Carrboro’s Board of Aldermen recently heard a presentation about a study done on the NC 54 West Corridor between Carrboro and Graham.

The study, which was funded by the local Metropolitan Planning Organization, focused on the stretch of NC 54 starting in Graham and moving east to Carrboro’s West Main Street. It stemmed from a 2015 proposal to widen the two-lane corridor to a four-lane, median-divided road. A previous study had been completed and presented, but found it did not sufficiently answer the questions had about potentially widening the highway.

Don Bryson, a representative of the transportation and land use firm who conducted the study, shared some of the results with the board.

“We found that the crash rate in this corridor is above state average for this type of facility,” he said. “[It’s caused by] a lot of turning, left turns on and off roads, at driveways and intersections.”

While the implementation of some traffic signals along the highway have alleviated some of this issue, the lack of proper passing lanes also contributes to these crashes.

“And that’s mainly because there aren’t a lot of safe places to pass,” said Bryson. “As the volumes increase over time, that becomes more and more of a problem.”

The board’s concerns, however, were that the traffic results shown do not indicate enough growth to affect Carrboro and justify building space for more automobiles, which is something the town government is aiming to curb. The study found about 12 percent of traffic on West Main Street enters and exits using NC 54 along the studied stretch.

Council member Randee Haven-O’Donnell shared her concerns about the potential of widening the highway.

“I do think it would make great sense to run bike lanes on both sides from here to Graham,” she said. “But in terms of expanding [the highway] to four lanes with a median in the middle, I just think that it’s an archaic way of looking at the direction we want to go with.”

In the resolution passed acknowledging they had received the presentation, the board added a note in unanimous opposition to any widening of the highway.

The NC 54 Corridor Study is expected to be presented to Orange County representatives in the coming weeks. Carrboro residents and others will have an opportunity to learn more about the study and share their thoughts at a community meeting on October 24 at Town Hall from 6-8 p.m.

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