TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
NCDOT only accepting comments until June 30, 2010
Why should tax payers spend more money when the Cost of Natural 540/64 By Pass and No Superstreets is: $-0-
· Save your Community from Un-Necessary Road Construction and Un-Necessary Expenses of your Tax Dollars!
NCDOT's Plan did not factor the completion of 540 into their study and plan.
Projected cost of NCDOT's open corridor initiative within Apex and Cary is:
· Short term: Temporary “Super Streets” $22.6 million
(No left turns, right turn only, make U turns; +8 more stop lights)
· Long Term High Way from Pittsboro to US 1: $325 million
PETITION KICK-OFF Saturday June 12th @ Kroger Foods in Lake Pine Plaza 10AM
PETITION DRIVE WILL BE FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKENDS AT KROGER FOODS IN LAKE PINE PLAZA and/or you can sign the petition any time at the Customer Service Counter at Kroger's or go to www.save64.org and download a petition, get signatures and drop it off at Kroger’s.
Submitted by Melissa Morauer, June 1, 2010;
The Public has been invited to submit comments through June 30, 2010 on the US64 DRAFT CORRIDOR STUDY www.ncdot.gov/us~64study
Submit your comments and urge your friends and neighbors to the same > to Dan Thomas of NCDOT’S Planning Branch via: danthomas@ncdot.gov OR FAX: 919-733-2417
You can re-state what is on the petition and/or make other comments:
· We demand that the Integrity of the existing community along US64 in Cary/Apex be preserved.
· That 540 between US1 & US 64 be designated as the US 64 BYPASS. Toll Free.
· That US64 in Cary and Apex be renamed Tryon Boulevard/Business 64 as soon as possible.
· We demand that “Super Streets” not be constructed along US64 in Cary and Apex.
· We find the US64 Corridor Study to be flawed since it did not consider the fact that 540 would be completed by 2014.
WE DEMAND THESE SHORT~TERM RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. 64 BY-PASS: NC 540 from US 64 to US 1 should be specifically recommended to serve as the 64 BY-PASS and should be toll-free. The NDCOT Plan states: “The Corridor Study Team recommends that NCDOT pursue the signing of US64 along NC540”. What does this mean Mr. Thomas?
2. 64 be should be re-named to Tryon Boulevard/Business 64 as soon as possible: Since the “goal of the study is to develop a master plan to preserve and enhance the mobility and safety along US 64, while balancing community access and interests” the plan should recommend that US64 be SIGNED as a Boulevard/Business 64 since that is how it is currently utilized, and should continue to be utilized in the future.
3. NO “SUPER STREETS” should be recommended for the short-term: At least 9 Superstreets are proposed to be implemented in the short term at a projected cost of approx. $22.6 + Million. Implementation would require years of construction and disruption to the community , businesses, employers and homeowners taking place along US 64. With superstreets, you would not be able to make any left turns, or go straight across US 64; you will have to turn right and then immediately get into the left lane to make a left U turn! It’s simply not going to be easy, faster, or safe, even though the DOT engineer’s insist this will be safer. How is this safer Mr. Thomas?
WE DEMAND THE FOLLOWING LONG~TERM RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Recommendations for future changes in Tryon Blvd/Business 64 should be made after NC 540 has been open for approximately two years.
2. The cost estimates for long term solutions ($298.200 million +) indicate that the recommendations for the long term for 19 miles are too expensive and should be modified. With all due respect that would be $298.200 million of “AFTER TAX” TAXPAYER DOLLARS Mr. Thomas.
DOWNLOAD A PETITION AND TALKING POINTS AT WWW.SAVE64.ORG AND ALSO HERE ON ABOVE LINKS - LET’S FLOOD THE NCDOT MAILBOXES WITH EMAIL AND SIGNATURES. IT IS UP TO US TO PRESERVE OUR COMMUNITY!
SIGNED PETITIONS CAN BE DELIVERED TO THE KROGER CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK IN APEX!
SAVE 64.ORG PUBLIC COMMENT 5/19/2010: Submitted by Melissa Morauer 5/20/2010
SAVE64.ORG thanks you for your support.
ALERT! CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization) is holding a public hearing, TODAY Wednesday 5/19 at 4PM. [http://www.campo-nc.us/index.html]
If you were not aware of today’s CAMPO public hearing you are not alone!
CAMPO is proposing that your right to voice your opinion be cut off on June 16th!
The Apex/Cary community is under siege and you must act NOW to preserve and protect the integrity of your community.
On May 5th NCDOT published the 64 Corridor Study (you can view the study at Eva Perry). The study does not take in to account that 540 would be completed by 2014. Is the NCDOT 64 Corridor Study fundamentally flawed?
