A presentation on the NC-54 West study was recently given to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and Orange County Board of Commissioners.

The study was mostly funded by the local Metropolitan Planning Organization and was in response to a 2015 proposal to enlarge the corridor to a four-lane, median-divided road.

The study showed that according to demographics and traffic growth patterns, there may be a need to widen the road in the future.

Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle says that while the presentation was informative, local officials still need to think long and hard about widening the corridor.

“We’ll need to kind of examine and determine, is this something that we really need, and do we really want to encourage this, also.” says Lavelle.

The study was informed by future growth and development along the NC-54 West Corridor along with traffic patterns.

Lavelle points out that it is important to take UNC-related traffic into account when looking at these patterns

“Those people coming down 54, they’re not all going to Carrboro, they’re going to the university,” says Lavelle. “So the university is the big player in the room.”

A final draft report of the study is available at nc54west.com.

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