Secondary and Cumulative Impacts Master Management Plan - 2014

TOWN OF MORRISVILLE

around the heart of the Town Center, and a CMAQ grant with the Town of Cary to construct Crabtree Creek Greenway. Trees and vegetation are integral to the improvement of air quality. The Town has tree requirements for developments, as described in UDO Section 5.4. This section requires preservation of some existing healthy vegetation and planting of new vegetation to meet tree and vegetation requirements for development. The requirements for retaining existing tree canopy vary inversely with the percentage of existing tree canopy. Additionally, the Town is preparing a Sustainability Plan to organize and expand the Town’s energy and resource conservation efforts. The plan includes current and proposed measures for the following focus areas: buildings, transportation, water systems, land use, solid waste, and Town operations. Efforts to conserve energy indirectly contribute to improve air quality; Town adoption is anticipated fall 2014 (Town of Morrisville, 2014). The Town is partnering with the Town of Cary to install a major regional greenway link originating at Lake Crabtree County Park in Cary’s jurisdiction, running along Aviation Parkway to Morrisville near the Crabtree Crossing bridge on NC 54, and eventually linking with the Indian Creek Greenway in the Town Center area of Morrisville. 6.2.8.2 Cooperative Efforts There are several regional activities and planning efforts related to transportation that have the potential to improve air quality by reducing traffic congestion. In addition to local transportation activities, the Town continues to be active in regional planning through NCDOT, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), the Turnpike Authority for the Western Wake Freeway and the Southeast Connector, which refers to the extension of the Triangle Expressway for the completion of the 540 Outer Loop around the greater Raleigh area. The Triangle Expressway has already improved commuter mobility, accessibility, and connectivity to western Wake County and RTP on the existing north-south routes that serve the Triangle Region, primarily NC 55 and NC 54 (NCDOT, 2013). These regional efforts allow for decreased congestion and alternative transportation. This improved connectivity improves air quality. A number of Triangle organizations were working on and/or funding Transportation Demand Management (TDM) projects in 2006 and 2007 to create a long-term plan for improving TDM initiatives. During that period, Triangle Transit, formerly Triangle Transit Authority, brought together those organizations and one result was the Triangle Region 7- Year Long Range Travel Demand Management Plan. The purpose of the Triangle TDM Program is to reduce regional growth in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by 25 percent between 2007 and 2015 through a moderate package of TDM strategies that encourage alternative modes of transportation. The TJCOG is now coordinating the marketing and evaluation of this effort through a grant program, and promoting commute alternatives, such as mass transit, carpooling, biking, teleworking, and vanpooling (TJCOG, 2014). TJCOG coordinated with CAMPO (of which the Town is a member) and other stakeholders to develop a 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), which involved an air quality conformity analysis for 2012 to 2018. The 2040 MTP incorporates the recommendations of the 2035 Long Range Transit Plan released by CAMPO, including proposed bus service expansion and enhancement, as well as a light rail system linking the Cities of Raleigh and

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