DOT officials say they'll explore all options for 107, The Sylva Herald, 12/11/08

DOT officials say they'll explore all options for 107
The Sylva Herald
December 11, 2008

By Stephanie Salmons and Lynn Hotaling

First was a proposed four-lane highway called the Southern Loop that would stretch from Blanton Branch through Webster to Cagle Branch. Then the proposal was a two-lane road on a four-lane right of way that would leave U.S. 23/74 near Blanton Branch and connect with N.C. 107 between Sylva and Cullowhee, possibly as close to Western Carolina University as Cane Creek.

Last Thursday, however, local elected officials who attended an N.C. Department of Transportation workshop learned that there may not be a road at all.

"We've decided to continue looking at building a connector," said DOT Division Engineer Joel Setzer.

[PHOTO]
School Board Chairman Ken Henke, right, and his wife, Nikki, center, speak with a transportation official at a drop-in information forum hosted by the N.C. Department of Transportation last Thursday (Dec. 4) in which information was available about a potential connector road from U.S. 23/74 to N.C. 107. No definite decisions have been made about the proposed new road nor with regard to any other alternatives aimed at alleviating congestion on N.C. 107, which could include "no build" alternatives such as a combination of improvements to existing roadways. – Herald photo by Stephanie Salmons

The bulk of the session, which preceded a drop-in public information forum on the proposed road, revolved around the various studies involved before any decisions are made. Consultant Mark Reep of Ko & Associates in Raleigh, told the assembled local leaders that the "107 Connector" as the potential road is being called, is in the "project development phase."

What that means, according to information passed out at the session, is that environmental studies to evaluate the impact of a new road will be conducted and compared not only with alternate routes for new construction but also with alternatives that improve existing roads or create interconnectivity of secondary roads. In addition, DOT planners will also look at traffic-system management, which could involve optimizing existing traffic signals, widening intersections to add turn lanes, and combining and eliminating driveway accesses.

Another alternative could include a combination of these options – for example, improving an existing roadway combined with a new road.

While a feasibility study for a potential new road has been completed and a study area selected, Reep said the feasibility study for N.C. 107 between Sylva and the Western Carolina University campus is ongoing and is looking at viable options for relieving traffic congestion along the existing 107. That study will not evaluate new construction alternatives but will consider traffic congestion with and without the addition of a new connector.

Setzer told The Herald two weeks ago that the idea behind a new connector is that it would alleviate some of the traffic along N.C. 107 that's bound for Western Carolina University and Cullowhee.

While no route for a new road has been established, a study area that stretches south of Sylva to a point on N.C. 107 just past the WCU campus and east of Sylva to Blanton Branch on U.S. 23/74 has been established, he said.

A storm of protest followed DOT's summer 2003 release of plans for a four-lane connector that would leave U.S. 23/74 at Blanton Branch and run through Webster to link with U.S. 441 near Cagle Branch. Under that proposal, the new road would have crossed N.C. 107 either at Locust Creek or Cope Creek.

A grassroots group, the Smart Roads Alliance, held meetings and took out newspaper ads opposing a new four-lane highway and a county transportation task force was formed.

The planned road then dropped from sight until 2007, when the DOT's Transportation Improvement Plan included funding for right of way acquisition for the eastern portion – the U.S. 23/74 to N.C. 107 leg of the planned new road, which Setzer at the time said he envisioned as a two-lane, access-controlled road on a four-lane right of way.

Plans for a new 107-to-441 connector have now been dropped, Setzer said.

According to Reep, much information remains to be gathered before any decisions are made. The timeline he outlined for the proposed connector indicates that even if the decision is made to build a new road, construction would not begin until at least 2015. That project schedule is as follows:

– Purpose and need, early 2009

– Citizens informational workshop, fall 2009

– Identify alternatives – late 2009

– Citizens informational workshop, early 2010

– Draft environmental impact statement, spring 2012

– Public hearing, summer 2012

– Select preferred alternative, fall 2012

– Final environmental impact statement, summer 2013

– Right of way acquisition, 2015

– Construction, after 2015

Traffic simulations for 2035 takes leap of faith

Traffic simulations for 2035 takes leap of faith
Smoky Mountain News
December 10, 2008
By Becky Johnson • Staff Writer

As the debate over the Southern Loop rages on, a faceless cadre of number crunchers have been assigned a seemingly impossible task: predict who will be driving on N.C. 107 and why 25 years from now.

