Agenda - 06-12-2007-sl - Laserfiche WebLink

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one fatality and 38 other crashes that involved physical injury. Two pedestrians were struck and there was one accident involving a school bus. The increase in truck traffic along Smith Level Road cannot be quantified. DOT does not count trucks separately from other vehicles during traffic counts. However, we do know that UNC uses Merritt Mining for construction fill so we should expect their truck traffic to remain constant over the next several years. While there is a perception among residents that there are also many trucks taking a short cut from 54 Bypass to 15 -501 there is no data available to support or counter those perceptions. In 2001, the Chapel Hill Bicycle And Pedestrian Board conducted a Walk to School Day Survey based on the National Highway Traffic Safety Association Walkability Checklist. Two respondents reported on Jones Ferry Road and Smith Level Road. Their comments were consistent with the feedback received during the public meeting held on May 20: • Too much traffic • No room for bikes, which a lot of people try to do • Need traffic signals • Drivers speed around bikes - -no shoulders -- a huge safety issue • Drivers do not yield to pedestrians • These roads are impossible to walk and dangerous to bike Speeding In 2003, speeding was a contributing factor in 31 percent of all fatal crashes nationwide. The UNC Highway Safety Research Center claims that: • At 40 mi/h a pedestrian has an 85 percent chance of being killed; • At 30 mi/h, the likelihood goes down to 45 percent, • At 20 mi/h, the fatality rate is only 5 percent Speed control along the unincorporated section of Smith Level falls under the jurisdiction of the Orange County Sheriff's Office and the Highway Patrol. The Highway Patrol has informally responded that speeding control along Smith Level Road is not one of their priorities. The Orange County Sheriff's Office has only recently acquired sufficient radar equipment to make speed control possible. School Walk Zones The task force considered the impact of sidewalks, bike lanes, and greenway improvements to the possible extensions of walk zones around Carrboro High School, Frank Porter Graham Elementary School, and Culbreth Middle School. Public school walk zones must meet several North Carolina requirements. Students may not travel more than 1.5 miles from the closest safe drop off at home to the closest safe drop off at the school. The mileage is generally calculated using driving distances, Page 3 of 8