Minutes 02-27-2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Margaret Hauth said staff has looked at this, and there is no situation in that area that meets DOT's regulations. Commissioner Price said the other issue is the bus stop in front of the police station. Margaret Hauth said there is a turn lane and too much going on there to put up a crosswalk. Access Management Planning in Economic Development Districts — 1-40 Interchange and Hampton Pointe Areas Craig Benedict said Orange County and Hillsborough have been working in the access management plan arena for a long time. He said when you vie for money at the MPO level or from DOT or environmental agencies, if you have an adopted access management plan, your potential to receive funding increases greatly. He said County staff has worked on several access management plans in the Eno Development District and in the Efland/Mebane area. He feels it would also be prudent to work with Hillsborough to look at interchanges around Interstate 85 and new Highway 86. He said there is a plan based on work done in the early 2000's. He said the more work done to find feasible locations for traffic devices and widening of roads, the greater the potential for funding. He suggested that staff begin a dialogue regarding an interchange at Waterstone. He said there are 4 quadrants, and only 1 of those is really being developed at this time (the northeast quadrant). He said this is setting the stage for continued development to the Northwest quadrant. He said staff should look south of the interchange as well. He said the connection from Waterstone going east to west between New 86 and Old 86 was picked up by a developer, and without that connection, development would have been a struggle. Craig Benedict said it is not as easy in North Carolina to show a roadway on a map and then tell a development to reserve and dedicate the roadway. He said this plan is not just for public sector work; it is to set a game plan for making separate developments fit together. Chair Jacobs asked if the direction to staff would be to engage in joint planning on how to plan these areas. Craig Benedict said yes. He said he will coordinate with planning staff, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) will be asked to look at the work. He said the half million dollar road that DOT is building for Morinaga was augmented by the access management plan that was approved 2 years ago. He said the land use change that was done in that 423 acre area, though it was basic and just included a dashed line, was helpful when going through environmental approvals for the roadway design. He said he is asking elected officials for approval so that staff can move forward. He said these basic access management plans should be brought forward in the next 4-6 months to set a game plan for development in and around these economic development areas. Commissioner Dorosin asked if there is a generalized plan on paper now. Craig Benedict said there is nothing on paper for the Hillsborough area; but there are dashed lines on a map for the Efland/Mebane area. He said this indicates to developers where the best locations are for signalized intersections. Eric Hallman said he thought the DOT had done some preliminary drawings on both the Old 86 and New 86 interchanges Craig Benedict said those were only for the entrance and exit points off the interchange. He said there is more work within the quadrants that needs to be addressed. Commissioner McKee asked if this will be done in concert with the Hillsborough Planning Board. Craig Benedict said yes.