Agenda - 05-03-1993 - III-C - Laserfiche WebLink

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5 ------7=-- -interiar'-small- amounts of gravel may be placed as needed to control potholes. : acts of Traffic Tonc-tern maintenance of private roads is the responsibility of the individual homeowners. Maintenance is assured through private agreements , which property owners along the road are aenerally subject to. These agreements are enforced by the property owners themselves , rather than by local government. If one or more parties to the acreement do not contribute their share for maintenance, then the other parties may file suit. The lack of proper maintenance can create safety problems through erosion of ditches , shoulders and the road bed. Generation of dust can also be a problem. The width of the travelway is less , requiring more caution where there is 2-way traffic. , This concern is generally offset however due to slower driving speeds . Concerns of this nature are raised during the annual public hearing held by the Board of Commissioners on the NCDOT Secondary Road Paving Schedule. Citizen comments regarding twelve of these roads were received during the past three Paving Schedule public hearings. Residents look to the State to pave roads as soon as possible so as to relieve inequities in contributions to maintenance costs, particularly where roads are used by the general public. There are also problems encountered when one or more property owners along the road refuse to grant the necessary right-of-way, or refuse to pay their share of the maintenance cost as may be required by a road maintenace agreement. NCDOT will not pave or maintain a gravel public road unless the appropriate right-of-way is obtained for its entire length. Because of these problems, private roads are generally discouraged, to avoid the future potential of property owners seeking relief from maintenance responsibility through NCDOT. Counties in North Carolina are not involved in road maintenance. Balancinc Costs and Tnnac+'s • Despite the general superiority of public roads over private roads, Orange County has recognized that private roads are - appropriate in some circumstances, as evidenced by the private road justification criteria. Through application of these private roads are, in very general terms, allowed only they would enhance or be in keeping with the existing rural nature of the area being subdivided, or where sensitive resources would be better protected. Monetary cost is not an explicit concern or criteria. It is an issue frequently raised by the developers and subdividers, however, due to the difference in up-front construction costs.