Minutes 02-22-2018 Hillsborough - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

6 Margaret Hauth said there are developments that will be building sidewalks almost out to the I-85 overpass. Commissioner McKee said he envisions this costing millions of dollars. Mar garet Hauth said pricing has not been looked into, as it seemed wise to resolve the issue of maintenance first. Jeff Thompson said the Cameron Street sidewalk, which was about 300 feet, cost $53,000. Eric Peterson said the Nash Street sidewalk project, about 10 years ago, was about $100,000 per tenth of a mile, including curb and gutter. He said there is a wide window of cost, as unexpected problems arise. He said retrofitting sidewalks is extremely expensive. Town Commissioner Weaver asked if there are other options besides a full-blown sidewalk. Margaret Hauth said that depends on where you are, and getting residents to grant easements. She said the Nash Street project was so expensive because it was in the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) right of way on an NCDOT street, and everything had to be completed to NCDOT standards. She said Orange Grove Road, Orange High Road, and NC 86 are all state roads, and it may be worth checking with adjoining neighbors to explore alternatives. She said curb and gutter are expensive, as storm water becomes an issue. Commissioner Marcoplos said he drives Orange Grove Road a lot, and he would like to see an area wide enough for bikes and pedestrians to co-exist. Margaret Hauth said it is all about costs, and Orange Grove and St. Mary’s roads are very old. She said NCDOT does not claim ownership of the right of way, but rather claims maintenance right of way from the back of one ditch to the other, as most property lines go to the middle of the road. She said there is no room to put in any improvements unless you get easements from residents, and that drives up the cost. Commissioner Rich said the County does not build sidewalks, and does not have a sidewalk plan, but they need to see what a plan looks like before partnering any further. She said she would like to know Hillsborough’s plan as well. Margaret Hauth said Orange County has a high level plan, and she said the interests overlap outside the city limits. Tom Altieri, Orange County Comprehensive Planning Supervisor, said there is just the Comprehensive Transportation Plan at the Durham Chapel Hill Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO), and there is also one that applies to the rural areas with the Triangle Area Rural Planning Organization (TARPO). He said it is part of the County’s transit plan as relates to access to bus stops, but the primary question is one of maintenance. Margaret Hauth said the Town has no intention of putting a sidewalk on both sides of every existing street in Hillsborough. She said new sidewalks are required in new developments. Commissioner Rich asked Tom Altieri if he could highlight past conversations with DOT about Orange Grove Road. Tom Altieri said there is a small project to add fencing on the bridge overpass, and DOT would encourage people to walk closer to the fence. He said that project will go in very soon, and DOT said the bridge is not safe to walk on. He said the fence will make it safer, but DOT did not want to be seen as encouraging walkers. Craig Benedict, Planning Director, said when the County did the Orange Grove Road Access Management plan, the County lobbied DOT to put in a pedestrian bridge there, but it was a bridge to nowhere, due to a lack of sidewalks to which to connect, and that was ten years ago. He said if bus stops exist, a request can be made to build sidewalks to connect neighborhoods to those bus stops. He said transit tax funds can be used for this purpose. Commissioner Rich asked if Orange County would maintain the sidewalks.