Transportation plan group to discuss local highway needs
by Anna Oakes
A steering committee working to develop Watauga County's Comprehensive Transportation Plan will begin discussing highway needs and priorities this Thursday.
The monthly meeting of the CTP Steering Committee takes place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 2 at the High Country Council of Governments office at 468 New Market Blvd.
“This Thursday, we're talking about deficiencies in the highway network with the committee,” said Craig Hughes, transportation planner for High Country Council of Governments. “We're starting to get into the fun stuff that everyone wants to know about.”
Representatives from Watauga County and the towns of Beech Mountain, Blowing Rock, Boone and Seven Devils have coordinated with the High Country Council and N.C. Department of Transportation's Planning Branch since September 2010 to develop the CTP.
The CTP is a long-range, multimodal plan that will include four maps of transportation networks: highway, public transportation/rail, bicycle and pedestrian. The plan will review existing conditions and facilities and recommend improvements.
NCDOT officials have said it is important that projects be included in the CTP in order to receive state funding.
To date, the committee has addressed the pedestrian, bicycle and public transportation portions of the CTP, drawing from AppalCART's recently updated five-year plan and Boone's 2011 Pedestrian Master Plan and soliciting input from local cycling groups.
The plan's objectives include increased access to transit and non-vehicular travel for college students and tourists; separated pedestrian/bike routes away from vehicular areas; greenway paths between neighborhoods and Appalachian State University; alternative modes of transportation between Boone, Blowing Rock, Seven Devils and Beech Mountain; and alleviated traffic congestion at the U.S. 321 and N.C. 105 intersection.
Last September, committee member Mike O'Connor appeared before the Boone Area Cyclists board and presented a 30-year planning map from NCDOT.
“We reviewed and identified roadways that we consider the most important bicycling routes in the area,” said Ken Johnson, president of Boone Area Cyclists. “Our input hopefully will have a positive impact on future roadway improvements for both bicyclists and motorists.”
Among other highway issues, the steering committee could discuss the Daniel Boone Parkway — a controversial proposal for a bypass rerouting U.S. 421 away from King Street that has been debated since the 1970s — or alternatives to this proposal.
NCDOT was pushing local governments to select a preferred route for the bypass (out of four options) in early 2009, but officials postponed that decision, opting to complete the CTP first.
In 2010, the CTP Steering Committee gathered public input on local transportation needs through a survey. Of 977 respondents, reducing congestion ranked the highest among transportation goals, listed by 49.8 percent of respondents as “very important.”
Also ranking high were environmental protection, transportation mode choice (walking, biking) and expanding public transit options.
Hughes said the CTP Steering Committee meets on the first Thursday of every month at the High Country Council office. He said a good goal is for completion of the CTP by the end of the year, though it will depend on the committee's recommendations. There will be opportunity for public comment before the plan is finalized.
For more information about the CTP, contact Hughes at (828) 265-5435, ext. 135, or (chughes@regiond.org)
HOW DO LOCALS TRAVEL?• 86.8 percent by car• 2 percent by bicycle• 3.7 percent by bus• 2.5 percent by car pool• 5 percent by footSource: 2010 Watauga County Comprehensive Transportation Plan Survey (971 respondents)
2040: Statewide transportation plan
North Carolina's Statewide Transportation Plan was last updated in 2004.
The N.C. Department of Transportation is currently developing the 2040 plan, which focuses on the policies and programs needed to enhance safety, improve mobility and reduce congestion for North Carolinians, as well as addresses all types of transportation for which NCDOT has responsibility: highways, aviation, ferries, rail, bicycling, walking, ports and public transit.
A draft of the 2040 plan will be presented at the High Country Council of Governments office at 468 New Market Blvd. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at meetings scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
For more information about the 2040 plan, including results of a recent public survey, visit http://www.ncdot.gov 2040plan.
— Anna Oakes
The monthly meeting of the CTP Steering Committee takes place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 2 at the High Country Council of Governments office at 468 New Market Blvd.
“This Thursday, we're talking about deficiencies in the highway network with the committee,” said Craig Hughes, transportation planner for High Country Council of Governments. “We're starting to get into the fun stuff that everyone wants to know about.”
Representatives from Watauga County and the towns of Beech Mountain, Blowing Rock, Boone and Seven Devils have coordinated with the High Country Council and N.C. Department of Transportation's Planning Branch since September 2010 to develop the CTP.
The CTP is a long-range, multimodal plan that will include four maps of transportation networks: highway, public transportation/rail, bicycle and pedestrian. The plan will review existing conditions and facilities and recommend improvements.
NCDOT officials have said it is important that projects be included in the CTP in order to receive state funding.
To date, the committee has addressed the pedestrian, bicycle and public transportation portions of the CTP, drawing from AppalCART's recently updated five-year plan and Boone's 2011 Pedestrian Master Plan and soliciting input from local cycling groups.
The plan's objectives include increased access to transit and non-vehicular travel for college students and tourists; separated pedestrian/bike routes away from vehicular areas; greenway paths between neighborhoods and Appalachian State University; alternative modes of transportation between Boone, Blowing Rock, Seven Devils and Beech Mountain; and alleviated traffic congestion at the U.S. 321 and N.C. 105 intersection.
Last September, committee member Mike O'Connor appeared before the Boone Area Cyclists board and presented a 30-year planning map from NCDOT.
“We reviewed and identified roadways that we consider the most important bicycling routes in the area,” said Ken Johnson, president of Boone Area Cyclists. “Our input hopefully will have a positive impact on future roadway improvements for both bicyclists and motorists.”
Among other highway issues, the steering committee could discuss the Daniel Boone Parkway — a controversial proposal for a bypass rerouting U.S. 421 away from King Street that has been debated since the 1970s — or alternatives to this proposal.
NCDOT was pushing local governments to select a preferred route for the bypass (out of four options) in early 2009, but officials postponed that decision, opting to complete the CTP first.
In 2010, the CTP Steering Committee gathered public input on local transportation needs through a survey. Of 977 respondents, reducing congestion ranked the highest among transportation goals, listed by 49.8 percent of respondents as “very important.”
Also ranking high were environmental protection, transportation mode choice (walking, biking) and expanding public transit options.
Hughes said the CTP Steering Committee meets on the first Thursday of every month at the High Country Council office. He said a good goal is for completion of the CTP by the end of the year, though it will depend on the committee's recommendations. There will be opportunity for public comment before the plan is finalized.
For more information about the CTP, contact Hughes at (828) 265-5435, ext. 135, or (chughes@regiond.org)
HOW DO LOCALS TRAVEL?• 86.8 percent by car• 2 percent by bicycle• 3.7 percent by bus• 2.5 percent by car pool• 5 percent by footSource: 2010 Watauga County Comprehensive Transportation Plan Survey (971 respondents)
2040: Statewide transportation plan
North Carolina's Statewide Transportation Plan was last updated in 2004.
The N.C. Department of Transportation is currently developing the 2040 plan, which focuses on the policies and programs needed to enhance safety, improve mobility and reduce congestion for North Carolinians, as well as addresses all types of transportation for which NCDOT has responsibility: highways, aviation, ferries, rail, bicycling, walking, ports and public transit.
A draft of the 2040 plan will be presented at the High Country Council of Governments office at 468 New Market Blvd. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at meetings scheduled for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
For more information about the 2040 plan, including results of a recent public survey, visit http://www.ncdot.gov 2040plan.
— Anna Oakes