•^1 fC-l U/l: fi6^ C.2. North Carolina Department of Transportation Statewide Planning Branch Small Urban Planning Unit ■~<~af_iM^- Thoroughfare Plan June, 1994 ■■mi^K-rKuts&A.'. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from State Library of North Carolina http://www.archive.org/details/thoroughfare1994newland THOROUGHFARE PLAN FOR THE TOWN OF NEWLAND Prepared by the: Statewide Planning Branch Division of Highways North Carolina Department of Transportation In Cooperation with: The Town of Newland The Federal Highway Administration U. S. Department of Transportation N.C. DOCUMENTS CLEARINGHO' .^^E OCT. S6 199A N.C. STATE LieHABY June, 19 94 RALEIGH o'"'""."^"". Wes?ley 0. Stafford, P.E. Small Urban Planning Unit Head ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Persons responsible for this report: Project Engineer: S. W. Walston, E.I.T. Project Engineer: L. F. Huntsinger Small Urban Planning Unit Head: W. 0. Stafford, P.E. Manager Statewide Planning Branch: M. R. Poole, Ph.D., P Engineering Technician: W. P. Spohn, E.I.T. 75 copies of this document were printed at a cost of $269.25, or $3.59 per copy (GS. 143-170.1). TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE 1 . INTRODUCTION I-l 2. RECOMMENDED THOROUGHFARE PLAN II-l Thoroughfare Plan Recommendations II-l Major Thoroughfare System II-l NC 194 • 11-2 NC 181 11-2 NC 194 Alternate II-3 Minor Thoroughfare System II-4 Watauga Street II-4 Avery High School Road/Old Montezuma Road... II-4 Elk Street/Hickory Nut Gap Road II-5 Old Toe River Road II-5 Spanish Oak Road II-5 Intersection Improvements II-6 Other Recommendations II-6 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN III-l State-Municipal Adoption of the Thoroughfare Plan III-l Subdivision Controls III-l Land Use Controls III-l Development Reviews III-2 Funding Sources III-2 Capital Improvements Program III-2 Transportation Improvement Program III-2 Industrial Access Funds III-3 Small Urban Funds III-3 The North Carolina Highway Trust Fund Law III-3 Construction Priorities and Cost Estimates III-5 4. TRAVEL DEFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF EXISTING SYSTEM.... IV-1 Existing Travel Patterns IV-1 Traffic Accidents IV-5 1992 Traffic Capacity Analysis IV-5 No Build Alternative IV-6 5 . POPULATION, LAND USE, AND TRAFFIC V-1 Factors Affecting Transportation V-1 Population V-1 Economy and Employment V-3 Land Use V-3 Travel Demand V-4 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS VI-1 Wetlands VI-1 Threatened and Endangered Species VI-2 Historic Sites VI-2 Section 4 (f) Properties VI-3 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS VII-1 Proposal A VII-1 Proposal B VII-2 Proposal C VII-2 Proposal D VII-3 THOROUGHFARE PLANNING PRINCIPLES VIII-1 Benefits of Thoroughfare Planning VIII-1 Thoroughfare Classification Systems VIII-1 Idealized Major Thoroughfare System VIII-2 Objectives of Thoroughfare Planning VlIl-3 Operational Efficiency VIII-4 System Efficiency VIII-5 Application of Thoroughfare Planning Principles..VIII-5 APPENDIX A Street Tabulation A-1 APPENDIX B Typical Cross Sections B-1 APPENDIX C Recommended Subdivision Ordinances C-1 APPENDIX D Newland Parking Study D-1 APPENDIX E Cost Estimates for Proposed Projects E-1 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. Newland Location Map 1-3 2 . Recommended Thoroughfare Plan 1-5 3 . Levels of Service IV-3 4. Base Year ADT's Compared With the Capacity IV-7 5. Existing Street System with 2020 ADT's IV-9 6. Land Use Map V-7 7 . Proposal A VII-5 8. Proposal B VII-7 9. Proposal D VII-9 10. Idealized Thoroughfare Plan VIII-7 11 . Typical Cross Sections B-5 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. Funding Sources and Methods Recommended for Implementation of Projects III-4 2. Probability Estimation Guide III-6 3. Potential Project Cost Estimates of Investigated Projects III-6 4. Benefits Evaluation of Investigated Projects III-7 5 . Level of Service IV-2 6. Accident Summary IV-5 7. Population Trends and Projections V-2 8. Population Projections for the Planning Area V-2 9. ADT's for NC 194 Between NC 181 and Old Toe River Road V-5 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION This report documents the findings of a study of