
{"id":4904,"date":"2009-02-19T10:40:06","date_gmt":"2009-02-19T18:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=4904"},"modified":"2009-02-19T10:40:06","modified_gmt":"2009-02-19T18:40:06","slug":"considering-connector-roads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2009\/02\/19\/considering-connector-roads\/","title":{"rendered":"Considering connector roads"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By James Carnahan<\/p>\n<p>I disagree with Alderman Dan Coleman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s statement (Citizen, 2\/5\/09) that Carrboro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Connector Roads Policy \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fails in its stated goal \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto disperse newly generated traffic and to give a sense of connectivity and unity to the town as it grew.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>I believe the policy will help us realize the stated goals incrementally over time, as more connections get made. In addition, I think it also achieves a critical unstated goal (according to an Environmental Advisory Board member who helped craft the policy): reduction of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and the fuel conservation and CO2 reduction associated with VMT reduction.<\/p>\n<p>While I agree a re-assessment of the Connector Roads Policy will benefit Carrboro, I would strongly oppose any effort to water it down. As it is, the ultimate build-out of the current policy will produce a limited grid, and compromises recently implemented in the cases of the Autumn Drive and Sweet Bay Place connectors undermine the goals that have evolved over decades of work on the policy.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>I see revisiting the connector policy as an opportunity to strengthen it and ensure the desired outcomes. The Statement of Purpose Coleman cites from the 1986 policy document needs to be amended to include the objective of reducing trip lengths in order to save fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The safety issue that postponed the Autumn Drive connection needs to be addressed.<\/p>\n<p>If safety can only be achieved by inclusion of sidewalks, then the town needs to consider ways to get these sidewalks built in a more timely fashion. Comments from neighbors of a possible connection on Claymore Road clearly indicate the need sometimes to upgrade roads when they become thru streets. Claymore is a N.C. Department of Transportation maintained road; by what mechanism would we get pedestrian and safety improvements in such a case?<\/p>\n<p>I think it is important in this conversation to have a clear definition of the term \u00e2\u20ac\u0153commons.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d For me, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153commons\u00e2\u20ac\u009d comprises a broad spectrum of public realm facilities \u00e2\u20ac\u201c infrastructure such as water, sewer, schools, transportation and a variety of open space including unimproved natural areas, large regional parks and small neighborhood and pocket parks; and paved public gathering places, large and small. Roads are certainly part of our commons, but they are purposefully planned, built and maintained primarily for the use of wheeled vehicles \u00e2\u20ac\u201c bikes, cars and trucks.<\/p>\n<p>Some have proposed at recent hearings that bike and pedestrian paths should replace the proposed connections for motorized vehicles, but that would frustrate very important goals of the connector policy. Clearly, everyone would like to become less dependent on single-occupant car use \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and paved vehicular roads support that goal by providing efficient routes for small transit vehicles: car pools, van pools and mini-buses.<\/p>\n<p>Comments heard from Claymore residents in the Colleton Crossing public hearing tell us something about our policy on required recreation amenities. Claymore\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s narrow cul-de-sac streets serve public gathering functions that will be lost if it becomes connected. Our ordinance needs to foster the creation of truly functional \u00e2\u20ac\u0153commons\u00e2\u20ac\u009d facilities. Here we see a need for paved public gathering space: small piazzas where folks can set their chairs to chat and younger children can bounce a ball. <\/p>\n<p>Alderman Coleman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s discussion about Robert Moses\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and Durham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s freeways seems a bit like comparing peas with pachyderms. Carrboro is nowhere as big as those towns, and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking about simple two-lane streets, not multi-lane high-speed thruways. But in the case of Paris, the grand boulevards (which predate the automobile by decades) have emerged as a central feature of their commons. Not only do they enhance the movement of vehicles, including various forms of public transit, they also contribute immensely to the public realm Paris is famous for \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the cafe society and street life created by expansive sidewalks generously lined with trees. On-street parking everywhere adds to a pedestrian sense of safety. Multi-story mixed-use buildings put a multitude of employment, cultural and institutional activities within walking distance of a multitude of residents. The Paris of the Piedmont has much to learn from our distant \u00e2\u20ac\u0153namesake.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Coleman mentioned New Urbanist \u00e2\u20ac\u0153tenets.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I know folks in our community want planning policy guided by more than doctrines, and there are references available that attest to the importance of making these connections. <\/p>\n<p>Consider, in closing, this from the executive summary of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d by Reid Ewing, et al:<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153One of the most comprehensive studies, conducted in King County, Washington, by Larry Frank of the University of British Columbia, found that residents of the most walkable neighborhoods drive 26 percent fewer miles per day than those living in the most sprawling areas. A meta-analysis of many of these types of studies finds that households living in developments with twice the density, diversity of uses, accessible destinations, and interconnected streets [my emphasis] when compared to low-density sprawl drive about 33 percent less.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><em>Carnahan is a member of the Carrboro Planning Board and a founder of The Village Project.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By James Carnahan I disagree with Alderman Dan Coleman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s statement (Citizen, 2\/5\/09) that Carrboro\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Connector Roads Policy \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fails in its stated goal \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcto disperse newly generated traffic and to give a sense of connectivity and unity to the town as it grew.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I believe the policy will help us realize the stated goals incrementally over&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4904"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4905,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4904\/revisions\/4905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}