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ORANGECOUNTY <br /> BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: February 21, 1995 <br /> Agenda Abstract <br /> Item <br /> SUBJECT. NORTH CAROLINA SCENIC BYWAYS PROGRAM <br /> DEPARTMENT: Planning PUBLIC HEARING: Yes—X No <br /> ATTACHMENTS: INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> -North Carolina Scenic Byways Booklet- Don Belk, Planner II/Special Projects, <br /> - Durham Herald-Sun article, 11-27-94 X2594 <br /> -Letter from W.D. Johnson, State Roadside Environmental <br /> Engineer, NCDOT, to Marvin Collins Orange County PHONE NUMBERS: <br /> Planning Director Hillsborough 732-8181 <br /> Mebane 227-2031 <br /> *NOTE: NORTH CAROLINA SCENIC.BYWAYS <br /> Durham 688-7331 <br /> BOOKLET PROVIDED AS SEPARATE Chapel Hill 967-9251 <br /> ENCLOSURE <br /> PURPOSE: To receive a report on the North Carolina Scenic Byways Program by Mr. R. N. <br /> (Bob) Kopetsky, Scenic Byways Coordinator, North Carolina Department of <br /> Transportation. <br /> BACKGROUND: The State of North Carolina first considered a scenic byways program in 1964 in <br /> response to a recommendation from the President's Council on Recreation and <br /> Natural Beauty for a national scenic road preservation program. By 1966,North <br /> Carolina had developed a formal program proposal that included road <br /> improvements and enhancements. Action was postponed in the legislature and <br /> the off embargoes of the 1970s dampened further efforts. During the 1980s, <br /> citizen interest grew, and in 1988 Governor James Martin directed the NCDOT <br /> to develop a program with a strong link to historic preservation. Early in 1990, <br /> the North Carolina Board of Transportation unanimously approved the State's <br /> Scenic Byways Program. The board fully funded the program in 1993, and the <br /> Scenic Byways Program was officially launched in September 1994. The program <br /> incorporates more than 1,500 miles of roads. North Carolina Scenic Byways <br /> contain 31 stretches of predominately rural roads that range in length from two <br /> to 192 miles. <br /> Two routes of North Carolina Scenic Byways come through Orange County. The <br /> Colonial Heritage Byway(see North Carolina Scenic Byways booklet,p.38) enters <br /> the County from the north on NC Highway 86, passes through the town of <br /> Hillsborough, and continues through Duke Forest and ends at US 151501 in <br /> Durham. The Football Road Scenic Byway begins in southern Orange County at <br /> NC Highway 54 and Old Greensboro Road, and follows SR 1005 into Alamance <br /> and Guilford Counties. <br />