Newland's Thoroughfare system that began in 1992 and culminated in the mutual adoption of the Newland Thoroughfare Plan. The primary objective of thoroughfare planning is to enable the urban street system to progressively developed to adequately service future traffic demands. The benefits of thoroughfare planning are detailed in Chapter 8. Newland is the county seat of Avery County, in the western portion of North Carolina. The Town is centered at the intersection of NC 181 and NC 194, both major routes of the region. Avery County is bordered to the north by Watagua County, home of Boone and Appalachian State University. The area surrounding Newland is mountainous and rural, with agriculture and manufacturing as the main industries. The Town is mostly residential, with some commercial development along NC 194 and NC 181. Several problems prompted the Town to request a thoroughfare study in June, 1992. The intersection of NC 181 and NC 194 is the most congested intersection in the county, and they wanted to improve that intersection. The Town was also concerned with through traffic on these routes. Several other areas need traffic engineering improvements. Another important aspect of the Newland Thoroughfare Plan was the replacement of a one-way bridge on Watagua Street. Traffic bottlenecks at the bridge at peak hours. The weight limit prevents the passage of emergency vehicles. At the requests of the Town and Statewide Planning, the bridge has been placed on the Transportation Improvement Program for replacement. Construction should begin after the year 2000. To ensure that the recommendations of the study were comprehensively considered and consistent with the desires of the local citizens, the Statewide Planning staff met several times with the Town Board of Newland. The Board reviewed ideas and provided input during the study. Basic thoroughfare planning principles, as described in Chapter 8, were used to develop this plan. It is based on existing traffic, population, and land use data. Year 2020 average daily traffic projections were used to determine capacity deficiencies. The adopted thoroughfare plan is expected to meet the traffic demands of Newland for the planning period of 1992 - 2020. Some major highlights of the 1994 Newland Thoroughfare Plan are: I-l 1) NC 194 Alternate is a bypass of downtown Newland. The construction of this facility will remove through traffic from traveling into town, and provide relief to the NC 181/NC 194 intersection. 2) NC 194 will be over capacity in the year 2020. To improve safety and capacity, it is recommended that this roadway be widened to three lanes between Blevins Creek Road (SR 1361) to Old NC 194 (SR 1511, toward Newland). To accommodate this section, some downtown parking would need to be revised. 3) NC 181 should be over capacity in 2020 from the city limits to Linville. It is recommended that this two lane section be widened to three lanes. 4) Watauga Street contains a one-way bridge near NC 181. During peak hours, traffic bottlenecks at the bridge. A two-lane bridge is recommended. 5) Avery High School Road (SR 1370)/Old Montezuma Road (SR 1500) is very congested in morning and afternoon peak hours. It is recommended that this route be widened to 8 m (24 feet). However, in front of the high school, it is recommended a 11 m (36 feet) section including a left turning lane. 6) A High School Connector is recommended to allow traffic from the two schools located on Old Montezuma Road to have access to NC 194 Alternate. ■ The North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Town of Newland are been jointly responsible for the proposed thoroughfare improvements. Cooperation between the state and local governmental units is of primary concern. The plan was mutually adopted by all parties and it was the responsibility of the local government bodies to implement the plan following the guidelines set forth in Chapter 4. It should be emphasized that the recommended plan is based on anticipated growth of the urban area as indicated by current trends. Prior to construction of specific projects, a more detailed study will be required to reconsider development trends and to determine specific locations and design requirements. 1-2