Feb. 15. By Dave Vieser. A compromise plan is emerging from recent talks involving the NCDOT, Cornelius, and the Lake Norman Regional Transportation Commission which will permit motorists to turn left from a widened West Catawba Avenue onto Hwy. 73 to head towards Birkdale. Initially, the DOT would not permit motorists to turn left onto Sam Furr/73 from West Catawba Avenue, as many do now to reach Birkdale, I-77 and other points east.
The compromise was unveiled by Mayor Pro Tem Woody Washam at the Lake Norman Transportation Commission meeting last week, following a DOT presentation on the new designs being used at signalized intersections. “We’ve had some productive discussions and the way things are looking now, left turns will continue to be permitted at Sam Furr Road, at least until Sam Furr is widened.”
Widening is scheduled to begin in 2018 on West Catawba Avenue from Jetton Road to Sam Furr Road, while the 73/Sam Furr Road widening from Business N.C. 16 in Denver to U.S. 29 in Concord, would not even begin until around 2021-23. The compromise plan also will allow left turns at the Westmoreland Road intersection, unless or until a new Exit 27 is added to I-77. Left turns would be restricted at a newly signalized Nantz Road intersection, and the Jetton Road intersection would remain as is.
In his presentation to LNTC, DOT’s Warren Cooksey said that by the use of synchronized streets and intersections, they are attempting to eliminate left turns at newly widened intersections as much as possible because they are “unsafe, inefficient and not pedestrian friendly.” However, local businesses were concerned on the impact such a change would have.
Studies done previously have confirmed that, while destination businesses, such as a furniture store, are not severely impacted, impulse businesses, such as a fast food outlet, can suffer when left turns are restricted.
Washam says with the compromise, the Phase II widening for West Catawba will include bump out areas where motorists can also make U-turns. “That first meeting with DOT last April scared us to death, but now, this is going to end up more like Phase One than the first presentation we saw.”
Cooksey agreed. “Our engineers like the synchronized street/intersections because of their safety, efficiency and the fact that they handle future growth better than a traditional signalized intersection. However, this is not a ‘one size fits all’ situation..these intersections must be adapted to the needs of each region,” he said.
