Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
47 <br /> have been proposed at US 15-501, Sage Road, and just north of Chippoaks Drive, and a greenway has <br /> been proposed from just north of Chippoaks Drive to 1-40. <br /> Estes Drive Extension (SR 1780) (Seawell School Road (SR 1843) to NC 86 (Martin <br /> Luther King Jr Boulevard)) <br /> Estes Drive Extension (SR 1780),from Seawell School Road (SR 1843)to NC 86 (Martin Luther King Jr <br /> Boulevard), is currently a two-lane undivided minor thoroughfare that does not provide adequate <br /> pedestrian and on-road bicycle facilities, and is projected to exceed its vehicular capacity by 2040. <br /> Improvements are needed to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle traffic and improve connectivity <br /> between Carrboro and Chapel Hill. Estes Drive currently has many residential areas, a couple schools, <br /> and a small airport located nearby. <br /> This section of Estes Drive Extension currently has a 30-foot right-of-way, sidewalks at certain locations, <br /> and no bicycle lanes. The 2013 AADT is 12,000 vehicles per day(vpd); by 2040, the AADT is expected to <br /> be 14,000 vpd compared to a LOS D capacity of 12,900 vpd for the existing right-of-way. This volume <br /> produces a volume-to-capacity ratio of just 1.1,which is unlikely to require a widening project. Estes <br /> Drive Extension may see significant traffic increases by 2040 due to Chapel Hill's plans to construct a <br /> northern campus, "Carolina North," for the University of North Carolina (UNC)just north of Estes Drive <br /> Extension. The development of Carolina North will include improvements to the roadway, which may <br /> include widening and intersection improvements at NC 86. <br /> The current development around this section of Estes Drive Extension, in addition to the future <br /> development (especially with Carolina North to be built along Estes Drive Extension), will generate <br /> increased bicycle, pedestrian, and transit traffic. The current pedestrian facilities are discontinuous and <br /> inadequate for existing pedestrian traffic. There are no bicycle facilities, and many of the bus stops do <br /> not have any amenities and do not include bus pull-outs resulting in blocked traffic. The need for <br /> pedestrian, bicycle, and transit facilities will only increase with additional development around Estes <br /> Drive Extension, especially with the construction of Carolina North. The development of this new <br /> campus for UNC will drastically increase non-motorized and transit traffic along Estes Drive Extension. <br /> In the Carrboro Bicycle Network Plan, bicycle lanes are proposed from Estes Drive Extension to the <br /> Carrboro town limits (the railroad tracks). The Chapel Hill Bicycle Facilities Plan proposes bicycle lanes <br /> from Seawell School Road to Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard. <br /> Sidewalks have been proposed along the east side of Estes Drive Extension (from North Greensboro <br /> Street(SR 1772)to town limits) in the Carrboro Bicycle Policy and Sidewalk Policy.The Chapel Hill <br /> Pedestrian Facilities Plan has proposed sidewalks from Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard (NC 86) to the <br /> proposed Carrboro sidewalks. In both the Carrboro and Chapel Hill pedestrian plans, the Bolin Creek <br /> Greenway is proposed to cross underneath Estes Drive with a proposed underpass. <br /> Minimum Problem Statements—Highway—14 <br />