By Beth Mechum
Staff Writer
What started out Tuesday night at the Carrboro Board of Aldermen meeting as a discussion about construction of the Goddard day-care center in the Winmore subdivision turned into a conversation about traffic troubles on the increasingly populated Homestead Road.
A public hearing was held at Carrboro Town Hall to discuss approving a minor modification to the conditional use permit for the Goddard School at 515 E. Winmore Ave., but the board voted to postpone approval of the permit until they could hear back from staff about concerns that arose at the meeting.
The modification dealt with a request to reduce the number of parking spaces to be built from 63 to 40, with two bike racks.
Representatives from the Goddard School presented plans for the school, which will accommodate more than 150 children in a 10,160-square-foot facility.
“I think it’s great that we’re considering another use for this mixed-use development,†Sammy Slade, a candidate for alderman, told the board during the public-input session. “But because this was zoned originally for mixed use, and not a day care, it would make sense to have a sense to how that was going to affect the traffic.â€
Board members also were concerned that the standard traffic study done for all developments would not be sufficient for the Winmore subdivision because it didn’t take into account the seven schools in the surrounding area.
Though there were no numbers, many shared anecdotal evidence of how bad traffic is on Homestead Road between the peak hours of 7 and 9 a.m.
Alderman Dan Coleman suggested limiting left turns out of Winmore Ave. between peak hours.
The biggest concern for the aldermen is traffic, and though the members said they are not against having the day-care center there, the board doesn’t want to move ahead with the project until they’ve received what they feel is adequate traffic data.
Another public hearing was held to discuss construction of a subdivision at 100 Deer St.
The proposed subdivision, referred to as the Lloyd Square Architecturally Integrated Subdivision, is off the gravel road between Quail Roost Drive (which runs off of Hillsborough Road) and Lisa Drive, and would occupy 5.98 acres.
Phil Post and Associates has submitted an application to construct the subdivision. If the conditional use permit is approved, it would allow for the creation of 16 lots, two of which would be occupied by duplexes and the rest by single-occupancy dwellings.
The project would not require new roadways and would rely on existing infrastructure.
The board approved the permit with some added conditions.
Some neighbors expressed concern about heavy construction traffic in an area where many children walk to school.
“Construction trucks tend to go fast, no matter what you tell them. And kids tend to not look, no matter what you tell them, and that’s scary,†Alderman Jacquie Gist said.
Phil Post said the developers planned to build a chain-link fence on the subdivision side of the sidewalk and to separate the work from the children, and he also promised to council his subcontractors to be especially conscious of children in the area.
As an added precaution, the board added a condition to the permit that construction trucks would need to plan their travel times before or after the peak hours in which children are walking to and from school.
A traffic-calming condition was also added, suggesting a speed bump to slow trucks down around heavily pedestrian-traveled areas.
In other action, the board adopted a resolution authorizing the town manger to execute a utility agreement with the N.C. Department of Transportation for improvements along Old Fayetteville Road.
And the board recognized September as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and October as Fire Prevention Month.