Agenda - 10-19-2010 - 8a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

27 ATTACHMENT 3 Peripheral Issues of Hwy 54 and I-40 Interchange and the Regional Transit Light Rail Alternative The peripheral issues are complex and somewhat contradicting in this corridor and area that spans the Chapel Hill/Orange and Durham county border. 1. Public transit is necessary to provide an alternative to the automobile in this corridor. This is a high volume commuter route to UNC and Chapel Hill/Carrboro. 2. The Park and Ride lot at the UNC/Friday Center in Orange County still creates traffic problems at I-40/NC 54 intersection. 3. Moving the Park and Ride lot further east solves some of the NC 54 traffic but still does not correct intersection delays unless a Park and Ride can be found east of the intersection. 4. A Park and Ride lot in Durham County by itself does not create a land use that creates tax base. 5. Coupling a Park and Ride lot with a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) (a mixed-use development) and a future light rail station is ideal. However, the TOD location becomes a land use focal point that would bring some exterior traffic but also the potential of commercial tax base, a valuable commodity. Leigh Village, a potential TOD at the northwest corner of I-40/NC 54 in Durham County would fit this situation. However, does supporting this location create another opportunity for people to shop outside of Orange County? 6. Between UNC hospital area and the potential Leigh Village project is the segment that Triangle Transit has used in its draft financial plan of the Light Rail Alternative as the link of which Orange County would be financially responsible. Therein, Orange County would fund a 3-mile length in Orange County and a 1.75-mile length in Durham County. 7. This corridor transverses a large north-south environmental area owned by the ACOE for the Jordan Lake headwaters, which limits alternative locations for Park and Ride/Transit Oriented Development in the Orange County/Durham County general area.