copy of the petition.
At the March 26, 2002 Town Council Public Forum on the 2002-3003 Budget, Ms. JoAnn Shirer-Mitchell petitioned the Council on behalf of the Public Housing Residents’ Council regarding the following requests:
a) Install a traffic signal at the intersection of New Stateside Drive and Airport Road.
b) Implement changes in traffic signal timing and signs at the intersection of South Estes Drive and Fordham Boulevard.
c) Excavate Bolin Creek deeper to mitigate flooding and install a fence adjacent to the creek and the neighborhood to keep children out of the creek.
It is our understanding that requests a) and b) are intended to improve mobility and safety for both vehicles and pedestrians at the intersections in question. We understand that request c) is intended to mitigate drainage problems in the vicinity of the neighborhood and to deter young children from playing in the creek.
We have reviewed these requests and provide the following responses:
Traffic signal at the intersection of New Stateside Drive and Airport Road
We have been requesting that the State install a traffic signal at this intersection for the past five or six years.
Airport Road is controlled by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. The State has studied this intersection for a traffic signal installation on several occasions starting in 1998. These studies determined that traffic signals were not warranted at the intersection, based on data and conditions at the time of the studies. In early 2001, the State conducted another study and determined that it could recommend installation of traffic signals at the Stateside Drive/Airport Road intersection if Airport Road (NC 86) had a posted speed limit of 45 mph. It was determined by the State that a traffic signal was not warranted at this location with the posted 35mph speed limit on Airport Road. Attachment #2 is a copy of our April 23, 2001 report to Council regarding this traffic signal. The Council took no action at the time.
We will request that the State again study this intersection for installation of a traffic signal.
Changes to traffic signal timing and signs at the intersection of South Estes Drive and Fordham Boulevard
Because Fordham Boulevard is a wide, busy thoroughfare, the petitioner requested that additional signs be installed to call drivers’ attention to pedestrian activity at and around the South Estes Drive intersection. Traffic signal modifications were also requested to improve egress from South Estes Drive onto Fordham Boulevard by providing a “green arrow” for cars on South Estes Drive.
Both Estes Drive and Fordham Boulevard are controlled by the State and any changes to signs or signal timing/phasing require State approval. We have informally discussed Ms. Shirer-Mitchell’s requests with State staff, and will formally forward the requests to the State for review and study. We will work with the NCDOT staff to analyze this location with regard to the requested changes, and will report back to the Council with the results of the study later this year.
Excavation of Bolin Creek and installation of a fence
The petitioner expressed concerns about Bolin Creek flooding in the area of the South Estes Drive neighborhood and suggested excavating the creek to mitigate the flooding. The petitioner also requested the installation of a fence along the creek to restrict young children from playing in or near the creek where they could be injured.
Excavating Bolin Creek in the vicinity of this neighborhood, if it were economically and environmentally feasible, would not mitigate the periodic flooding out of the banks that occurs in this area of Town. The size of the watershed and the variable characteristics of individual storm events result in the occurrence of flooding beyond the banks of Bolin Creek. The capacity of this segment of the creek to contain and convey water is primarily controlled by its gradient and its proximity to Jordan Lake. The stream gradient is relatively flat in this area of Town, and the surface elevation of the headwaters of Jordan Lake create practical limits to the amount of excavation that could be done on Bolin Creek to increase capacity and gradient.
Also, any disturbance of Bolin Creek, including stream excavation, is federally regulated and would require authorization from the State, the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, if it were permitted at all. Bolin Creek and other natural streams in Town will continue to inundate natural floodplain areas during certain storm events where water discharges exceed the carrying capacity of the defined stream channel. The South Estes Drive public housing neighborhood and other development within or adjacent to identified floodplain areas, will continue to experience periodic flooding under certain circumstances. The excavation of the creek would not effectively mitigate such flooding.
The Town Development Ordinance does not permit installation of extensive fencing or walls within the Resource Conservation District. The area adjacent to the neighborhood and the creek is an RCD area, and fencing adequate to restrict access to the creek would not be permitted.
If the issue is safety of children playing in the creek and on its banks, we suggest that the neighborhood consider using approaches other than fencing, such as providing educational materials to residents. This could include the distribution of notices concerning the safety problems associated with intermittent high water that could create risks. In association with such notices, the Town will post cautionary “high water” signs in the neighborhood area.
1. Petition (p 4).
2. April 23, 2001 Council Item on Airport Road and Stateside Drive (p. 8).