Transportation Plan - 2009, amended

5.2 Roadways In order to determine which roadways would be recommended for adding lanes, modi- fying intersections, or would require new, parallel roadways, a number of factors were considered. Each of the following factors (Figure 5.2) was considered in the context of the whole, and their importance may vary according to the specific context of the surround- ing environment.

Figure 5.2 General Roadway Improvement Factors Existing Congestion Levels a

One important concept is the travel demand model, which allows analysts to “test” various roadway and land use configurations, and then see the results in terms of traffic on the simulated “streets.” However, this is only one aspect of transportation planning. Too often, the travel demand modeling exercise has served as a substitute for common sense. Constraints produced by financial limitations, context of the road- way, topography, and desirable land use interactions should serve a much greater role in determining what can and should be recommended. In this Plan, the travel demand model results were blended with pub- lic and staff input, as well as physical considerations to create a more balanced set of recommendations. As with the review of the Existing Conditions (Section Three), the recommendations for roadway and in- tersection improvements are described briefly in the body of this section in terms of their north-south and east-west connectivity, as well as connecting ma- jor destinations within Morrisville. However, detailed,

How long does it take now?

Future Congestion Levels

How long will it take later?

a a

Public and Plan Advisory Com- mittee Involvement Number and Type of Accidents Land Use Interactions v. Street Functions Now Land Use Interactions v. Street Functions Later Bicyclist and Pedestrian Facilities and Safety

What did the public say about this?

How many preventable accidents have there been? What is the land use in the area like now?

a

a

What will the land use in the area be like later?

a

What are the conditions for cycling & walking?

a

Future Modes of Travel

What will the street be used for later (transit riders, cyclists, walkers?)

a

Roadway Geometry

Are there physical or natural constraints?

a

street-by-street and intersection recommendations are provided in Appendices E and F, which can be used for guiding development requirements. North-South Corridors As shown in Figure 5.3, NC 54, I-40, Davis Drive, and NC 55 are all forecasted to be operating under severe traffic congestion in 2035, with the volume-of-cars-to-capacity-of-roadways (V/C ratio) at 1.0 or greater. This congestion is predicted despite the numerous planned capacity improvements. Figure 5.4 provides a summary of the results of the Triangle Regional Model (TRM), and several significant points are noted below: • NC 540 (Western Wake Freeway), six new lanes of freeway ca- pacity, is lightly used; • Davis Drive, widened to six lanes, still has significant delay on the roadway throughout its length in the Morrisville area; • NC 54 is assumed to be four lanes instead of the current two; • New McCrimmon Parkway Extension has been constructed; and • New separated-grade overpasses of NC 54 and the Norfolk Southern Railroad at both Airport Boulevard and McCrimmon Parkway are included. The fact that the TRM is still predicting significant delays on nearly all major north-south roadways despite massive capacity increases veri- fies a truth that has been borne out in many places at many times over the past decades: simply adding more capacity in a growing area is a temporary solution at best, and needs to be carefully weighed against the goals of the community. Figure 5.4 Level of Service Summary for Travel Modes for Transporta- tion Scenarios (Derived from the Triangle Regional Model)

Car p

Bike Ped o q

NC 54, Davis Drive, I-40, Airport Boulevard, and Aviation Parkway show high congestion levels in this forecasted map in spite of large improvements. Sample modeling suggests that even with more lanes (six) and additional capacity on NC 540 and other roads, congestion levels will remain high in the peak periods of the day. Levels indicated are derived from volume-to-capacity ratios. New roadways shown as present/connected in the map were included in the model.

Location/Roadway

Model Year

F E F E B B

E

E

2035 trend

Morrisville-Carpenter Road

C B

2035 proposed

F

F

2035 trend

NC 54

C A

2035 proposed

F

E B E B

2035 trend

Aviation Parkway

B

2035 proposed

C E C B

2035 trend

Airport Boulevard

2035 proposed

C D A

2035 trend

Town Hall Drive

C E

B

2035 proposed

E

E

D

2035 trend

McCrimmon Parkway

D C B

2035 proposed

F F

E B

E B

2035 trend

Davis Drive

2035 proposed

For a definition of level of service categories, please see Figure 3.3.

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5 Recommendations