If NCDOT were truly listening to the community they should have realized by now that the community is opposed to their "Open Corridor Initiative". The ultimate “Long Term” goal of the Open Corridor Initiative is to provide a non-stop route between Raleigh and Charlotte.
We believe that both our goal of preserving our existing community and NCDOT’s “Long Term Goal” of efficient flow of traffic can be achieved.
540 will provide the perfect By-Pass. The State can save millions of dollars by not needlessly transforming 64 into a “Super Street”.
NCDOT’s public comment period ends on June 30th.
Make your voice heard! What can you do to help?
Download a copy of our petition ( THE PETITION CAN BE FOUND AT
WWW.SAVE64.ORG) and gather signatures, drop completed petition pages to Kroger Foods in Apex (Lake Pine/64), at the customer service desk.
Call and or email the following:
Wake County Commissioner:
Stan Norwalk 919-363-4685
CAMPO
Director Ed Johnson 919-993-4390
NCDOT
Gene Conti NCDOT 919-733-2520
Let them know:
You demand that the integrity of your existing community be preserved along the Apex/Cary 64 Corridor;
You demand that US64 be renamed Tryon Boulevard/Business 64 and that you don’t want “Super Streets” in your backyard
That you believe that the US64 Corridor Study is flawed because if never took the 2014 completion date of 540 in to account.
That you believe there should be no toll between US 1 and US 64 Via the 540 /64 By-Pass.
Down load the Petition above in this pages Links, in fact, download many and give them to your neighbors and friends and get signatures to back it up. You can deliver your completed Petitions to the Kroger Customer Service Desk in Lake Pine Plaza in Apex beginning today May 19, 2010.
THANK YOU Kroger Foods! You are a COMMUNITY ASSET and we appreciate you!, Thank you for agreeing to accommodate us again in our efforts to guard, protect and preserve OUR COMMUNITY!
Thank you,
Save64.org
Through your voices signatures we were able to make sufficient progress, however, our voices have not been completely heard.
UPDATE FROM SAVE64.ORG 05/07/2010: Submitted by Melissa Morauer 5/07/2010
Save64's primary objective is to ensure that the community has a voice in this process.
While we are somewhat encouraged in the Study Team recommending solutions at Laura Duncan to improve the safety of pedestrian traffic we remain concerned by the lack of true commitment to the 64 By-Pass.
NCDOT's press conference portrayed the fact that they were no longer recommending elevated components for the long term solution as if they were listening to us loud and clear.
The fact remains that NCDOT removed the elevated option as a viable option before the Stake Holders Work Shop began over six months ago.
If NCDOT were truly listening to the community they should have realized by now that the community is opposed to their "Open Corridor Initiative" (in which they propose a non-stop route between Raleigh and Charlotte) that they continue to pursue.
We see the wisdom and continue to support the Town of Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly's By-Pass concept that he clearly expressed to NCDOT (and is a matter of public record documented in the first round of stakeholder’s meetings).
The Mayor had the foresight and vision to understand that 540 would be built (currently 540 will be complete by 2014). 540's route would create a natural bypass and that the NCDOT could easily and effectively move traffic via 540 between US1 and US64. Best of all is no additional funding would be necessary to do so unlike the other By-Passes needed to complete the Open Corridor Initiative.
If NCDOT was really interested in working with communities along the route that would have been and still remains as the best possible option.
The By-Pass would both preserve the integrity of the community and accomplish the speed and mobility NCDOT was seeking in its quest for an additional uninterrupted route between Raleigh and Charlotte.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that this is only the Study Team’s recommendation’s, it is not funded and it still needs to go before our elected officials.
Dan Thomas of NCDOT has assured us that the public comment period would be open until June 6th, 2010, despite NCDOT's web site stated as of yesterday that the public comment cut off was June 15th, 2010.
We encourage the members of the community to voice their opinion on this very important matter.
Thank you,
Save64.org
UPDATE FROM SAVE64.ORG:
SUBMITTED BY Melissa Morauer, 2/02/2010
Hello to All,
Thank you for your support in preserving the 64 corridor in Cary and Apex.
As a result of our communities and Save64.org's efforts a series of "Stake Holders" meetings were held with NCDOT and the "Study Group".
We are pleased to announce that the Study Group and NCDOT has in fact recommended that a by-pass be created via US 1 and 540, and that they were dropping the elevated Free Way aspects from the Study.
The Regional Transportation Alliance has been working with both Cary and Apex Chambers of Commerce and have asked that we present the below draft to our fellow citizens. The purpose is to judge the publics opinion on there draft on this very important issue.
Feel free to post any of your thoughts or questions on our web site, or to contact your local officials or NCDOT.
