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1994-03-10 Work Session "' MINUTES OF WORK SESSION, MARCH 10, 1994 PAGE 971 ASSEMBLY The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners held a Work Session on Thursday, March 10, 1994, at 10 00 A M in Room 501 of the County Administration Building, 320 Chestnut Street, Wilmington, North Carolina - Members present were Commissioners Sandra Barone; William A Caster; William E sisson, Jr ; Vice-Chairman E L Mathews, Jr ; Chairman Robert G Greer; County Manager, Allen O'Neal; County Attorney, Wanda Copley; and Deputy Clerk to the Board, Teresa P Elmore Chairman Greer called the Work Session to order and stated the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the newly revised Greater Wilmington Urban Area Transportation Plan He welcomed all those present Mr Tom Newnam, Thoroughfare Planning Engineer with N C Department of Transportation, gave a brief history of the transportation plan In 1968, a study began which resulted with the first transportation plan in 1972 This plan stayed in effect until 1982 when another study began and was followed by the 1985 plan The latest revised plan is the result of a study that began in 1990 The usual shelf life of a plan is eight to twelve years depending on how fast an area grows e Maps with traffic counts were presented to show the major growth areas Greenville Loop Road increased by 10 1% since 1970 South College Road in front of the University has increased from 12,800 v p d in 1970, to 39,900 v P d in 1989 In December 1993, the traffic count was 59,000 v p d Other major areas of traffic growth were on Market Street and across the Cape Fear River Bridge Projections of traffic trends for the year 2010 were given based on a projected population of 170,900 people and 77,700 jobs Mr Newnam reported in developing this latest plan, extensive public hearings were held on July 8, 1991 and March 31, 1992 Then a technical plan dated September 1, 1992, was presented to the public Additional revisions were made and a plan dated March 25, 1993 was presented Again, major changes were made and the current plan of October 25, 1993 is being presented The plan still includes smith Creek Parkway; Independence Corridor with the alignment through Empie Park instead of Forest Hills; the Southern Outer Loop; and the Northern Outer Loop connecting further north on US Highway 17 North An extension of Military Cutoff is proposed to connect with the Northern Outer Loop and another high-rise bridge over the cape Fear River is proposed to connect further south at Titanium Road The alignment of Gordon Road connecting to N Kerr Avenue was changed in order to have less bearing on the airport property - The main objectives of the Southern Outer Loop are to move traffic northerly and to alleviate the traffic burden on College Road Traffic on College Road can be further reduced, if the alignment of the Southern Loop is extended to connect with Eastwood Road and over to smith Creek Parkway To expand College Road from Shipyard to Wilshire will be too costly to pursue because of the expense to buyout businesses along the corridor To build an urban interchange at that location would cost $35 million To build the proposed Southern Outer Loop would also cost $35 million; however, more roadway and less right-of-way cost would be involved The Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) recommended the plan to the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) on September 28, 1993 At first, the TAC revised the plan by removing the Randall Parkway Extension; changing the classification of Colonial Drive to a minor thoroughfare; and using the Southern Outer Loop opposition alternate route of Holly Tree Road to Greenville Loop Road When tested, the TCC found that the Holly Tree Road to ~ / MINUTES OF WORK SESSION, MARCH 10, 1994 PAGE 972 Greenville Loop Road route would not alleviate enough traffic off of College Road to make it worthwhile The TAC could have submitted that plan to the Board of Transportation; however, the TCC would not recommend the plan as adequate At the next TAC meeting, Randall Parkway Extension was resubmitted and an alignment over Hewletts Creek was selected for the Southern Loop This is the plan being presented now and called the October 25, 1993 plan Presently, the plan is approved by Navassa, Leland, ;--, Wrightsville Beach and the TAC The city of Wilmington approved the plan without Randall Parkway Extension to Hooker Road Because the loss of this road would significantly effect travel on Eastwood Road, the County and Wrightsville Beach will have to approve the deletion before the plan could be processed as an adopted plan The plan also needs approval by Brunswick County and Belville Vice-Chairman Mathews asked if other alternatives were considered to connect Randall Parkway with Hooker Road? Mr Newnam answered that the intent of the plan has always been to build Randall Parkway on the University's property The original plan was for a more southerly route crossing at the ball fields In 1985, the alignment was moved to the northern part of the campus Randall Parkway Extension allows easterly traffic to access commercial areas on College Road more efficiently and reduces traffic on Wrightsville Avenue, Oleander Drive and Eastwood Road without the segment there will be more traffic on College Road and for longer distances commissioner Barone commented another left turn lane is needed on Randall Parkway for traffic heading north on College Road It usually takes two light sequences to get through /, commissioner Sisson concurred that the pass-through traffic is too immense for vehicles trying to make turns Mr Newnam stated College Road should have been built as a freeway with access roads The loop system was planned to be a freeway to provide major traffic flow and allow College Road to be a main street Chairman Greer asked when will the various road projects begin? Mr Newnam answered smith Creek Parkway is the only funded project with rights-of-way acquisitions in process Construction will begin on the eastern end this summer commissioner Sisson asked what is the argument against extending Randall Parkway? Mr Newnam replied the University has concern about the alignment In the beginning the land was vacant, but it now serves as a major parking area Mr Newnam stated there will be no simple solutions to solving traffic problems because of continual growth With the development of the southern end of the County, there will be increased demand on the major corridors If other roads are not built, it will mean widening Masonboro Loop Road and Greenville Loop Road and some major modifications to South College Road in order to improve traffic /- commissioner Caster asked what happens if one of the governing bodies does not approve the plan? Mr the TAC Newnam replied the federal government requires approval by State law requires policy boards to independently adopt e e e ~ MINUTES OF WORK SESSION, MARCH 10, 1994 PAGE 973 the plan The plan will be taken back to the City of Wilmington to see if they will reconsider The plan cannot be submitted to the Board of Transportation without approval of the major participants Planning Director Dexter Hayes asked if the state will change the law and recognize the authority of the Metropolitan Planning Organization? Mr Newnam answered currently the Department of Transportation is debating changing the General statutes by giving the power to the same organization as the federal government The state law dates back to 1969 and the federal law dates back to 1962 Mr Newnam felt the road will never be built without the University's approval Hopefully the boards can work together for a compromise It could be an asset to the University if the parking lots were spread out in other areas The state may not allocate the funds for the road unless the University wants the road built County Manager O'Neal asked what are the objections from the University? Mr Bob Walton, Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs at UNCW, answered the academic buildings are 160 feet from the edge of the property lines and the right-of-way needed for Randall Parkway is 100 feet Randall Drive is about 35 feet from UNCW's property line The University does not want to move the convenient parking from Kenan AUditorium, the academic buildings and Randall Library Once past the water tank, the University is willing to work with DOT The University's Board of Trustees felt the proposed alignment would totally destroy the University The Trustees are also concerned for the safety of the students when crossing the heavy traffic currently, a traffic study is being performed with the results expected in two months commissioner sisson stated there are many universities with major streets going through the campus with classrooms right next to the streets Other academic institutions have survived with centralized parking facilities and deck parking Chairman Greer stated the Board will consider adoption of the plan at the meeting on March 14, 1994 He reiterated if the County accepts the plan as it is, that does not guarantee the road will ever be built He thanked Mr Newnam for the presentation Mr Scott Lane with the city of Wilmington gave an update on the smith Creek Parkway Project ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 11 25 A M Respectfully submitted, ~p~ Teresa P Elmore Deputy Clerk to the Board ...01