Orange County NC Website
Mayor Foy said that her comments would be referred to the Town Manager and <br />Town Attorney. <br />Board of County Commissioners Vote: <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Halkiotis <br />to refer this item to the Orange County Planning Board for a recommendation to the <br />County Commissioners. <br />VOTE: UNANMIOUS <br />Town of Chapel Hill Vote: <br />A motion was made by Ed Harrison, seconded by Mark Kleinschmidt to receive and <br />refer the comments to the Town Manager and Tawn Attorney. <br />VOTE: UNANIMOUS <br />Public Comment on Unrelated Item: <br />Sharon Cook was representing a citizens' interest group called Students on <br />Sidewalks. She gave a presentation and distributed a handout. She made reference <br />to the urgent public safety issue and said that we must not wait for a tragedy to occur <br />before taking action. She showed some pictures of Homestead Road and High <br />School Road and said that it is not friendly to motorists or pedestrians. There are no <br />turn lanes, no shoulders, no traffic light, no crosswalks, and no sidewalks. This is a <br />stark contrast to the roadways, sidewalks, crosswalks, and traffic signals at East <br />Chapel Hill High School and Cedar Ridge High School This is a very congested <br />intersection. Students are often walking next to traffic on the white lines and darting <br />through traffic. This roadway needs to be safe far all drivers at all times of the day <br />and night. She asked that a traffic control officer be provided at this intersection as <br />soon as possible. She also asked that a joint jurisdictional citizens' committee from <br />the County and both Towns be appointed as soon as possible to begin correcting <br />this hazard. The mission should be to craft a funded solution for getting sidewalks <br />from the neighborhoods north of Homestead Road to Chapel Hill High School with <br />safe crossing areas for the students. The committee should include citizens from the <br />nearby neighborhoods, staff members from the County and Towns with an expertise <br />in traffic planning and funding, and representatives from the school district. The <br />committee should seek advice and input from the Highway Safety Research Center <br />in Chapel Hill. They would like a solution presented by the April 2004 joint planning <br />meeting. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked if there was a solution besides a traffic control officer <br />and a committee that can be implemented. Sharon Cook said they sent a letter from <br />the Chapel Hill High School Student Governance Committee back in April to DOT <br />and they said that because no student had been killed or injured at this intersection, <br />it did not warrant a traffic light. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis said that this is the standard message DOT gives to people <br />in both ends of the County. He endorses this and would like to get it moving. <br />Dorothy Verkerk suggested the model for NC 54 and Hamilton Road. She said that <br />what made this work well was that the engineers from the Town were working with <br />the engineers from DOT. She also asked everyone to vote for the sidewalk bonds. <br />