The answer could ultimately propel or table the Southern Loop, a proposed bypass around Sylva meant to alleviate congestion on N.C. 107. While 107 serves a dual purpose — both a commercial strip and commuter corridor — the question for planners is whether a new road would divert enough traffic from N.C. 107 to do any good.

"Does a new road in that vicinity offer relief to 107 or does it not?" said Pam Cook, a transportation engineer working with the Jackson County Transportation Task Force. "Does it offer enough help to be worth continuing to look at in more detail?"

For now, DOT's number crunchers are deploying a complex formula to figure out how many cars will be on the road in the year 2035. The magic number will be unveiled in January.

The numbers being plugged into the formula are coming from the Jackson County Transportation Task Force. The task force met last week to finalize their input.

"What is Jackson County going to look like in 2035? Where is the employment, where is the population going to grow, where will schools grow, how will the college grow?" Cook asked. "That's what we've been looking at for the past couple months."

The numbers being plugged into the simulations assume the same rate of growth over the next 25 years as the past 25 years, from homes to jobs to population.

County Commissioner William Shelton, who sits on the task force, questioned whether this was an accurate assumption. Shelton said at some point the holding capacity of the land couldn't keep up with infinite growth at today's levels. Shelton said there could be a paradigm shift in the county's future.

"At some point that same template is not going to work, so at what point do you make that determination?" Shelton asked.

DOT planners told the task force not to get too caught up in the details.

"Don't get too concerned about these growth tables beyond five years," said Ryan Sherby, community transportation planner for DOT and the Southwestern Commission.

Cook said the projections could be revisited in five to 10 years.

"We plan the worst-case scenario," Cook said. "If we can back off some, great."

Considering DOT plans to buy up right-of-way for the Southern Loop in 2015, revisiting the projections in 10 years could be too late to change course.

Shelton again expressed concern that the numbers being plugged into the model are flawed.

"I think it is a fairly safe assumption that the growth pattern we have experienced over the last 30 years isn't going to continue indefinitely," Shelton said. "In that case, how are we going to get data? How do we create a model based on what we don't know?"

Cook said the DOT doesn't have a magic globe, but can make a fairly safe bet.

"You make your best effort. It's more than a guess," Cook said.

All in the formula

Short of standing in the middle of the road with a clipboard to ask drivers where they're headed, the task force will rely on the DOT's formula to accurately predict who will on the road and where they're going to be headed.

While the DOT knows how many people drive on N.C. 107, it doesn't know whether a student commuting to Western Carolina University stops off for a sausage biscuit at McDonald's every morning, or whether a professor picks up their kid from band practice on the way home every day.

While straight-up commuters might be candidates for a bypass, the commercial pull of Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Ingles, gas stations and fast-food joints could have drivers seeking out N.C. 107 anyway.

"I think we need to look at what is on 107. If all the commerce and services are on 107, then this connector is not going to take 50 percent of the traffic off or even 25 percent off," said Susan Leveille, a member of the task force representing the Smart Roads Alliance. "We need to figure that out somehow."

DOT claims it has a formula that will answer that question.

"We don't do a survey of every single person and map out every person's movement, but we know our model does a pretty good job," Cook said. "It takes into account someone who goes to work, leaves for lunch and comes back. The equations have taken years and years of research to come up with."

Cook said the DOT's formulas have proved accurate in Jackson County when used for present-day traffic counts. Applying the formula to today's demographics — population density, employment, schools, stores and the like — the number crunchers estimated how much traffic should be on which roads. When compared to actual traffic counts — captured by counters across the road — the predictions were accurate within plus or minus 10 percent, Cook said. Cook said that was exceptionally accurate.

But whether the formula will still hold true when projecting traffic for 2035 is another story. There could be entirely new variables, and current ones could be obsolete.

One likelihood is public transportation to and from WCU by then. Allen Grant, a task force member representing Jackson County Greenways, said future public transports up and down N.C. 107 should be factored in to the equation.

