OCPB agenda 100318 - Laserfiche WebLink

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A. Roles and Responsibilities NCDOT has full authority over state roads but not over local land use decisions. Orange County regulates land use decisions but does not own or maintain local roads. Therefore, coordination is essential in balancing the two authorities when it comes to access management policies and procedures. Each agency has authority over a different part of the process and the partnership benefits the public, developer, and property owner whose financial investment is at stake. Role/Responsibility of the NCDOT NCDOT is responsible for regulating the location, design, construction, and maintenance of street and driveway connections on the State Highway system. The NCDOT recognizes landowners have certain reasonable rights of access consistent with their needs. However, access connections are a major contributor to traffic congestion and poor roadway facility operations that can result in decreased highway capacity, and increased safety hazards. Early NCDOT review of development proposals helps ensure conformance with access management requirements and provides NCDOT an opportunity to suggest changes prior to local project approval, which may occur well in advance of a request for a driveway permit. The NCDOT Access Management Group (of the Congestion Management Section of the Traffic Engineering and Safety Systems Branch) examines the potential safety and capacity impacts that new or expanding traffic generation may have on the state roadway system and provides recommendations based on the analysis. This process typically requires the completion of a Traffic Impact Analysis by the Developer/ Property Owner/Applicant. Other recommendations may range from denying access, to requiring the developer to construct additional travel or turn lanes, access restrictions, internal traffic pattern operations or installing new traffic signals to minimize the traffic impact. Role/Responsibility of Orange County Several sections of the Orange County UDO assist with implementation of the E-B-M AMP. The UDO requires site plans to comply with County adopted access management, transportation and/or connectivity plans and to denote the location of future roadways(s) and access easements, whether public or private, and to ensure and encourage future connectivity. The UDO also provides additional requirements for Economic Development Districts as well as the Major Transportation Corridor Overlay District (MTC). An important implementation tool for access management is the UDO requirement of a traffic impact analysis for all special use permits, major subdivisions, conditional zoning applications, site plans that exceed 800 trips per day, and for 80 or more dwelling units of residential development. Additionally, a traffic impact analysis may be required when a road capacity or safety issue exists. The purpose of the traffic impact analysis is to insure that proposed developments do not adversely affect the road network and to identify any traffic problems associated with access from the site to the existing transportation network. The objective of the traffic impact analysis is to identify solutions to potential problems and to present improvements to be incorporated into the proposed development. 44