Agenda - 03-13-2012 - 8d - Laserfiche WebLink

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NC 54/ I-40 CORRIDOR STUDY TRANSPORTATION-LAND USE MASTER PLAN L EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Summary Overview A primary route connecting much of southern Orange, However, rising congestion levels threaten property Durham and Wake Counties, as well as new growth values and economic growth for both jurisdictions, as occurring in Chatham County, with the academic and well as the ability for UNC to compete for jobs and medical destinations at the University of North Carolina patients. There are policies in place in Chapel Hill and at Chapel Hill (UNC) and other destinations in Research on the UNC campus that restrict the amount of available Triangle Park,the NC 54/1-40 corridor is facing pressures parking, and encourage the use of transit in reaching unlike many others in the region. In destinations served by this corridor. addition to the regional access that NC Yet the heavy traffic, high speeds and "NC 54 is an 54 provides for UNC and its medical lack of multimodal facilities along the facilities for commuters, patients and complex corridor, corridor create barriers that limit the visitors from across the state and multiple travel usefulness and safety of walking and region, the corridor is experiencing markets with each having bicycling for transportation. This also adjacent land development changes unique characteristics influences transit usage, where heavy that require careful planning with needs." demand exists due to the parking transportation improvements to serve constraints, but better pedestrian the long-term vitality of the corridor access is needed to make transit more and its surrounding neighborhoods.With environmental, effective as a travel option.As a result of those existing physical and policy constraints limiting expansion and anticipated future demands,NC 54 is an extremely of portions of the roadway and the development of complex corridor,serving multiple travel markets and a parallel roadway connections, the corridor requires diverse array of stakeholder and community interests a multimodal solution to meet future demand while focused on the success of different transportation modes, improving safety-for all users and traffic operations. protection of neighborhoods and the economic viability of their land. The NC 54/1-40 corridor is extremely important to the communities in both Durham and Chapel Hill, where it serves residential, commercial and institutional land uses, creating an eclectic mix of local and regional traffic competing for limited space. The corridor is fast becoming the most congested in the region, and has begun a transition from low-density suburban development with a semi-rural feel to a more urban pattern, with approved and pending development proposals expected to accelerate that transition as the economy rebounds. With more than 600 acres of vacant developable land surrounding it and likely development and infill of the future light rail station areas, NC 54 is poised for dramatic changes. As a result,the corridor is rising in statewide importance and regional prominence. DECEMBER 2011 E-1