"I think we need to put these things into it," said Grant.

Pat Brown, dean of education and outreach at WCU, agreed.

"I think public transport would relieve some pressure," said Brown.

But Cook said public transportation wouldn't put a dent in N.C. 107 traffic and won't be factored into the 2035 traffic simulations.

"I don't know that it would be enough to help," Cook said.

Western's giant role

A giant wildcard in predicting traffic 25 years from now is Western Carolina University. If the school grows, so grows the county. And growth is most certainly in Western's plans.

"It seems the elephant in the room is Western's growth projections," said Dr. Cecil Groves, the president of Southwestern Community College and member of the task force.

Western plans to more than double the number students taking courses on campus from 7,000 to 15,000 by the year 2035, according to figures shared by Brown.

A lot of that growth could be self contained, however. WCU has aggressive plans for building on-campus housing, coupled with a commercial district to serve students. Known as the Millennial Campus, plans call for a new town center with restaurants, coffee shops, even a grocery store.

"The intent is to support that population," Brown said. "The students would live there, eat there, have their services there and spend time studying there."

If so, traffic on N.C. 107 may not be as elevated as it would under the current model that assumes students buzz into Sylva for most of their needs.

Of the 8,000 additional students WCU foresees, 3,000 would live on campus and 5,000 off-campus.

Jay Spiro, a member of the task force representing the Jackson County Smart Growth Alliance, asked how certain WCU is that the growth will come to fruition.

"When you start talking about 2035, it is definitely guess land —fantasy world is more like it," Brown replied.

Groves said that regardless of the exact numbers, WCU would certainly grow and the role of N.C. 107 as a gateway would only become more important over the years.

What's next?

After the traffic projections for 2035 are unveiled to the task force next month, the real work begins. The task force will start to develop ideas for solving transportation issues, namely congestion.

"They'll brainstorm alternatives to help relieve any problem areas," Cook said.

The result will be a "comprehensive transportation plan," but the problem areas getting the most attention will be the main drag of N.C. 107 and U.S. Business 23.

The goal of the task force's transportation plan will be reducing congestion during rush hour periods, regardless if it occurs any other time of day, Cook said.

Leveille questioned whether such an approach is realistic. Rush hour congestion is part of life, she said.

"The goal to have no traffic congestion is lala land. It is just not achievable ever," Leveille said.

Cook said she hopes the duration of rush hour congestion would be taken into consideration. If it's just a short window, building the Southern Loop might be overkill versus other solutions.

"I would certainly say if it is only 30 minutes I would hope they look at congestion management," Cook said.

Congestion management experts within DOT have already taken a gander at N.C. 107. With so much publicity brewing over the road, the experts made a trip here from Raleigh to see if any quick fixes jumped out at them.

"That's a practice I would like to see in DOT, for congestion management to come in and offer simple suggestion if there are any," Cook said.

The idea of fixing N.C. 107 congestion without building a new road will be explored more fully as part of yet another more formal study currently under way.

DOT gets earful from public on Southern Loop

DOT gets earful from public on Southern Loop
Smoky Mountain News
December 10, 2008
By Josh Mitchell • Staff Writer

Jackson County resident Susan Leveille opposes the construction of a N.C. 107 bypass.

"I am very hopeful DOT and all other powers who make decisions will take a look at the alternatives to a bypass for alleviating traffic concerns," Leveille said.

Leveille told The Smoky Mountain News her concerns about the project last Thursday (Dec. 4) during a public information meeting put on by the North Carolina Department of Transportation at Western Carolina University.

Constructing a bypass would destroy mountain scenery and communities that have been a part of Leveille's family for five to six generations, she said.

"It would destroy why we like living here and why people like visiting here," she said.

A bypass connecting N.C. 107 with U.S. Highway 23/74 would also create noise, runoff and pollution problems, she added..

About 150 residents attended the meeting, which featured large maps stationed around the room with DOT officials on hand to answer questions . DOT Project Planning Engineer Ryan White said the purpose of the meeting was to gather input from the public on the project.

DOT is currently evaluating the traffic problems on N.C. 107 and determining possible solutions. DOT plans to have list of solutions in late 2009 and choose one in 2012.

