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Published: Feb 12, 2012 02:00 AM
Modified: Feb 10, 2012 06:04 PM

DOT, residents discuss Smith Level Road plans
6 issues remain controversial

BY TAMMY GRUBB, Correspondent

CARRBORO - Neighbors and representatives of the N.C. Department of Transportation hashed out their differences last week over the utility easements and rights of way needed to upgrade and expand Smith Level Road.DOT division engineer Mike Mills apologized for any public confusion about the necessary easements and said DOT staff had reduced some and eliminated others. One area that did not change was in front of homes between BPW Club Road and Willow Oak Lane, where the steep slope requires wider construction and drainage easements to be placed a certain way, he said."We've probably got less impact now than we did at the public hearing in 2010," Mills said.DOT staff also agreed Tuesday to review six remaining issues, including what landscaping to replace, the neighborhood impact of prohibiting left turns out of Willow Oak Lane and how work at the Culbreth Road intersection will affect a Teal Place homeowner.The discussion followed a November meeting in which DOT representatives couldn't provide easement details. The aldermen asked DOT to meet with neighbors and return with more information. Neighbors told town staff early this year that DOT representatives were meeting with them individually.Mayor Mark Chilton thanked DOT representatives and neighbors Tuesday for a respectful discussion."Sometimes people get drawn into the temptation to attack the employees of the state Department of Transportation. I think it's clear that the people at DOT are trying to mitigate the impacts here," Chilton said.No left turnBerryhill neighbors thanked DOT for making some easement changes, preserving a neighborhood sign and considering compensation for one of two rock walls at the Willow Oak Lane entrance. DOT also added a high-visibility pedestrian crosswalk at Smith Level Road.However, neighbors continued to push for the inclusion of a left turn from Willow Oak Lane to the north.DOT's plan allows northbound drivers to turn left into the Berryhill neighborhood, but those leaving to go downtown must turn south and make a U-turn at BPW Club Road. The other option is to drive through the neighborhood to BPW Club Road and turn left at the Smith Level Road traffic light."If it's unsafe for a car to stop there and turn, how safe is it for me to cross that street with that speeding traffic coming down the road to take a bus for which the bus stop is exactly on the opposite side?" resident Anil Peres-da-Silva asked.Alderwoman Jacquie Gist asked if DOT staff had studied how the change might affect neighborhood safety. They had not, Mills said."I think there is a reason why people believe this is going to increase the traffic through their neighborhood," Gist said. "Before this change is implemented, I think that's one piece of information that's very vital to the safety of the community."Property questionsOther residents, particularly in the Enclave and Teal Place neighborhoods, questioned the required amount of private property, easement locations and whether utilities could be moved or buried.Phyllis Holt, who has lived for 11 years at the corner of Culbreth Road and Smith Level Road, said her front door is just 16 feet from DOT's construction stake. Holt said that would put traffic and the "big state machine" in her front yard, and the homeowners association would be compensated for her loss, because it owns the land."I appreciate that the DOT is working to alleviate and attend to our concerns, but I'm the big loser, and it's really sad," she said.The aldermen agreed the changes would be extremely detrimental and asked DOT staff to find a way to mitigate the effects.The final plans for the $3.5 million expansion project are expected in September, with construction running from early 2013 to 2015.The project approved in 2010 shows a two-lane Smith Level Road, with a landscaped median from the Morgan Creek Bridge to BPW Club Road and a center turn lane from there to Rock Haven Road. The traffic light at Rock Haven Road will be replaced with a roundabout.Bike lanes and sidewalks will be built on the road's western side and from the bridge to just south of Woodcrest Street on the east. Federal and state money will pay for the road work and 70 percent of the sidewalk construction, with the town picking up the remaining 30 percent, or roughly $55,000. OWASA will pay for a third of the cost to move water lines, Mills said.Mills said the Smith Level Road planning process has played a key role in changing the way DOT staff approaches other situations around the state, Mills said. While it's difficult to anticipate how a utility company's easement regulations will apply to a specific parcel, the staff is trying to make more information available to residents at the beginning of a project, he said.Alderman Dan Coleman advised DOT staff to work on how they handle residents' concerns about what will happen to their property, as well as how the staff approaches property owners about potential changes."I know 20 years ago, we did not do that," Mills said. "With this project, we're trying to be more sensitive to the community."

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DOT, residents discuss Smith Level Road plans