Comprehensive Transportation Plan - March 2019

ROADWAYS

INTRODUCTION The interest in creating “complete streets” continues to grow in Morrisville. The National Complete Streets Coalition defines a complete street as a street that enables all users (pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders) of all ages and abilities to safely move along and across a street. Roadways with lower travel speeds and greater access points (e.g. local streets and collectors) provide the greatest opportunities for developing complete streets. However, all functional classifications warrant consideration of multimodal users. Since the Town’s last transportation plan, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has reaffirmed this approach through the development of Complete Streets Planning and Design Guidelines in 2012, and more recently in May 2014 through the development of expanded highway cross sections as part of NCDOT’s standard cross sections. Chapter 3: Roadways directly links to Chapter 4: Alternative Travel Modes to advance this complete street concept. Recommendations for the future multimodal system consider roadways at a corridor level and provide improvements for all travel modes along the corridor in a way that is compatible with surrounding land uses. Figure 3-1 below displays the topics considered when developing roadway recommendations for the Town of Morrisville Comprehensive Transportation Plan . Figure 3-1: Elements Considered for Recommendations Development

TOWN GROWTH Chapter 2: Existing Conditions describes the current conditions and needs of the region’s transportation network. While Morrisville’s population growth rate has slowed in more recent years, it still continues to outpace Wake County and the state as a whole, which is one of many indicators that the area will continue to be attractive for potential residents and employers. Projected population and employment growth has been documented within the regional travel demand model, which was run for the future year 2040. This run was performed with the existing transportation network in place, exclusive of those roadway projects that are currently committed or under construction. This model run considers the transportation network as of 2010, which is the approved base year of the model. The map highlights the deficiencies that the transportation network will likely face from a congestion perspective in 2040. The Town’s and greater Triangle Region’s growth through 2040 has a dramatic effect on the roadway network. Without improvements to the network, corridors such as McCrimmon Parkway, NC 54, and Davis Drive will experience significant congestion. The plan’s roadway recommendations were developed in part to address these congestion needs and allow the roadway network to better serve Morrisville residents.

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