DOT's timeline also calls for buying right of way in 2015 and construction beginning after 2015.

Building the bypass is not a sure thing, as DOT is just in the beginning phases of the project, according to Joel Setzer, head of the DOT for the 10 western counties.

Setzer said the community must come together to determine if a connector is the best solution to ease congestion. Many would say simply redesigning N.C. 107 is all that is needed, Setzer said, adding that all alternatives need to be explored.

Setzer sees advantages to a new road, however.

"I think a connector would provide an alternative for people," he said.

N.C. 107 gets congested during the morning and afternoon from traffic going to Western Carolina University, Southwestern Community College, Smoky Mountain High School and Fairview Elementary School. Traffic from Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Ingles and other businesses contributes to the congestion.

"There's definitely a need to improve traffic flow on N.C. 107," said White.

With so much traffic on N.C. 107 the likelihood of accidents increases, White added.

Rather than building a bypass, other alternatives such as redesigning N.C. 107 could possibly alleviate congestion. The situation could also be improved if more people used public transportation, such as students riding school buses.

DOT is currently conducting a feasibility study to determine if N.C. 107 should be redesigned.

Norma Medford of Blanton Branch, which is near where the proposed connector would be located, said she opposes the project because it would destroy forests.

White said environmental concerns are taken into consideration by DOT. He said DOT cannot do anything without approval from several environmental agencies.

Medford doesn't think the traffic on N.C. 107 is bad enough to warrant a new road.

"I don't know why there has to be a new road," she said. "I'm extremely opposed to it."

Throughout the process DOT is scheduled to have several public information workshops. The project is estimated to cost $132 million.

Officials stay away from private DOT meeting, stay within bounds of law

Officials stay away from private DOT meeting, stay within bounds of law
Smoky Mountain News
December 10, 2008
By Josh Mitchell

It appears local government officials obeyed the Open Meetings Law when they attended a private N.C.. Department of Transportation meeting about the controversial N.C. 107 connector last week.

The Smoky Mountain News reported in the Nov. 26 edition that the government officials were poised to violate the Open Meetings Law because the meeting had not been advertised to the public.

The towns of Webster, Forest Hills, Sylva and Jackson County all had representation at the meeting, but stayed within the bounds of the law by not having a majority of their respective boards present.

According to the N.C. Open Meetings Law, an official meeting occurs when a majority of a public board is present at a meeting pertaining to public business. Such a meeting requires that the public be given notice of the meeting, which it was not in this case.

A meeting open to the public followed the private meeting between DOT and the government officials.

DOT said that it wanted to have a meeting with the public officials first to inform them about the project so they would be prepped to answer constituents' questions. At the meeting, elected leaders were called on to talk about concerns and questions they may have involving the road project.

Franklin Alderman Bob Scott tipped The Smoky Mountain News off about the meeting, saying he thought it was a violation of the Open Meetings Law. By not informing the public about the meeting, it seemed as if DOT wanted to tell the local officials something it didn't want to tell the citizens, Scott said.

The Smoky Mountain News attended the meeting. (see related article.)

ROAD MEETING SET FOR TODAY, DEC. 4, 2008

The N.C. Department of Transportation is planning a citizens' information workshop today (Thursday) on the proposed N.C. 107 Connector (formerly called the Southern Loop) project. DOT officials are beginning environmental and design studies to determine how best to address congestion issues along the U.S. 23 Business/N.C. 107 corridor from east of Sylva to just south of the Western Carolina University campus. The informal meeting will be from 4 to 7 p.m. in the Hospitality Room of Western Carolina University's Ramsey Center. No formal program is planned, but citizens are invited to drop in and speak individually with NCDOT officials about project plans. Prior to that session, at 2 p.m., DOT officials will brief local elected officials on the project. The above map shows the project boundaries; according to DOT officials a route for the new road, which would connect U.S. 23/74 with N.C. 107, is not yet determined but will be within the area indicated above. Interested parties may also write, referencing Transportation Improvement Program project number R-4745, to Ryan White, NCDOT Project Development and Environmental Analysis Branch, 1548 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1548.