10-CPA-02 Weldon Ridge Road
STAFF REPORT
Town Council, December 16, 2010
Comprehensive Transportation Plan Amendment – Weldon Ridge Boulevard
(10-CPA-02) (EN11-023B)
Consideration of a public hearing for a request to amend the collector system on the existing Comprehensive Transportation Plan (Weldon Ridge Boulevard)
Speaker: Mr. Todd B. Delk, P.E.
From: Tim Bailey, P.E., Director of Engineering
Prepared by: Todd B. Delk, P.E., Engineer
Approved by: Benjamin T. Shivar, Town Manager
Approved by: Michael J. Bajorek, Assistant Town Manager
Items in bold have been added since the last staff report.
Executive Summary: At the July 15, 2010 Town Council meeting, Council recommended an alignment to amend the current alignment for Weldon Ridge Boulevard on the Comprehensive Transportation Plan (CTP). Staff presented this report and held public hearings at the September 30 Town Council and the November 15 Planning and Zoning Board meetings.
Staff does not recommend a change to the Weldon Ridge Boulevard alignment in the Comprehensive Transportation Plan. Additional analyses of the portion of proposed Weldon Ridge Boulevard from Green Level West Road to Ridgeback Road can be undertaken as development takes place or a transportation project is incorporated into the Capital Improvement Program.
Staff recommends classifying Mills Road as a collector street (rural designation) on the CTP with the current alignment to ensure the future cross-section is appropriate for traffic when development occurs.
Background: During the update of the Comprehensive Transportation Plan in the Fall of 2008, concerns about the proposed alignment of a collector roadway (Weldon Ridge Boulevard) were expressed. On December 10, 2009, Council asked staff to continue to work with the community to try and resolve their concerns (see Staff Report EN10-029C).
Staff developed and evaluated an alternative alignment (Alternative #2) that was presented at public hearings during the March 15, 2010 Planning and Zoning Board and the April 29, 2010 Town Council meeting. The affected property owners did not support the current or alternative alignment. Council sent the issue back to staff to look for alternate alignments, and not just those that run north-south based on resident opposition of both original alignments.
Staff developed six additional alignments for consideration (Alternatives #3-8). The alignments were developed to avoid stream and wetland buffers as well as existing houses as much as possible. Staff evaluated and determined the advantages and disadvantages for each of the eight alignments (see Staff Report EN11-007). At the July 9, 2010 Planning and Development meeting, the Committee unanimously recommended Alignment 4 and a modified Alignment 7, including a Mills Road connection, for further consideration related to amendments to the current Comprehensive Transportation Plan.
Per Council direction at the July 15, 2010 Town Council meeting, one alternative has been carried forward for consideration in lieu of the current alignment on the Comprehensive Transportation Plan. Council recommended a modified alignment for Alternative 7 that ties the current Weldon Ridge Boulevard alignment into White Oak Church Road and incorporates the use of Mills Road (which is a state maintained road).
Discussion: A map (Attachment 1) showing the current alignment, the proposed alignment, and the stream buffers and wetlands is attached.
|
Alignment |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
|
· Large continuous developable area west of alignment · Easy accessibility from roadway to future greenway and sewer line |
· Higher impact to stream and wetland buffers than other · More deforestation impacts due to roadway construction than other alignment | |
|
· No impact on properties from Ridgeback Road south to Green Level West Road · Less impacts and more equitable to properties affected than north/ south alignment · Connects to White Oak Church Road · Upgrades Ridgeback Road which is in poor condition · Minor deforestation impacts due to roadway construction |
· Eliminates direct connection to Green Level West Road · Increases traffic volume on White Oak Church Road, Mills Road, and Green Level Church Road through the historic district · Impacts higher number of property owners · Moderate buffer impact east of Ridgeback Road · Subjects more properties to optional higher minimum open space threshold under the Conservation Residential Overlay District, due to 80-ft. buffers required on collectors. |
The alignment can be adjusted further as detailed designs are completed to minimize impacts to properties and buffers.
