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Open a Legislative Hearing to Adopt the Connected Roads Plan as an Amendment to the Town's Comprehensive Plan, Chapel Hill 2020.
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Staff:
Department:
Britany Waddell, Director
Planning
Bergen Watterson, Transportation Planning Manager
Josh Mayo, Transportation Planner
Overview: The Town of Chapel Hill does not currently have a roadway plan. Aligned with the momentum behind the Complete Community strategy and the Council's vision for a connected and accessible community, the Town contracted with Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. in November 2022 to draft a Connected Roads Plan and provide policy recommendations. The goal of the plan is to implement a consistent approach to local street connections that uses planning best practices of connecting communities and dispersing traffic. The plan's scope was mostly limited to the Town's Focus Areas and other development opportunity sites, with a focus on existing street stub-outs and larger parcels that are expected to develop or redevelop.
The project team conducted two public meetings, and an online survey and interactive map in January and February to gather input on the proposed process for developing the plan, locations or topics of concern, and values/criteria for evaluating potential connections. The meetings and survey were also opportunities for education about the benefits of connectivity and examples of value added in other communities who have improved roadway connectivity.
Town staff vetted the set of proposed connections that the consultant developed using public feedback, existing plans, and local expertise. The consultant then evaluated the remaining connections based on criteria including land uses, property ownership, hydrology, and traffic/walk/bike/transit benefits. They were able to exclude some connections due to infeasibility, while some were deemed to be better as bicycle and pedestrian connections. The remaining road connections were categorized as low-moderate-high constraint. ...
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