Despite an hour of questioning the traffic plan for the Envision Science Academy nonprofit charter school Tuesday night, the nine members of the Wake Forest Planning Board voted to recommend the town commissioners approve it and a 389-lot single-family home subdivision.
Both projects are in the larger Traditions subdivision area with access to the newly-built extension of Traditions Grande Boulevard which reaches into Franklin County along the route of Gilcrest Farm Road, thereby linking North White Street between Wake Forest and Youngsville with the N.C. 98 bypass, Capital Boulevard, N.C. 98 and both I-540 and I-40.
The charter school is planned for a 6.96-acre triangle at the new roundabout where Oak Grove Church Road enters from the east, Royal Mill Avenue enters from the west, Traditions Grande Boulevard enters from the south and Gilcrest Farm Road enters from the north. There will be 648 students in grades kindergarten through eighth, and much of the land in the tract will be taken up with a two-lane, 3,945-foot driveway that coils like a snake from Traditions Grande to allow 299 cars at a time drop off and pick up students.
Planning board chairman Bob Hill and members Steve DeRosa, Thad Juszczak, Al Hinton, Rod Springer and town commissioner Margaret Stinnett all questioned how 648 students could be delivered or picked up if there are only 299 cars in the queue. Stinnett worried that traffic on Oak Grove Church Road from the east would, with future growth to the east, stack up and prevent easy left turns from the school onto Oak Grove and the roundabout. Springer said he feared cars would stack up on school property because most would be turning left to return to the south or east.
Joshua T. Reinke, a traffic engineer with Ramey Kemp & Associates which did the traffic study for the applicant, Gavaghan Property Solutions of Cary, and the engineer, Kleinfelder of Morrisville, explained that traffic studies for schools must use a calculator provided by the state Department of Transportation which, when the number of students and other data are plugged in, spits out the length of the stacking line for drop offs and pick ups. “There is no flexibility on our part. They have a calculator which we must use.”
He also said, “We provided as much [stacking] storage as possible” and it is more than required. Reinke also said schools can make schedule adjustments and other arrangements if there are problems when it begins operations. “We’ve engineered for what we can.”
Conrad Duquette, who was there for the subdivision hearing, lives on Gilcrest Farm Road in Franklin County, explained to the town commissioners and planning board members at the joint hearing that many people are taking Traditions Grande/Gilcrest Farm to get from the north to Raleigh and other destinations – and doing it at 45-plus when the speed limit is 35, resulting in a lot of speeding tickets. Franklin Academy High School is on Royal Mill Avenue and leads to North White Street, the new bridge on Oak Grove is very narrow, and because of the new configuration, traffic on N.C. 98/Wait Avenue that needs to get back toward downtown cannot turn left onto Traditions Grande and is making illegal U-turns at the traffic signal at the bypass. “My main concern is for the traffic,” he said. Reinke said his firm studied traffic volumes in the mornings and afternoons around the school hours.
The new subdivision area, 128 acres, will have 389 single-family lots for an age-restricted community. The plan offered by the John R. McAdams Company of Durham is a rework of the approved 2002 plan which will increase overall density by eight units and eliminate the townhouses and apartments. There will be an increase in amenities (pocket parks, open space) and the developer will build the greenway trails, not just dedicate the right-of-way. The street pattern is a grid with only one cul-de-sac. There are six entrances/exits—three on Traditions Grande, two which cross Dunn Creek and connect to the Hunters Crossing and Sedgefield subdivisions to the west and one that will connect to the undeveloped land to the south where a continuing care community is still planned as it was when the Ammons family was planning the large subdivision.
There were several questions about the dam and pond on Dunn Creek and the storm-caused breach in the dam several years ago that lowered the water level and left the pond covering about two acres rather than five. Assistant Planning Director Chad Sary said the responsibility of the pond was shared between the homeowners association for the subdivision to the west and Traditions.
John Myers with JPM developers said the homes will sell in the $300,000 to $500,000 range with lot 6,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet in size, and for the dam and pond, “We don’t have any plans to do anything about the dam.” He and Josh Becker with McAdams answered questions from the audience about a couple points.
Becker and Myers did add a condition which would prevent homes being built with prominent garages in front of the houses, referred to as “snout” homes.
In the business meeting, Hill and Ed Gary were re-elected as chairman and vice chairman.
The town commissioners will make the final decisions about the projects during their Jan. 19 meeting.
One Response
Just for clarification, the new 128 acre subdivision in Traditions is located on Gilcrest Farm Road where three (3) of the entrances/exists will be and not on Traditions Grande.