C 9s North Carolina Department of Transportation Statewide Planning Branch TECHNICAL REPORT AND STUDY FOR VALDESE, RUTHERFORD COLLEGE & CONNEaV SPRINGS Rock School Town Hall Valdese Rutherford Cgjlg^^^l^ Connelly Mineral Springs Hotel C. 1887 Connelly Springs Apnl, 2001 Valdese - Rutherford College - Connelly Springs Thoroughfare Plan Prepared by the: Statewide Planning Branch North Carolina Department of Transportation In Cooperation With: The Town of Valdese The Town of Rutherford College The Town of Connelly Springs The Federal Highway Administration U.S. Department of Transportation April, 2001 Acknowledgments Persons responsible for this report: Project Engineers: Pam R. Cook, P.E. Wes Stafford, P.E. Tina Brockelsby Leta Huntsinger, P.E. Anwar Fazal Jeff Cox Nicholas Obayuwana Urban Unit C Unit Head: Deborah Hutchings, P.E. Small Urban Planning Unit Head: Travis Marshall, P.E. Manager Statewide Planning Branch: Blake Norwood, P.E. Transportation Technicians: Jim Neely Larry Toney Jonah Uduagbomen Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from LYRASIS IVIembers and Sloan Foundation http://archive.org/details/valdeserutherfor2001nort Valdese - Rutherford College - Connelly Springs Contact Sheet Valdese James Hatley, Mayor Jeffrey V. Morse P.O. Box 339 Town Manager Valdese, North Carolina 28690-0339 (828)879-2120 (828)879-2120 Larry Johnson Planning Director P.O. Box 339 Valdese, North Carolina 28690-0339 (828)879-2124 Fax (828) 879-2139 Rutherford College Jim O. Huffman, ST. Chester West Mayor Town Engineer P.O. Box 406 (828)433-5661 Rutherford College, NC 28671 (828) 874-0333 Connelly Springs Carl C. Greene Anne Marie Bciker Mayor Town Clerk P.O. Box 99 (828) 879-2321 Connelly Springs, North Carolina 28612-0099 Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Region E John Tippett P.O. Box 9026 Susan Baumann (Connelly Springs) Hickory, North Carolina 28603 (828) 322-9191, ext. 138 (828) 322-9191, ext. 137 FAX (828) 322-5991 Mike Struve (Rutherford College) (828) 322-9191, ext. 148 John Marshall (Valdese) (828) 322-9191, ext. 132 NCDOT Contact Sheet Secretary of Transportation Mr. Lyndo Tippett 1501 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1501 (919)733-2520 Board Member Deputy Highway Administrator Allen Thomburg (Preconstruction) P.O. Box 7625 Len Hill, P.E. Asheville,NC 28802 1541 Mail Service Center (828)255-7641 Raleigh, NC 27699-1541 (828) 258-9222 Statewide Planning Manager Division Engineer Blake Norwood, P.E. Dan Martin, P.E. 1554 Mail Service Center P. O. Box 3279 Raleigh, NC 27699-1554 Asheville,NC 28302 (919)733-4705 (828)251-6171 Thoroughfare Planning Engineer District Engineer Pam R. Cook, P.E. Gary Spangler 1554 Mail Service Center Route l,Box 169-C Raleigh, NC 27699-1554 Marion, NC 28752 (919)733-4705 (828) 652-3344 Chief Engineer (Operations) J. D. Coins, P.E. 1537 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-1537 (919)733-7621 HIGHWAY PROJECT FUNDING SOURCES Title Contact Transportation Improvement Program Board Member Secondary Road Improvement Program Division Engineer Industrial Access Fund Board Member or Division Engineer Small Urban Project fund Division Engineer Enhancement Programs Programming and TIP Branch (919)733-3690 Table of Contents CHAPTER PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION Overview 1 Background 1 Highlights 2 2. RECOMMENDED THOROUGHFARE PLAN Intent of the Thoroughfare Plan 9 Thoroughfare Plan Recommendation 9 Major Thoroughfares 9 Minor Thoroughfares 18 3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE THOROUGHFARE PLAN Plan Adoption of the Thoroughfare Plan 23 Future Street Line Ordinance 24 Land Use Regulations 24 Subdivision Regulations 24 Collector Street Plan 26 Zoning Ordinances 27 Functional Designs 27 Roadway Corridor Official Maps 27 Dedication of Right-of-Way with Density or Development Rights Transfer 28 Advance Right-of-Way Acquisition 29 Development Reviews 29 Direct Construction 29 Funding Sources 30 Local Programs 30 Local Capital Improvements Program 30 Federal Assistance 30 Impact Fees 30 Municipal Service Districts 30 Planned Unit Development (PUD) 31 State Funding Programs 31 Transportation Improvement Program 31 Enhancement Program Funds 32 Industrial Access Funds 34 National Highway System Program (NHS) Funds 34 Powell Bill Funds 34 Small Urban Funds 34 Surface Transportation Program (STP) Funds 35 The North Carolina Highway Trust Fund Law 35 Contingency/Discretionary Funds 35 Implementation Recommendations 36 Construction Priorities and Cost Estimates 36 4. ANALYSIS OF THE ROADWAY SYSTEM Capacity Analysis of the Existing System 39 Level of Service 40 Traffic Accidents 43 1995/2025 Traffic Capacity Analysis 44 5. POPULATION, LAND USE, and TRAFFIC Factors Affecting the Future Roadway System 47 Population 47 Economy and Employment 48 Land Use 53 Future Travel Demand 54 6. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS Wetlands 55 Threatened and Endangered Species 55 Historic Sites 55 Archaeology 59 7. TRAFFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT The Study Area 61 The Base Year Network 61 Data Requirements 61 Traffic Counts 62 Socioeconomic Data 62 Commercial Vehicles 71 Trip Generation 71 Secondary NHB Development 72 Through Trips 72 External-Internal Trips 72 Internal-Data Summary (IDS) 73 Internal Trip Distribution 73 Model Calibration 74 Accuracy Checks 74 Data Projections to the Design Year 75 Dwelling Unit Projections 75 Employment Projections 75 External and Through Trips 75 APPENDICES A - THOROUGHFARE PLANNING PRINCIPLES A-1 Benefits of Thoroughfare Planning A-1 Objectives of Thoroughfare planning A-1 Operational Efficiency A-2 System Efficiency A-4 Thoroughfare Classification Systems A-4 Urban Classification A-4 vi