|
By Rose Hooper
Access management officials from the N.C. Department of Transportation
were in town Monday, Sept. 8, to assess access and mobility on
N.C. 107 and reported their findings to a group of interested
citizens.
"Access management is a piece of the puzzle, but not an answer
in itself," said Lori Cove of DOT's statewide planning office
in Raleigh.
"Just meeting the needs on N.C. 107 won't fix all the traffic
problems, like River Road and N.C. 116," added Beverly Williams
from the same office.
As a piece of the puzzle, access management on N.C. 107 could
enhance safety and preserve mobility, but it is not a short-term
fix. It cost a lot of money, and DOT can't do it alone,"
said Cove.
As a long-range planner, Williams, responsible for determining
traffic needs 25 years in the future, cautioned there is no "quick-fix"
for the busy five-lane road.
Ron Watson, DOT's 14th division engineer, said the time is now
to plan for 25 years in the future.
"When I came here 25 years ago, there was one fast-food place
on N.C. 107 and most of the driveways were for homes, not businesses,"
Watson said. "That road is expanding rapidly, and we need
to plan now for that expansion."
Conrad Burrell, DOT board member and Sylva resident, will decide
in the next few months if DOT should begin writing a planning
document for a bypass to connect N.C. 107 with U.S. 74 to the
east and U.S. 441 to the west.
Monday night's meeting between local officials and DOT representatives
was designed "to provide you all the information you need
before you make any decision," Watson said. "Our job,"
he said, referring to Burrell and to DOT, "is to make sure
that people are well informed."
Burrell's decision, he told the public officials, would be "based
on the will of the people."
If access management is the preferred alternative, Watson said,
funding can be requested through the Transportation Improvement
Plan process to begin a project.
"Once it were funded, it would be just like any other construction
project. We would have to do a planning document and study the
impacts to the environment and to businesses and the community,"
said Watson, noting that on N.C. 107 some businesses would lose
direct access to the road.
"Any meaningful access management plan for N.C. 107 would
likely require a lot of physical changes in the road," he
said. "These would include adding and widening lanes, redesigning
intersections and/or traffic signals, changing pavement markings
and drainage, and adding new access roads to allow traffic to
enter at the rear of the businesses that remain. There would be
serious disruptions to traffic for many months during the construction
for making the changes."
One change Vicki Greene of Southwestern Commission asked about
was the option of rerouting the entrance to Smoky Mountain High
School.
"That plan has been on my desk since October 2000 –
next month it will be three years," said Watson. "We
are ready to do our part; we are just waiting on the school board
to do its part."
If a transportation plan is decided upon rather than access management,
Williams presented the five development steps: 1) determine the
need; 2) fund the project; 3) minimize the impacts; 4) design;
and 5) construction and maintenance.
"If you have a need supported by data, the numbers give you
a better chance of getting funded," said Williams.
"But even if you get funded, it will take 10 years from that
point for the project to go through," she stressed.
Funding is not currently available to construct either an access
management project or a Southern Loop, Watson said.
"However, Mr. Burrell may be able to get funding approved
for the planning and environmental studies," he said. "This
would allow the public to be heard and their input incorporated
into the plan."
When the plan is completed, funding for preliminary engineering
and right-of-way acquisition could be requested in the TIP, Watson
said.
"Public participation is important throughout the process
– not all decisions are made in Raleigh," Williams said.
When asked how the final decision to build a Southern Loop would
be made, Williams said the request could come from Burrell.
"If he gives me the go-ahead, I could start working on it
and bring the plans back to you," she said. "At this
point it costs you nothing."
Susan Leveille, planning board chairman for the Town of Webster,
asked Williams what the next step would be in looking at the bigger
picture of traffic concerns throughout the county. Williams suggested
the Rural Planning Organization as "the logical core."
"We've got a problem on N.C. 107, but I think this group
here can help us solve it," said Burrell.
"I think the solution is to work together," said Sylva
Mayor Brenda Oliver.
|
