Agenda - 05-20-2004-4 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

~~ Place was the right model, he said, but he pointed out that putting some buildings around green space does not create a McCorkle Place,. Mayor Foy acloaowledged that the Council did not know the solution. But they did know that it should not be "like a Disneyland of the University," with 17,000 parking spaces there, he said. Mr, Firstenberg stated that UNC would also like to reduce the parking since having more parking does nothing to enhance the plan. "But we have to be shepherds of a plan that's viable," he said. Mr. Firstenberg noted that LiNC was trying to develop only about 25% of the overall land. The main campus model was a great one, but the mix of uses at Carolina North had nothing to do with the main campus per se, he said. Carolina North will not include undergraduate teaching, and will not have dorms but a different kind of residential component, Mr. Firstenberg pointed out. Mayor Foy suggested that an easy first step would be to take 10,000 parking spaces and put them in a satellite lot somewhere off I-40. And make a commitment that the University will not advocate for the widening of Airport Road, Weaver Dairy Road and Estes Drive, he said. Mayor Foy stated that there were serious commitments that the University could make but that those presented did not strike him as "terribly ingenious" ways of dealing with the problem. Putting the cars on I-40 would be one way to make a serious commitment that Carolina North will not be a magnet for cars, said Mayor Foy. Mr. Firstenberg stated that UNC and the Town need a transportation plan that would work over the long term. And that needs to he done by all of the partners together, he said. Mr. Firstenberg said that park and ride was a clear part of the solution. But traffic experts from the Town, University and State need to challenge themselves to determine a plan that will work over time, he said Mr. Firstenberg remarked that park and ride was only part of the answer. Mayor Foy commented that what LTNC has put on the table is not particularly forward thinking. He pointed out that it is fine to say that all will be working together, but there was a certain amount of inertia that is created once the plan is on the table and that plan has 17,000 parking spaces ml site. Mayor Foy said he was asking, why is that? He stated it seemed to him that it is because that's the reality that L1NC is looking at from an economical standpoint, Mayor Foy added that he believed LILAC wanted to work with the Town, but he did not see much creativity in any kind of transit or in the design. Mr. Firstenberg stated that the plan showed how to accommodate the things that they had thought of But it is not a plan to implement possible solutions, he said. Mayor pro tem Wiggins asked Mr. Waldrop if UNC was ready to rethink the parking issue and the transportation plan if University, Town and State representatives could discuss it. "Are you that open to working together," she asked. Mr. Waldrop replied that they were, noting Yhat part of that was being before the Council tonight and having this dialogue. Transportation was clearly a big issue and everyone needed to sit down and work out a plan that would work for all, he said.