Transportation Plan - 2009, amended

5.2 Roadways, cont’d

Kit Creek Road will allow the severed pieces of Kit Creek Road to be re- connected. The potential for “cut-through” traffic in the Kitts Creek com- munity is small, especially with traffic calming measures in place. The road would be considered a residential collector, similar to Parkside Val- ley Drive. This connection is critical for effective public safety access to the Kitts Creek subdivision since other connections, such as the railroad crossings at Church Street and Barbee Road, are planned to be severed. The reconnection is planned to be a two-lane roadway with four-foot bicycle lanes and five-foot sidewalks on both sides. Although North Caro- lina Turnpike Authority is slated to build the connection, the Town of Mor- risville has provided extensive input to minimize the impact on properties and to have pedestrian and bicycle facilities included in the design. Gateway Markers Partly as a result of the Town of Morrisville’s irregular town limits, roadways that cross into and out of different jurisdictions, and close proximity to neighboring jurisdictions, visitors to Morrisville often don’t know they are in Morrisville. Three small gateway markers currently exist, along Aviation Parkway, Airport Boulevard and NC 54. This Plan calls for those gateway markers to be made more visible and attractive to visitors, and to add additional markers at other entrances to the town (Figure 5.11). The in- tersection of Aviation Parkway and Evans Road has been identified as a potential “feature intersection” that could become an enhanced gate- way to the town. New markers have been being designed as part of the Shiloh Crossing development (see drawing at right). These markers will cost an estimated $7,500 to $9,500 each to create and install. 5.3 Public Transportation

Assessing the market for transit in Morrisville is complicated by several fac- tors: many of its residents are relatively new to the area and therefore may not adhere to the more ingrained travel habits of longer-term resi- dents; the proximity to regional traffic attractors/generators in the form of Research Triangle Park and Raleigh-Durham International Airport; and the still-changing travel patterns created by the influx of new residents and businesses in northwest Cary and Morrisville. Nevertheless, there are generally three markets for those who choose to use public transportation: (1) People who do not own or who cannot operate a private car; and (2) People for whom the current public transportation options are cheaper and/or faster than using a privately-owned vehicle; and (3) People who prefer not to drive. Until recently, the key assumption for developing public transportation op- tions in small urban or rural areas was that group number (1) comprised a hugely disproportionate share of existing – and nearly all future – transit rid- ers. However, that assumption is being challenged as fuel costs continue to rise. It is possible that the state of personal travel and the short-term future of public transportation itself are in a state of flux, further complicating long- term recommendations. To explore the costs of providing a basic public transportation service, a case study examining the feasibility of Morrisville providing its own transit service is provided. Based on the outcome of this example, the recommendations for future transit service rely on expanding Appendix H describes how Morrisville could start its own bus service. The service described would be provided six days per week including holidays. Both daily, fixed-route and Amer- icans with Disabilities Act (ADA) complementary demand response service would be pro- vided. Funding sources, yearly capital and operating budgets, and transit system opera- tions and management are also discussed. The full case study presented in Appendix H is an example system, not necessarily what would be implemented by the town, and it is presented to offer a comparison of cost/benefit, feasibility, service quality, performance, and ridership with alternative transit options. The results of the case study are included below along with several other transit service options. Recommendations The costs for Morrisville to create an independent fixed-route service such as that described in the case study is compared to several other options in Figure 5.13. Project recommen- dations include the following items, illustrated in Figure 5.12 and described in Figure 5.14. Chief among these recommendations are: • Support to shift Triangle Transit Route 301 over to NC 54 (from its current location along I-40 with stops at Morrisville Outlet Mall) • Provide bus stops near residential neighborhoods in Morrisville • Work closely with Cary to expand the C-Tran service in Morrisville. Cooperation with C-Tran will initially include discussions on establishing a C-Tran bus stop at Park West Village on NC 54 and at Morrisville Manor on Cary Parkway, which would allow bet- ter access for Morrisville residents to planned C-Tran service along Cary Parkway and Weston Parkway. Future discussions with C-Tran will explore the possibility of adding future routes along NC 54 (north-south) and Airport Boulevard (east-west). Morrisville’s involvement with existing transit providers. Case Study: Starting a New Public Transportation System

Sketch of the new gateway sign for Morrisville.

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5 Recommendations