Comprehensive Transportation Plan - March 2019

INTRODUCTION

GUIDING STATEMENTS The guiding statements in this section represent six interrelated value statements established in accordance with national, state, and regional long range planning goals. The final guiding statements have been refined with guidance provided by the Town of Morrisville’s Planning and Zoning Board, Town Council, and public and are reflective of the Town’s needs and desires for the future of the transportation system. The established guiding statements provided direction for the entirety of the planning process and served as a tool for prioritizing recommendations – an important step as the Town faces the need to balance competing interests with limited transportation dollars. The statements consist of a key phrase (i.e. guiding principle) with supporting description. Each guiding principle is further clarified by a set of three planning goals. Guiding statements are shown in alphabetical order. CULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT Enhance the Town’s quality of life by preserving and promoting its valued places and natural assets.

Local, state, and federal planning guidelines have evolved over recent decades to place additional emphasis on the role transportation plays in conserving the environment, preserving our neighborhoods, and protecting the quality of life. For the Town of Morrisville this process has been aided through land use planning, development controls, environmental planning, and socioeconomic awareness. x Protect and enhance the natural and social environment by using context sensitive transportation strategies. x Minimize direct and indirect environmental impacts of the transportation system while planning and prioritizing transportation recommendations. x Promote consistency between transportation improvements, land use decisions, and economic development patterns. ECONOMIC VITALITY Support the local economy by making it easier to move people and freight around and through the Town. Ensuring transportation investments support economic vitality in the Town is critical. Good transportation investments address industry needs such as shipping goods, encouraging economic growth, and improving access to regional assets such as Research Triangle Park and the Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The intent is to identify improvements that position the Town to be competitive in local, regional, and national markets. x Identify transportation recommendations that enable global competitiveness, productivity, and efficiency. x Increase the accessibility and mobility of people and freight within the Town and regionally. x Leverage gateways and aesthetics to create an atmosphere that fosters economic investment. GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT Make travel more efficient by coordinating transportation investments and land use decisions . Transportation facilities and networks have the influence to transform development patterns, property values, and help shape a town’s quality of life. How communities spatially assemble affects how accessible and appealing public transportation, bicycling, and walking are in the Town. x Promote denser mixed-use developments that are supportive of transit, bicycle, and pedestrian activity. x Prepare for continued population growth by coordinating transportation strategies with land use initiatives to foster a vibrant and livable community. x Connect people to jobs and educational opportunities through coordinated transportation and land use investment decisions.

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