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MOSES CAREY,JR., CHAIR ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />SARRYJACOBS, VICECHAIR POST OFFICE BOX 8181 <br />VALERIE P. FOUSHEE <br />AIJCEM. GORDON 200 SOUTH CAMERON STREET <br />MIKE NELSON <br />HILLSBOROUGH, NORTH CAROLINA 27278 <br />July 31, 2007 <br />Mr. J. Douglas Galyon <br />Division 7 Member <br />North Carolina Board of Transportation <br />Post Office Box 14996 <br />Greensboro, North Carolina 27415-4996 <br />Dear Mr. Galyon: <br />\rt <br />:: <br />Cato <br />AUG - 3 20007 <br />NQ Dept, of Transportation <br />Division of Highways-7th Div. <br />The Orange County Board of County Commissioners heartily approves the initiative <br />of the North Carolina Department of Transportation in reconsidering the use of Secondary <br />Road Construction funding to include improving paved roads, and the Department's <br />recommendations for the 2007-2008 Secondary Road Construction Program that includes <br />proposed improvements to SR 1008, Mr. Carmel Church Road, from US 15-501 to the <br />Chatham County line, for paved shoulders, resurfacing and intersection improvements. <br />Mt. Carmel Church Road is a popular route for bicyclists, and in addition to being a <br />primary priority route in Orange County's Bicycle Transportation Plan, is part of NC Bicycle <br />Route 2 Mountains to Sea Trail. Many have noted safety concerns for bicyclists on Mt. <br />Carmel Church Road. <br />A group of Orange County citizens has asked for our assistance in obtaining <br />improvements to this road. Over the last few years, Mt. Carmel Church Road has become <br />increasingly busy due to development in Chatham County. The citizens are especially <br />concerned about the intersection of Bennett Road with Mt. Carmel Church Road, which <br />access point is at a blind curve on a downslope. The speed limit in the area is 35 miles per <br />hour; citizens complain however, that most vehicles using the road are traveling in excess of <br />50 miles per hour. Several residents have contacted the Department of Transportation <br />regarding a stop sign at that intersection and there have been three accidents at that <br />intersection in the last three years. As North Carolina Department of Transportation considers <br />an average of five or more accidents a year a warrant for a traffic signal, the Department has <br />not considered a signal at this intersection. <br />Orange County welcomes the improvements to Mr. Carmel Church Road in the <br />NCDOT proposed 2008 Secondary Road Construction Program. Those improvements will do <br />much to make this popular route more safe. However, citizens do not wish to experience a <br />greater frequency of accidents before having a safe access at Bennett Road. <br />WWW. CO.ORANGE. NC. US <br />PROTECTING AND PRESCRVING PEOPLE, RESOURCES, QUALITY OF LIFE <br />ORANGE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA - YOU COUNTI <br />(919) 245-2130 • PAX (919) 644-0246