Archives
July 16, 2009
TO:
David Wasserman,
P.E.
NCDOT Strategic
Planning Office
1501 Mail Service
Center
Raleigh, NC
27699-1501
Re: NCDOT US 64
Corridor Study Phase
II A Comments
Good evening. I am
Loyse Hurley,
President of Chatham
Citizens for
Effective
Communities (CCEC).
Although this
meeting is intended
primarily for the
residents of Wake
County, we want to
thank you for this
opportunity to
provide comments
from citizens of
Chatham County.
The DOT documents
make it clear that
the overall
intention is for Rte
64 to become an
alternative
east/west strategic
interstate corridor
to augment I-40 and
I-85. Therefore the
project will
ultimately include
other portions of
Chatham in addition
to this initial 19
mile section. Rte
64 serves local
traffic within
Chatham. It has
frequent entry and
exit points which
service both
pleasure and
commercial needs.
Many residents use
this route to enter
and exit their
property. In effect
this proposal turns
highway 64 into a
“By-Pass Chatham
Interstate.”
With this in mind we
wish to present the
Top Ten reasons why
this current
proposal (with all
its good intentions)
seems to us to be a
bad idea:
1. Lack of Vision
There is no vision
for alternative
modes of moving
people other than
via automobile.
Given the realities
of declining oil
along with
increasing costs and
the need for drastic
reduction in C02
emissions, this
appears to be
archaic thinking.
Such a “business as
usual” approach
fails to address the
immediate need for
new alternatives to
solve critical
problems. Mass
transit options,
including light rail
and buses are
totally absent. The
proposal appears to
lack provision for
bus bays, station
stops, shelter space
and park and ride
facilities. Car
pooling isn’t a new
idea, but it is not
addressed in the
proposal.
2. Jordan Lake
Bottleneck
There are no plans
to widen the bridge
over Jordan Lake,
consistent with the
traffic lanes. It
appears that this
bridge could create
a bottleneck in the
traffic flow,
especially if light
rail were
considered.
3. Jordan Lake
Degradation
Jordan Lake is one
of Chatham’s most
valuable assets.
This design imposes
limitations on
access to the lake.
Furthermore, Jordan
Lake is impaired and
run off from
construction within
the area draining
into the lake would
further degrade this
body of water.
4. Safety Issues
While we are told
that safety
considerations are a
driving force behind
the proposal, we
notice that the
short term proposal
provides for a
U-turn within 800
feet of the
right-in/right-out
at the four major
intersections. We
question the safety
aspects of having
this U-turn within
such a short
distance from the
intersection,
requiring a driver
to cut across two
lanes of heavy, free
flowing traffic in
order to make this
turn. We suggest
that a greater
distance may be
needed, especially
when considering
cars hauling large
boat trailers.
5. ATT Access
We support the
creation of walking
and biking trails,
and note that there
is no provision in
the plan for easy
access to the
American Tobacco
Trail. We suggest
that this lack of a
connection may
necessitate walkers’
and cyclists’
involvement with the
heavy traffic on Rte
64 and its resultant
safety concerns.
6. Fire Station
Access
A
Fire Station is
located on the south
side of Rte 64 at
the Beaver Creek
Road intersection.
(North Chatham
Station # 16, 10214
US Highway 64 East,
Apex). Restricting
access for this
facility may delay
emergency response
time and could
affect insurance
rates for the
homeowners in the
area.
7. Malls
The current design,
along with the lack
of funding may
encourage the
construction of
undesirable strip
malls, since
developers can
consider these as
short time plans and
as temporary sources
of revenue.
8. School Bus
Delays
Rte 64 is a school
bus route. Because
of the distances
involved within
Chatham, limited
access to Rte 64 may
add to the already
long driving times.
9. Funding Issues
There is no
identified funding
available for the
project. Are all
land use decisions
and private property
issues to be
postponed until
funding becomes
available? These
plans have already
decreased property
values, simply
because they are in
the works.
Considering the lack
of funding and the
2035 implementation
date, this puts
individual property
owners into a 25
year limbo, thus
affecting property
rights and values.
It effectively
places Chatham
County in a
difficult position
regarding land use
decisions during
this time period.
10. County Planning
Conflicts
Finally, Chatham
County officials and
citizens have spent
considerable time,
effort and funds in
upgrading our
ordinances, planning
for economic
development,
protecting our
natural resources
(especially Jordan
Lake), and in
general planning for
our future. We have
a detailed
Commercial Corridor
Ordinance coming up
for a public
hearing. This DOT
proposal will affect
this ordinance.
With no practical
mechanism for
implementation by
the DOT, shall we
stop all future Rte
64 planning for
Chatham for the next
25 years?
These 10 concerns
highlight some of
the problems that
this DOT proposal
raises for citizens
of Chatham county as
we seek to shape a
sustainable future
at a challenging
time that demands
visionary thinking
to address critical
issues. This plan
does not smack of
visionary, but
simply more of the
same “business as
usual.” As it is,
we respectfully
suggest that it
appears to be a less
than appealing
product. At the
least we’d like to
see it go back to
the drawing board.
At the best we
wouldn’t mind seeing
it go away.
Thank you,
Loyse Hurley,
President
CCEC
cc. Peter Trencansky,
PE, URS Corporation
Eugene A Conte, Jr., North Carolina Secretary of Transportation
Public Hearing for Text Amendments to Chatham County Subdivision Regulations
October 20, 2008
Comments by Gretchen Smith
My name is Gretchen Smith. I live at 598 Jones Branch Road, Chapel Hill and have been a resident of Chatham County for 23 years.
I would like to thank the members of the Planning Board, other advisory boards, and county staff for the time and effort spent on the ordinances under consideration tonight. I would especially like to express my appreciation of the Planning Board for their consideration of citizen input over the past year and for holding the Community Forum on September 30.
I would like to preface my comments with a brief quote by Aldo Leopold from his 1949 essay, titled A Sand County Almanac:
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic [of or relating to life] community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise. We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.”
I support the proposed amendments to the Subdivision Regulations, as well as the other ordinances under consideration tonight, because they embody the spirit of this quote.
North Carolina statute gives our county government authority for promoting the public health, safety, and general welfare of our county. I believe our county government has the responsibility to fulfill this duty for the common good of our community. The changes under consideration tonight will help enable our leaders to exercise this authority, and help protect us from people who are in a hurry to make the quick buck at the expense of our environment, our community’s quality of life, and the taxpayers of Chatham County.
With ownership of land should come the responsibility to care for the land in a way that contributes to the common good of the community, not detract from it. Development should be a privilege, not an inherent right. The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, the stress we are subjected to in our everyday lives – these are all affected by the interconnections among plants, animals, soils, water, and people. The public’s interest in water, air, and wildlife gives us, the Public, the right to protect our water, our air, our wildlife, and our community’s land use for now and future generations.
