
{"id":4998,"date":"2009-02-26T09:46:23","date_gmt":"2009-02-26T17:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=4998"},"modified":"2009-02-26T09:46:23","modified_gmt":"2009-02-26T17:46:23","slug":"residents-question-connector-road-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2009\/02\/26\/residents-question-connector-road-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Residents question connector road policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Susan Dickson<br \/>\nStaff Writer<\/p>\n<p>CARRBORO \u00e2\u20ac\u201d After hours of public comment regarding connector roads for two proposed developments, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted on Tuesday to postpone decisions on both Claremont Phases IV and V and Colleton Crossing. <\/p>\n<p>The plans for Claremont Phases IV and V, across Homestead Road from the development\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first three phases, include 27 townhomes and 69 single-family homes. In accordance with the town\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Connector Roads Policy, the development would connect to Wexford via Colfax Drive, providing access from Homestead Road to Hillsborough Road. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>However, residents have argued that the policy mandates connector roads between new developments and neighborhoods that then bring increased traffic to roads that aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t designed to handle it.<\/p>\n<p>The board of aldermen approved the Connector Roads Policy in 1986 as development was initiated in the northern areas of town. The policy seeks \u00e2\u20ac\u0153to ensure that old and new developments and businesses in town connect to each other, both to disperse newly generated traffic and to give a sense of connectivity and unity to the town as it grew.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>According to the developer, Parker Louis, the development is expected to generate 58 vehicle trips per day through the Colfax Drive connection.<\/p>\n<p>While several residents spoke in favor of the connection from Wexford to Claremont IV and V, the majority of speakers opposed the connection. <\/p>\n<p>Scott Christie, president of the Williams Woods Homeowners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Association, spoke on behalf of the presidents of the Wexford, Cates Farm and Cobblestone homeowners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 associations in opposition to the proposed connector road. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153This plan will not disperse traffic, but instead focus and funnel it through narrow streets never intended to carry a high volume of traffic,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The only way unity will be created is to allow pedestrian traffic like cyclists [and] joggers, which we do support.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Mortimer Alzoma, president of the Wexford Homeowners\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Association, encouraged board members to walk through the neighborhoods to get a feel for the traffic.<br \/>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153More cars will be a problem,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It will be a tragic problem for some unsuspecting kid, and it will destroy a parent.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Giles Blunden, an architect who develops sustainable communities, said the connector roads policy helps reduce the total number of miles driven, contributing to the public good. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153All those things that go with those miles \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the carbon, the pollution, the traffic, the danger \u00e2\u20ac\u201c all of those are reduced [with connector roads], and that is why the public is served by connector roads,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. <\/p>\n<p>Blunden added that the connector road would provide another way out for residents of the established neighborhood, reducing traffic using the current entrance to the neighborhood. <\/p>\n<p>Matthew Barton, chair of the Carrboro Planning Board and a resident of Wexford, said he supported the connection from Claremont to Wexford. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I believe there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of advantages to connectivity as long as you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t endanger safety,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153These roads were built with sidewalks. They are not built just to be children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s play areas.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>Residents also spoke in favor of the developer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s proposed bridge under Homestead Road, saying it was necessary to provide a safe crossing for children traveling from Phases IV and V to the recreation areas in Claremont\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first three phases. <\/p>\n<p>The board voted to postpone a decision on the proposed development until March 17. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Colleton Crossing<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The board also heard from residents regarding the Colleton Crossing development, which is proposed for 8400 and 8420 Reynard Road. The developer, MBI Development, proposes a 39-dwelling subdivision on 31.6 acres. According to the developer, the project, if approved, is projected to open in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>Initially, the developer proposed a connector road from the development to Claymore Road in the Highlands. They later revised the proposal to include another access point via a connector road between two homes on Huntsman Court after the town requested that they look at other access options. <\/p>\n<p>Residents have opposed both connector road options, citing unsafe conditions created by increased traffic on roads not designed to handle it. Residents of Huntsman Court said they felt blindsided by the proposal to build a road between their homes, adding that the developer never contacted them to discuss the easement. <\/p>\n<p>Board members questioned whether the developer could legally use the easement to connect to Huntsman Court and said they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make a decision on the proposal until they knew which connection option would be pursued.<br \/>\nThe board will revisit the proposal on April 28. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Susan Dickson Staff Writer CARRBORO \u00e2\u20ac\u201d After hours of public comment regarding connector roads for two proposed developments, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted on Tuesday to postpone decisions on both Claremont Phases IV and V and Colleton Crossing. The plans for Claremont Phases IV and V, across Homestead Road from the development\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4998","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=4998"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5005,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4998\/revisions\/5005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}