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Executive Summary <br />The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) official access management definition is the process that provides <br />access to land development while simultaneously preserving the flow of traffic on the surrounding system in <br />terms of safety, capacity, and speed. This plan promotes FHWA’s access management practices by allowing local <br />government to: <br />• Maintain the overall safety of the transportation system; <br />• Minimize congestion and crash rates; <br />• Provide for efficient traffic flow and pedestrian safety; and <br />• Provide appropriate access to adjacent business properties. <br />The original Efland-Buckhorn-Mebane Access Management Plan (E-B-M AMP) was adopted November 15, 2011 <br />and it implemented Efland-Mebane Small Area Plan (2006) recommendations. It has also advanced several 2030 <br />Comprehensive Plan goals and objectives. <br />The original plan identified access management strategies and <br />areas where new connector roads would be needed to <br />maintain and improve access within areas identified in the <br />County’s land use plan for economic development purposes. <br />This plan was instrumental in gaining North Carolina <br />Department of Transportation (NCDOT) acceptance and <br />participation in roadwork improvements necessary to serve <br />the Morinaga Candy Factory, which opened in 2016, with <br />limited on-site surveying and analysis. <br /> <br />In 2017, a thorough existing conditions, environmental, and traffic <br />analysis was completed through an engineering-based transportation <br />study conducted by Volkert Inc., based in Raleigh, NC. Its <br />Transportation Report for the Efland-Buckhorn-Mebane Study Area <br />(See Appendix A), hereafter referred to as the 2017 Transportation <br />Report, reinforces the original E-B-M AMP with a comprehensive <br />investigation of the area’s development potential, traffic impact and <br />recommended improvements. <br />This update uses the 2017 Transportation Report to renew and replace <br />the original 2011 Efland-Buckhorn-Mebane Economic Development <br />District Access Management Plan. This plan takes into account input from local residents and businesses in the <br />area through a public workshop conducted throughout the planning process. It also incorporates other road and <br />intersection improvements recommended by planning staff based on their expertise and familiarity with <br />economic development activities coordinated by the County’s Economic Development Department. <br /> <br /> 23