Agenda - 02-18-1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

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09q that it faces a traffic crisis, Hillsborough is attempting to develop a thoroughfare plan for itself and its surrounds. To add Scotswood 's 11,000-plus auto trips per day (an estimate purchased by the developers) to this congested area at this time is therefore especially unwise. Nor does it make sense to commit the county to Scotswood when the nrojeCt may very well sit astride the proposed path of a Hillsborough highway loop, or a traffic artery connecting Treyburn and the 1-85/1-40 area. As the attached Raleigh News and Observer article of Jan. 9, 1986 reports about the N.C. Transportation Task Force's findings, "Task force members said building costs could be cut significantly if cities and counties could better protect right of way for planned roads." Hillsborough and the state of North Carolina may thus be saddled with reduced options and higher road-building costs in implementing a pending thoroughfare plan if we approve Scotswood at this premature date. With the increasing likelihood that counties will be asked to contribute to future road improvements, the costs to all Orange County residents would be increased yet another notch. Such shortsighted expenditure of our tax dollars cannot serve the best interests of the public. The public will not be well-served, either, by the Scotswood traffic that would feed down St. Mary's Road past the Cameron Park Elementary School and into downtown Hillsborough. As Hillsborough's mayor and others pointed out, this traffic will pose a major danger to health, safety and welfare. The school area is already dangerous for pedestrians, according to hearing testimony and a recent Durham Morning Herald article. (See also attached article regarding a similar situation in Cary. ) The developers' traffic consultant estimates 3,500 trips per day past the school; this is doubtless an underestimate, especially as the consultant sought to assuage citizen concerns by citing Lawrence Road, 1.2 miles distant, as a likely commuting route from Scotswood to 1-85 and 1-40. St. Mary's Road passes right by Scotswood. Downtown Hillsborough is already traffic-clogged, with Churton Street and Churton Street Extension becoming dangerously overloaded at peak commuting hours when projected Scotswood traffic would add to the burden. To allow such an impact even as Hillsborough is attempting thoroughfare planning may defeat the town's best intentions to direct its own future. And Hillsborough is a fragile and precious resource, one of the oldest communities in central North Carolina, a former state capital with a substantial historic district. "Over the years, Hillsborough has worked diligently to preserve its rich heritage," the town's Chamber of Commerce informs visitors and prospective residents and businesses. "Today, Hillsborough is building a community that will leave a heritage as lasting as the one left by our colonial forefathers. " Our planning efforts can help make that legacy a sorry one of squandered opportunity and needless haste, or they can contribute to protecting those qualities that make Hillsborough and Orange County a special place in which to live.