Morrisville Land Use Plan 2009

6.3 Town Center The Town Center Plan (2007) described a vision for creating a vibrant Town Center at Mor- risville’s historic crossroads to help ensure that residents continue to enjoy the best qualities of small-town living as the community grows. Key elements of the plan include: • Protecting the historic structures around Church Street; • Creating a community gathering place lined with small businesses and anchored by a civic/cultural facility; • Establishing a Civil War park and a rural heritage park; • Linking the parks and other destinations with a network of sidewalks and green- ways; • Investing in a variety of transportation improvements, including reworking Chapel Hill Road (NC 54) into separate northbound and southbound segments in the Town Center area, improving the intersection of Morrisville-Carpenter Road and Chapel Hill Road, and installing roundabouts at selected locations to mark the transition into the Town Center. Transportation improvements in this area include widening Morrisville-Carpenter Road and Aviation Parkway to four lanes, and improving NC 54 as described under Section 6.5. In the Town Center, the proposed NC 54 cross-section will narrow to have fewer impacts on existing development in this area. Improvements are planned for Church Street as well, with a relatively narrow two-lane cross-section in the Town Center and a roundabout at the intersection with Jeremiah Street. 6.4 Morrisville South The southern area of Morrisville is nearly completely built out, along with the surrounding land in Cary. The area has a suburban feel with a private golf course and larger homes. Although vacant land is minimal, there is some potential for redevelopment. Park West Village, a large mixed use project that will redevelop an industrial site, is located at the western corner of the intersection of NW Cary Parkway and NC 54 and will change the character of the intersection as well as potentially spur additional redevelopment in the area. The parcels near Park West Village are included in the Southern Activity Center (SAC) category, which means that redevelopment proposals for these parcels will be considered within the context of the entire SAC, and design standards can be applied to them to ensure compatibility with surrounding parcels. The area north of Park West Village, currently occupied by smaller industrial distribution centers, offices, and apart- ments could potentially redevelop as a result. Several land uses that the public would like to see in that area are institutional, such as medical facilities and/or a senior center, to complement the nearby senior housing. An older shopping center (Park Place) on the southern corner of the intersection would also likely redevelop, probably replaced with similar retail uses. Just east of the SAC, at the edge of Morrisville’s planning jurisdiction, are several vacant or very low density residential parcels that have been designated for low density residential in the future. Morrisville Parkway is planned to be re-striped for bike lanes. Cary Parkway will remain a four-lane median-divided roadway with wide outside lanes. Both roadways have sidewalk on both sides. Bus service through C-Tran (Cary) will be available along Cary Parkway and Weston Parkway, with potential future service along NC 54, and a greenway is planned along the railroad in Park West Village, which will connect to another planned greenway running from Community Park in the west to Cedar Fork County Park in the east. 6.5 Morrisville East The eastern area of Morrisville is characterized by existing industrial uses and the larg- est vacant area remaining in town. Major transportation improvements are planned in this area with the extension of McCrimmon Parkway from Airport Boulevard to Avia- tion Parkway. International Drive, where many of the industrial facilities are located, is proposed to be extended north to Airport Boulevard to offer a more direct truck route to the industrial facilities. Two smaller connectors will provide additional east- west access in the area. Aviation Parkway is proposed to be widened to four lanes with a planted median, bike lanes, and multi-use paths. Combined with the planned widening of Aviation Parkway across Lake Crabtree in the Town of Cary’s jurisdiction, the improvements will provide more efficient access to I-40. In order to best utilize this area, this Plan recommends that a small area plan or master plan be developed. Following are some of the considerations that such a plan would need to address: • The following mix of uses may be appropriate in this area: offices, small scale retail (e.g. restaurants, convenience services such as dry cleaning), and park space. The Town is looking at coordination to preserve a large contiguous area for open space or recreation in this area, ideally open for public use. Any retail in this area should be specified to be for convenience uses within walking distance of offices, rather than regional attractions. The small area plan should consider limiting the size of retail establishments. • Although specific land uses are not recommended in this Plan, the area shall apply design standards as described under this future land use category in Section 5.3. • Access management should be addressed on the proposed McCrimmon Parkway extension, as CAMPO plans currently call for it to be designated as NC 54. Incor- porating access management into plans would reduce the number of driveways along the road, leading to smoother thru-traffic flow. It also would provide a safer

Historic Reverend R.E. Atkins House in the Town Center along Church Street.

Rendering of pedestrian facilities and gathering spaces in the upcoming Park West Village development.

Lake Crabtree at dawn.

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6 Community Areas