Agenda - 05-15-1990 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

THOROUGHFARE PLANNING IN ORANGE COUNTY Thoroughfare planning in North Carolina began in the late 1950's. Durham's first adopted plan dates to 1965. It was last updated in 1980. After several attempts, Chapel Hill and Carrboro updated their 1968- vintage plan in 1984. A computer -based study is currently underway to consolidate these individually - developed plans into a unified plan for the entire Durham- Chapel Hill - Carrboro (DCHC) Urban Area. Neither Orange nor Durham County have adopted county Thoroughfare Plans. In North Carolina, road building authority lies with the State and municipalities rather than with the counties. For this reason, "urban" plans developed for municipalities have been used for long -range thoroughfare planning. County plans have generally been used for functionally classifying the relative roles of existing facilities. For this reason, the Hillsborough Thoroughfare Plan includes a great deal of central Orange County. As the Hillsborough and DCHC Urban Area Plans are adopted, follow up work will begin on an Orange County thoroughfare plan which more specifically describes the functional role of each existing and proposed thoroughfare. Periodic updates of these studies should take place every five to ten years unless conditions warrant otherwise. Due to the close proximity, it would be preferable to conduct these updates simultaneously or, better yet, within the scope of a single study. Recommended improvements are divided into four priority groups to more explicitly define a recommended order of implemen- tation. Responsibility for the proposed construction must be shared by the Town and the Division of Highways. With the different governmental agencies involved in providing the elements of the plan, coordination of activities is of prime importance. Thus, it was necessary for the revised plan resulting from this study to formally adopted by both the local governing body and the North Carolina Board of Transportation. To implement a plan effectively, the City and the State must procure in advance or protect by various legal controls the rights -of -way necessary for improvements which will ultimately be required. The thoroughfare plan is based on anticipated growth in the urban area. Actual growth rates and patterns may differ somewhat from those logically anticipated. As a result, it may become desirable to accelerate or retard the development of thoroughfares or to make revisions in the proposed plan commensurate with variations in anticipated urban development. It may be necessary to review the plan in detail every five to ten years to adjust the thoroughfare system to the actual variations in the rate of development. It is important that the thoroughfare plan be closely coordinated with other phases of a comprehensive plan for the development of the urban community. 3