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11.9 <br /> - <br /> conditions will have a considerable impact. The 1987 <br /> estimated traffic count on the Township' s other arterial, Old <br /> Greensboro Road, was 1400 vpd, placing it well within the <br /> level of service 'C' capacity at 55 mph of 2580 vpd. <br /> NC54 and Dodsons Crossroads have seen the sharpest <br /> recent volume increases on Bingham Township roads. Between <br /> 1980 and 1984 two way traffic on NC54 increased from 4600 vpd <br /> to 6000 vpd east of Orange Grove Road and from 4700 vpd to <br /> 8400 vpd west of Bethel-Hickory Grove Church Road, increases <br /> of 30% and 79%, respectively. Between 1983 and 1987 the <br /> traffic on Dodsons Crossroads north of NC54 increased by an <br /> estimated 50% from 1300 vpd to 1940 vpd. <br /> Of the local roads in Bingham Township, <br /> three have <br /> volumes of over 250 vehicles per day, Jo Mac Road, Ford Road, <br /> and Ferguson Road. <br /> The stated policies of the Land Use Plan include <br /> encouraging infill development, preserving the agricultural <br /> characteristics of the rural townships, and decreasing <br /> development pressures in environmentally sensitive areas such <br /> as the University Lake and Cane Creek Watersheds. As such, <br /> the construction of new transportation corridors, such as a <br /> "Southern Loop" by-pass of NC54, into and through Bingham <br /> Township is to be discouraged. <br /> Agriculture <br /> While Bingham Township is one of the fastest growing <br /> townships in the County, it is also the most agriculturally <br /> productive. The Township's dairy operations alone account for <br /> between 15-20% of the County's entire agricultural revenue. <br /> Beef cattle, corn, and small grains are other important <br /> commodities raised and produced in Bingham Township. <br /> In terms of revenue produced, dairy production is far <br /> and away the leading agricultural commodity in Orange County. <br /> During 1985 the County's dairies produced almost 70,000,000 <br /> lbs. of milk and sold dairy animals which returned a gross <br /> income of $11,850,000. This amounted to 44% of the county's <br /> entire farm income and doubled that of tobacco, the County's <br /> second leading commodity. Orange County ranks sixth ong <br /> North Carolina's 100 counties in terms of dairy production. <br /> The center of Orange County's dairy production is <br /> Bingham Township. Twenty of the County's forty-four Grade A <br /> 3.'11-5� <br />