Morrisville Town Center Plan - 2007

Chapter 3: Detailed Design

of a pedestrian and bicycle network that provides safe and convenient access by these modes to the various destinations throughout the project area. In addition, it will link into the larger network, providing users with the opportunity to access facilities such as Umstead State Park to the east and eventually the American Tobacco Trail to the west traveling primarily or entirely on dedicated pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Natural surface paths should be considered for use along lower Church Street and in other locations to help preserve mature vegetation or address other site constraints. Crosswalks should be installed at any points where there are significant conflicts between pedestrians and automobiles. More extensive pedestrian amenities such as striped crosswalks, special signage, push button signals, and pedestrian refuges should be used any time a greenway trail crosses a street. Public Transit and Rail: As a result of the Town Center’s railroad heritage and the continuing active use of this rail line in the current day, Morrisville has clear physical proximity and potential ready access to this mode of transportation. As opportunities for passenger service emerge through future plans developed by the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA), the town has the opportunity to once again benefit from the availability of this mode of travel, as it did from the 1850s to the 1930s. As a result, the Town Center Design includes a location for a new train station north of the intersection of Chapel Hill Road and Morrisville-Carpenter Road/ Aviation Parkway where NC 54 starts to bend east away from the railroad tracks. In the short term, public transit opportunities will consist of bus service. Existing TTA bus lines serve the Davis Drive corridor and the Outlet Mall, at the Airport Boulevard exit off of Interstate 40. Reconfiguration of existing routes and addition of new routes provide possible means of expanding bus service to

the Morrisville community. Freight service through Morrisville is also anticipated to expand in the medium- to long- term, with a second freight line planned in the existing right of way for the North Carolina Railroad. No service sidings for freight currently exist in the Town Center. Crossing limits caused by the tracks will continue to create a constraint on other modes of travel that will need to be addressed. An ongoing need will be overcoming this barrier to travel through the Town Center.

The Town Center Plan identifies a potential future location for a train station if and when a regional rail system is developed for the Triangle. (Photo: Town of Morrisville)

Public Spaces and Historic Sites Two important public spaces that have been described previously in the land use section include the plaza in front of the planned civic/ cultural facility, and the children’s park behind it. In addition, the Town Center Design calls for several new community parks. These include: • A Civil War Battleground Park just west of the intersection of Town Hall Drive and Morrisville-Carpenter Road to commemorate the engagement fought in Morrisville on April 13, 1865 in the last days of the Civil War. This site would include interpretive displays to tell the story of the skirmish, and would conserve the forest cover, wetlands, and creek on

33 │ Town Center Plan

January 2007