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Orange County & NCDOT Highway Luncheon Meeting Notes <br />Division 7 and District 1 <br />November 30, 2017 12:00 p.m. <br />Churton Street has been increasing more than from just the traffic from <br />Waterstone. <br />Barry Jacobs stated that fees should be put aside when developments are <br />reviewed, for the future time when traffic signals and other improvements <br />are needed. Chuck Edwards noted that in the case of Waterstone, a traffic <br />signal was not warranted at the time of development approval (using <br />NCDOT Traffic Signal Warrant guidelines). He noted that it is difficult to <br />find the money needed for future improvements at the time of development <br />approval. <br />Status: To be determined. <br />V. NEW INQUIRIES FROM COMMISSIONERS (Including additions at the meeting) <br />a. Merritt Mill updates on road, bike and pedestrian path - where is the $350K <br />coming from? Is there a local match needed? ( NCDOT) <br />Chuck Edwards and Pat Wilson, NCDOT stated that the Franklin Street at <br />Merritt Mill Road project is in the current adopted STIP (U -5847) but the <br />project estimate has grown to $5 million so an alternative project has been <br />submitted for the current round of SPOT 5.0 projects. The new project is <br />bike /pedestrian improvements totaling $350,000 with half provided by <br />NCDOT. The other half must be provided locally and there must be an <br />agreement between Chapel Hill and Carrboro as to what is to be done at the <br />intersection. Penny Rich stated that Chapel Hill wants a roundabout but <br />Carrboro does not. There should be an agreement between Chapel Hill and <br />Carrboro boards before the project moves forward, but the project should be <br />delivered in 2019. Penny Rich wondered if the MPO might have some block <br />grant funds, and she asked that NCDOT keep Orange County informed as to <br />progress and the timeline. <br />b. Mt. Carmel Church Rd. roundabout update. Re- striping - how has this helped <br />traffic /who is collecting that data? ( NCDOT) <br />Chuck Edwards and Pat Wilson, NCDOT stated that the right -of -way for the <br />project has already been acquired and that construction should begin in June, <br />2018. There was a recent October 2017 traffic study with recommendations <br />for two exclusive right -turn lanes, which should be a substantial improvement. <br />c. Alternate routing around Hillsborough (Barry Jacobs) <br />Barry Jacobs introduced the issue of finding alternatives to a bypass around <br />Hillsborough (other than Elizabeth Brady Road). He made a general inquiry <br />of whether we want to look at Lawrence Road as a route around Hillsborough, <br />along with the 1 -85 project and other streets in western and eastern <br />.1 <br />