Citizen Feedback

The traffic study and recommended alternative design (SQI) was introduced to citizens during two community meetings in 2009.

The community meetings provided an opportunity for citizens to provide feedback to staff on the design and give their input on the current operation of the intersection. Feedback from citizens included concerns about traffic operations on the quadrant roadway, the need to install more signals, and lack of support for the alternative design.

The Town Council voted not to move forward with the use of the SQI in January 2010. Since that time, the Town has conducted additional community outreach, including an online survey. More than 400 survey responses were received and over 60 e-mails were sent. View the results of the survey.

Background

October 2008 – The Town hires Martin,Alexiou,Bryson to conduct an intersection analysis of the Cary Parkway and High House Road intersection.

December 2008 – Town Council approves moving forward with three recommended designs from the first draft of the Intersection Improvement Study: single quadrant, double quadrant, and traditional widening.

February 2009 – M|A|B submits final study with recommendation of using single quadrant intersection design.

March 2009 – Town Council approved the study and the recommendation to move forward with the single quadrant intersection design. Council recommended meeting with the public prior to the public hearings to discuss the proposed design.

July 23-24, 2009 – Town staff met with local business owners at the intersection to discuss the plan and invite their businesses to the Community Meeting.

August 4, 2009 – First Community Meeting to discuss the design and the intersection improvement study. Staff used the comments provided by the participants to conduct some additional analysis on the proposed design. As a result, a modified design was developed.

October 22, 2009 – Staff shared the results of the first Community Meeting and the modification to the proposed design with Town Council. Council voted to have staff conduct another citizen workshop due to concerns from citizens about the design and its potential impacts.

December 2, 2009 – Second Community Meeting is conducted to meet with the public to discuss the plan and study as well as the modification made to the design.

December 10, 2009 – First public hearing is held on the Comprehensive Transportation Plan amendment to include the single quadrant intersection design as the preferred treatment for the Cary Parkway and High House Road intersection.

January 14, 2010 – Second public hearing is held on the Comprehensive Transportation Plan amendment to include the single quadrant intersection design as the preferred treatment for the Cary Parkway and High House Road intersection. Due to concerns from citizens, staff provided three options for Council consideration: continue with the amendment process with the single quadrant design, allow staff to further study some additional alternatives, forwarding an amendment to the Comprehensive Transportation Plan to allow staff to only provide safety improvements at this intersection. Council voted to not adopt the single quadrant intersection design and asked staff to engage the public again on this topic.

July 1, 2010 – Town opens public input period and releases survey questions. Feedback is accepted for two months and compiled for members of Town Council to review after the input period expires.

September 30, 2010 – Public input period expires.

October 7, 2010 – Operations Committee members vote to table this item until budget discussion for the 2012 fiscal year begin. This will allow Council and Staff to discuss the priority of making improvements to this intersection and where those improvements fall compared to other needs in Town.

October 14, 2010 – Town Council voted in support of the Committee’s recommendation for future action. Council did point out that the SQI design is no longer being considered. Future development and roadway improvements in the vicinity of this intersection will be considered when determining the direction for this intersection.

Contact

David H. Spencer, PE
Traffic Engineer
Town of Cary Engineering Department
P.O. Box 8005
Cary, NC 27512-8005
(919) 462-3833
david.spencer@townofcary.org