By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
Carrboro – The Carrboro Board of Aldermen held off on making a final decision on the latest proposal for Smith Level Road, sending a series of questions on to state Department of Transportation officials for response.
At its meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall, the board approved seeking clarification on five concerns raised by board members and another nine points raised by the town’s Transportation Advisory Board.
Major items the two boards want feedback on include:
• the necessity for a median along the stretch from BPW Club Road to the Morgan Creek bridge;
• the extent of clearing along the right-of-way;
• where sidewalks should be located near the Rock Haven intersection;
• alternatives to prevent a left turn out of Willow Oak Lane and;
• signals and crosswalks at intersections.
The board also asked town planners to contact UNC’s Highway Safety Center for advice on the project and the cost of conducting a separate bicycle and pedestrian safety study.
The questions came after another round of comments from residents.
Terri Buckner, who helped lead the Smith Level Road Task Force, said the plan for the road was close, but needed further refinement in order to be acceptable. She encouraged the board and the DOT to give a lot of thought to how students will use the new sidewalks. Students, she said, may not abide by engineering studies.
The major sticking point in the plan is the road’s width. Although the plan calls for a two-lane road with a median from BPW Club Road to the Morgan Creek bridge, it also includes acquiring enough right-of-way from BPW Club Road to the Morgan Creek bridge to enable the eventual construction of a four-lane divided road.
Although DOT officials have said they would not widen the road unless the town requested it, residents in the area are uneasy about the potential for a wider road under the deal worked out earlier this year.
Transportation Advisory Board chair Charlie Hileman urged the board to find a way to make the new plan work, calling the current situation on Smith Level Road terrible for bicyclists and pedestrians.
“There are things in here we don’t like,†he said of the design, “but if we’re going to get it done we’re going to have to work with DOT.
Heidi Perry, who has served in several capacities on town transportation boards, said the current situation on Smith Level has led many to give up on using it for alternative transportation. She said she would like to see the town and DOT come to an agreement, but also has reservations about the extent of the footprint.
The board is expected to take up the matter again in September.
In other action Tuesday night, the board approved adding an area near the Eubanks Road landfill to the county’s no-fault well-replacement policy.
The board also set a public hearing on pedestrian- and bicycle-access alternatives in the Estes Drive area for its June 22 meeting. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.