Morrisville Town Center Plan - 2007

Chapter 2: Planning Process & Concept Design

ed base maps in order to solicit their ideas and input. At the end of the evening, a representative from each table presented the ideas generated by that group. Common themes from participants included: • Protecting historic character in the Town Center; • Providing civic uses, small businesses, and residential uses; • Strengthening the visual identity of the Town Center; • Ensuring safe pedestrian access; and • Managing physical constraints, including roads, railroads, and flood zones.

greenways; • Investment in transportation improve- ments, including reworking NC 54 into separate northbound and southbound segments in the Town Center area, add- ing an eastbound turn lane on Morrisville- Carpenter Road at the intersection with NC 54, and installing roundabouts at se- lected locations to mark the transition into the Town Center. More than 75 people attended the presenta- tion of the concept design and provided ad- ditional feedback. The consultants used this input to make further revisions. A detailed description of the concept design begins on the following page. The Planning Team then held an additional public meeting in August to discuss implementation strategies. About 30 people attended and participated in small group sessions to review potential implementation strategies, ask questions, and provide input. A summary of the input received is included in Appendix 7.

Residents and consultants share ideas and mark up maps at the Town Center Design Workshop. (Photo: Ben Hitchings, Town of Morrisville)

The design team worked intensively over the next two days to incorporate these comments into a draft concept design for the Town Center, and then presented this draft design to the public. Key features include: • Protection of the historic crossroads community around Church Street; • Creation of a community gathering place lined with small businesses and anchored by a civic/cultural facility; • Establishment of a Civil War Park and Rural Heritage Park; • Linkage of parks with a system of

Throughout this process, the planning effort has received coverage in local newspapers and on television. Samples of news stories are included in Appendix 8. A Morrisville resident presents the input from her group at the Town Center Design Workshop. (Photo: Bynum Walter, Town of Morrisville)

17 │ Town Center Plan

January 2007