Staff has identified the property owners and associated PIN numbers directly impacted by each alignment:
Current Alignment
Mills Road LLC (072404619147)
Penland (072404508478)
Sadtler (072302696453)
Courtney (072302691018)
Jockisch (072302689454)
Yates (072302588138)
Modified Alignment 7
Mills Road LLC (072404619147)
Penland (072404508478)
Sadtler (072302696453)
Courtney (072302692744, 072302691452 and 072302691018)
Moulin (072302507152)
Szpir (072302592074)
Turner (072301497295)
Reeve (072301498729)
Hill (072301493696)
White Oak Baptist Church (072301492223)
River Birch Management (072301392000)
While the alignment along Mills Road shows encroachment on three parcels owned by Green Level Crossing Community Association (072404724157, 072404818818, 072404811667), no impacts are anticipated. Mills Road currently lies on a 60-foot right-of way that extends 2,650 feet west of Green Level Church Road across the southern edge of the Woodlands subdivision and into the center of the Mills Road LLC property to the proposed alignment of Weldon Ridge Boulevard. The road is paved across the southern edge of the subdivision to the driveway for a utility area containing a Town of Cary sanitary pump station. The remainder is unpaved and the stream crossing utilizes a large single barrel corrugated pipe culvert.
Regardless of the collector designation, Weldon Ridge Boulevard is aligned such that existing Mills Road will intersect with the new roadway when it is constructed. Mills Road will also need to be improved as the surrounding parcels develop and Staff anticipates traffic on the roadway to be consistent with a collector street. The current right-of-way (60 foot) on Mills Road is sufficient for the 52-foot right-of-way necessary for a rural collector cross-section. The cross-section provides wide shoulders (6-foot) to accommodate cyclists.
History of the Collector Roadway
The north/south collector road (Weldon Ridge extension) was on the 2001 Comprehensive Transportation Plan. The subsequent Southwest Area Plan, adopted in 2004 and the latest Comprehensive Transportation Plan, adopted in 2008, both determined a future need for this collector facility based on planned development and the updated traffic model completed in 2008. With the future NC 540 being a tolled facility, Green Level Church Road, at two lanes, is currently the only north/south thoroughfare in the southwest area. Any future widening of Green Level Church Road is complicated by a historic district just north of Green Level West Road. The Weldon Ridge collector road is planned to provide access from future development in the Southwest Area to the major thoroughfare system and NC 540. Not planning for this collector in the future will complicate access from future development in the Southwest Area; particularly should densities increase as a result of the conservation overlay district land use option.
Criteria for consideration in Reviewing Comprehensive Plan Amendments:
Section 3.2.2(B) of the Land Development Ordinance states that “Proposals to amend the Comprehensive Plan shall be evaluated based upon whether the amendment is necessary in order to address conditions including, but not limited to, the following:
- A change in projections or assumptions from those on which the Comprehensive Transportation Plan is based.
Staff Analysis: There have been no changes in this regard.
- Identification of new issues, needs, or opportunities that are not adequately addressed in the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.
Staff Analysis: Amending the proposed alignment on Weldon Ridge Boulevard will provide an opportunity to help enhance Cary’s vision of preserving environmental resources, as noted in the Comprehensive Transportation Plan by not impacting three (3) areas of stream and wetland buffers.
- A change in the policies, objectives, principles, or standards governing the physical development of the Town or any other geographic areas address by the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.
Staff Analysis: There have been no changes in this regard. - Identification of errors or omissions in the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.
Staff Analysis: No errors or omissions have been identified.
Fiscal Impact: No Capital Project exists at the present time. It is anticipated that this roadway would be constructed in conjunction with adjacent development.
Planning & Zoning Board Recommendation: The Board approved a motion (6-3) to forward a recommendation to Town Council to approve Alternative 7 as the revised alignment for Weldon Ridge Boulevard, and to not designate Mills Road as a collector street.
Staff Recommendation: Staff does not recommend a change to the Weldon Ridge Boulevard alignment in the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.
Staff recommends classifying Mills Road as a collector street (rural designation) on the CTP with the current alignment to ensure the future cross-section is appropriate for traffic when development occurs.