Thank you,
Save64.org
Regional Transportation Alliance Draft position on US 64 West corridor:
We recognize that US 64 is a critical corridor for both transportation and economic development for our region and state. We also understand that US 64 West also serves our local community in southwestern Wake County and is critical for mobility; access to offices, merchants, parks, and schools; and overall quality of life.
We applaud NCDOT, the Capital Area MPO, the Towns of Cary and Apex, and other partners for their shared efforts at exploring multiple options in order to identify a balanced solution from a community, regional, and statewide perspective. After engaging in the extensive community outreach process during 2009 with the corridor study team, we offer the following comments:
- We support the study team's recommendation to pursue signing US 64 bypass along NC 540 in order to inform through travelers of the availability of a nearby freeway-quality facility and to encourage long-distance travelers to use that routing
- We request that dynamic message signs that highlight travel time differences between the existing 64 corridor and the 540 freeway routing be installed along the lines of the electronic travel time sign examples shown in the new 2009 MUTCD in order to further inform longer distance travelers of the availability of the bypass routing
- Given the continuing and projected population and travel growth in the Triangle, we support efforts to preserve or enhance the mobility along the existing corridor between NC 540 and US 1
- Given the character of the Cary/Apex community and the existing US 64 corridor, any proposed mobility improvements to the existing corridor should sustain or improve its aesthetics, maintain a boulevard feel, and preserve or enhance connectivity between land uses north and south of the corridor
- We fully support the study team's recommendations to install Carmel, IN-type aesthetic roundabout interchanges at Lake Pine and Laura Duncan and their potential for significant capacity improvements, travel time savings, safety improvements, north-south multimodal connectivity enhancements, and boulevard aesthetics preservation
- Given the potential benefits associated with the proposed grade-separated interchanges at Laura Duncan and Lake Pine, we encourage consideration of focusing resources to accelerate one of these interchanges in lieu of spreading funding around on multiple smaller projects
- We encourage NCDOT to conduct a speed study on the existing corridor once NC 540 opens to see if speeds are appropriate
- We encourage the Town of Cary to consider further study of the area near the US 1 / US 64 interchange in order to explore potential opportunities for improved access, connectivity, mobility, and aesthetics along both US 1 and US 64
- Given the boulevard feel of the corridor and the capacity improvements that grade separations afford, we encourage preserving the existing corridor footprint at four lanes (two through lanes per direction), either indefinitely or at a minimum until multiple interchanges are installed, travel flow is observed, and further community engagement is undertaken
We thank NCDOT and the study team for the tremendous outreach and engagement efforts that have been undertaken as part of this study.
November 30, 2009
Based on input received, the US 64 Corridor Study Team will hold a follow-up meeting for everyone who attended the Stakeholders' workshop on Wednesday, December 16th , 2009.
As with October 22nd meeting, this meeting will be limited to the invited stakeholders in order to have a manageable and productive session. The purpose of the meeting is discuss the Study Team's final draft recommendations.
I will be attending this meeting on behalf of the MacGregor Downs Homeowners Association and will issue a summary of the meeting here on the website.
Respectfully Submitted,
Melissa Morauer
Vice President
MacGregor Downs Homeowers Association
============================================================================
NCDOT has been studying parts of US64 (from the US1 interchange to Chatham County) for expansion. The current plan includes both short and long-term proposals that will impact the Apex/Cary communities that border US64.
In May 2009 it became apparent that many people along US64 had now knowledge of the plans to alter US64, and Save64.org was formed. Save64.org held a petition drive in May/June2009 that collected over 2500 signatures in a two week period. The NCDOT responded to the petition by hosting the July 2009 community meeting at Green Hope High School (see the NCDOT presentation with Q&A, online at http://www.ncdot.org/doh/preconstruct/tpb/SHC/studies/us64/public/).
NCDOT held an additional US64 Stakeholders meeting on October 22, 2009. Twenty Two [22] NCDOT selected community stakeholders met with NCDOT and affiliated organizations to discuss the revised short and long term plans for US64.
During the meeting, several NCDOT officials presented aspects of the current short and long term plans for US64. During these presentations, David Wasserman of NCDOT and Ed Johnson of CAMPO (Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, http://www.campo-nc.us/) both confirmed that there is no longer any elevated highway included in the long-term plans for US64 in Cary.
The US 64 Corridor Study Website has been updated with the presentations and handouts provided at the October 22nd workshop. Please visit the Community Involvement section on the website (www.ncdot.org/~us64study). NCDOT is continuing to prepare a summary of the workshop discussion and will also provide this document on the website once it is finalized.
NCDOT is also planning on having a short follow-up meeting for everyone who attended the October 22nd workshop. NCDOT is advising the Stakeholders that this meeting will be held in early December.
Other details of the short and long term plans will be made available for public review after the DOT consolidates stakeholder feedback.
Respectfully Submitted;
Melissa Morauer
October 30, 2009