TITLE: Title
Lake Hogan Farms Road Extension - Discussion
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is to provide the Board of Aldermen with an opportunity to review and discuss the history and alignment of Lake Hogan Farm Road, including its planned extension and connection to Eubanks Road.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning
CONTACT INFORMATION: Trish McGuire, pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org <mailto:pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org>, 919-918-7327;
INFORMATION: Street and road interconnectivity has been a focus of the Town in relation to service provision, safety, and development management for decades. An extension of Lake Hogan Farms Road from Homestead Rd. to Eubanks Rd. is included in the Town’s Connector Roads Policy, Facilitated Small Area Plan for Carrboro’s Northern Study Area (NSA Plan), and the DCHC MPO long-range transportation plans.
An administrative plan for street interconnectivity was developed and put into use starting in 1979. In June of 1984, a formal Connector Roads Policy encompassing the Town limits and extraterritorial areas was presented to the Board of Aldermen and adopted in 1986 (see version with 1991 amendment, Attachment A). The purpose of the Connector Roads Policy is to
ensure that old and new developments and businesses in our town connect to each other, both to disperse newly generated traffic and to give a sense of connectivity and unity to the town as it grew. It indicates a commitment by the town to work toward this connectivity. The roads shown on the Connector Roads Plan are intended to provide a backbone for a more intricate grid of smaller connector roads. The Connector Roads Policy is designed to guide an ever-changing Board of Aldermen as new projects and developments come before them for approval. As Carrboro’s boundaries for development expand, additional areas and “backbone” collector roads will need to be added to these maps to ensure that all of Carrboro connects in ways that are both safe and efficient.
With the addition of Transition Areas in the wake of the Joint Planning Area Land Use Plan effort, planning for interconnecting street networks north of Homestead Road occurred and the Connector Roads Plan was amended to include “Connector Road Plan Concepts” in February 1994 (Attachment B). The Lake Hogan Farms subdivision was approved in September of 1984 and a plan for connector roads was incorporated in the NSA Plan (quoted above), adopted by the Board of Aldermen in May 1998 (Attachments C and D). The NSA plan states that a connected, grid-like network
connects new and existing developments with one another, disperses automobile traffic among multiple routes, and allows efficient access for public transit and Town service vehicles. The presence of multiple routes would reduce the pressure on any one roadway, thereby eliminating the need for multi-lane facilities which would fracture the Study Area. (p. 35)
Two additional sections were constructed as part of the Legends at Lake Hogan Farms subdivision and Morris Grove Elementary School (Attachments E and F). An additional section is included in the approved conditional use permit for the Ballentine subdivision and a conceptual alignment is part of the Master Plan for Twin Creeks Park (Attachments G and H). It may be noted that the alignment selected by the County to include in the Twin Creeks Master Plan differs from the straight line shown in the Connector Roads Policy in order to protect the historic homestead and natural areas and to maximize usable areas for park facilities and also in recognition that properties on the east side of the creek would require a street network - formal discussion and approval of an alignment for this section has not taken place. The question of where the street might appropriately cross the creek has not been decided and concerns about the cost of a crossing have been expressed in association with the Ballentine subdivision. Conditions 5, 6, and 7 of the Ballentine permit relate to street interconnectivity, with condition 5 addressing a connection to the east (Attachment I).
The Town’s Northern Transition Area Advisory Committee has emphasized the importance of the street’s completion related to development in the Town’s northern area. See meeting notes from March 20, April 15, and October 22 (2012), December 5 (2013), January 27, February 17, and May 1 (2014, and March 20, 2017 (<http://www.townofcarrboro.org/AgendaCenter>).
The Comprehensive Transportation Plan incorporates a Collector Streets Plan to enhance connectivity, and the Lake Hogan Farm Road alignment is included in its list and map of long-range transportation improvements.
Street interconnectivity described in referenced plans may be required in association with developments subject to several Land Use Ordinance provisions, including 15-211, 15-214, 15-217, and Fire Access Code Section 503.1.2.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: Fiscal and staff impacts associated with considering this information are minimal.
RECOMMENDATION:r It is recommended that the Board of Aldermen receive the information and discuss.