Agenda - 11-15-2011 - 9a - Laserfiche WebLink

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20 September 3, 2010 ADOPTED ALIGNMENT US 15-501 Major Investment Study The 2001 US 15-501 MIS recommended the alignment (referred to as a corridor in that study) shown in Figure 2. The alignment was subsequently moved to the east (closer to I-40) which is now Alignment 1 in Figure 1. Subsequent Transportation and Other Plans The alignment recommended in the MIS was subsequently included and approved in the DCHC MPO Long-Range Transportation Plan, and subsequent updates to the LRTP, including the current Plan, have continued to include this alignment. Several local government land use and transportation plans have been prepared and adopted assuming Alignment 1 as a major fixed guideway transit corridor that includes regionally adopted transit stations: The adopted alignment is referenced in the Durham City and County Comprehensive Plan. This Plan, adopted in February 2005 and amended in January 2009, states that the "City and County shall support planning for and protection of the transit corridors identified in the most recently adopted version of the Triangle Transit Authority's Regional Transit Plan". Furthermore, it mandates that the "City-County Planning Department and the City Public Works Department shall review development proposals in relation to the adopted Regional Transit Plan, and shall seek dedication or reservation of right-of-way along designated transit corridors in conformance with that Plan". The Comprehensive Plan also designates the Leigh Village area as a Suburban Transit Area, which allows for high densities associated with Compact Neighborhood development, and requires development to be transit, bicycle, and pedestrian oriented. The Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) for the DCHC MPO adopted the Southwest Durham/Southeast Chapel Hill Collector Street Plan (CSP) in April 2007. Transit circulation and future transit~facilities were a large component in the development of the recommended CSP. Better connectivity and accessibility to existing and future transit facilities was closely considered, with dense development expected near proposed transit stations. The current NC 54 corridor study, from US 15-501 to east of 1-40, was commissioned by the City of Durham, Durham County, the Town of Chapel Hill, and the DCHC MPO in order to analyze land use and transportation issues in the corridor to better inform future land use and transportation strategies. While the final master plan resulting from this study has not been officially adopted, the study assumes the adopted alignment. Development Plans A number of land development projects have either been completed or are being planned based on the adopted alignment and local government land use and transportation plans that reference the alignment. These include: • Meadowmont was required by the Town of Chapel Hill to preserve right-of--way for fixed guideway transit, and planned the development to concentrate the commercial and office components in the vicinity of the proposed Meadowmont station.