Agenda - 02-17-2003-10a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

7 IV. Recommendations for Road Configuration The Joint Orange Grove Road Transportation Group recommended several changes to the Hillsborough Transportation Plan regarding proposed roadway sections. Orange grove road is designated as a major urban thoroughfare with average daily traffic of 4,100 in 2001. The proposed cross section is a two-lane, 24-foot shoulder section within a 60- foot right-of-way. Traffic projections in the corridor do not warrant widening the road since the existing and proposed cross section has adequate capacity (14,000 ADT) to handle the projected average daily traffic at level of service E. Regional urban highway capacity figures are calculated at level of service E. Level of service E represents operating conditions at or near the capacity level with reduced speeds and difficulty maneuvering within the traffic streams. Operations at level of service E are usually unstable because small increases in flow or minor perturbations within the traffic stream will cause breakdowns. This plan recommends a cross section for Orange Grove Road that will be adequate to operate in the future at a higher level of service. The new housing proposals in the Orange Grove Road corridor, all of which could be approved by February 2003, have the potential of creating 4,400 (approximately) trips per day. Traffic generated by the new high school at capacity (1,000 students) could easily create more than 1,0 trips per day during the school year. Traffic from the known development, combined with existing traffic counts in the corridor, will outpace the traffic projected for 2020 in the 1997 Transportation Plan for the Town of Hillsborough. That plan projects 8,300 average daily traffic in 2020 and traffic generated by current development proposals may result in average daily traffic over 9,000 within the next five years. Recommended cross sections for Orange Grove Road are shown in Figure 1. Proposed Street Cross Sections. The recommended cross sections include three shoulder sections (figures 1 a, 1 c and 1 d) and a curb and gutter section (figure 1 b). The recommended shoulder sections require an 80-foot right-of--way to accommodate two 11' - 12' travel lanes with a bicycle lane, shoulder and drainage ditch in each direction. Two of the shoulder sections and the curb and gutter section place 5' sidewalks outside the drainage and utility areas which would allow construction of the sidewalks prior to widening the roadway for bicycle lanes. Placement of pedestrian facilities in that manner, farthest from the travelway, provides more separation between pedestrian and motor traffic and increases safety and comfort level for all traffic.