For an hour Tuesday night Wake Forest Planning Board members asked questions about traffic, neighbors talked about the heavy traffic on Burlington Mills Road and asked for improvements at the Burlington Mills Road/Ligon Mill Road intersection, and at the end the planners voted seven to one to recommend approval of the 146-acre proposed subdivision that will add 263 single-family homes to the town. Planning board member Steve DeRosa voted no and vice chairman Ed Gary was absent.
At the outset, Jessica McClure, an engineer with Ramey Kemp and Associates who did the required traffic study, said she began by talking with the N.C. Department of Transportation District 5 engineer, the town’s engineer, and others about their traffic concerns for the two roads, their intersection and the Burlington Mills Road intersection with Capital Boulevard. She did onsite traffic counts and studied the existing issues with the concerns about the project. She outlined the improvements DOT will require with their number one priority of providing safe roads, and then answered questions.
During the questioning, Planning Director Chip Russell said that this development and any traffic improvements cannot be used to catch up and solve existing problems. “You have to base it on the impact of this development.”
Roland Myrick noted that, in addition to the property under consideration and the zoning change for the property across the Burlington Mills/Ligon Mill intersection, at least two more properties are for sale with 20 acres and 96 acres.
Josh Lambert, the construction manager for the developer, Forsyth Investment of Raleigh, said that after the construction equipment is moved onsite it will not contribute to the traffic on the two roads.
The matter will beon the agenda when the town board meets on June 21.
2 Responses
My only thanks goes to Steve DeRosa for being the only sensible minded board member who voted no to this. As a resident of Deerchase our subdivision will be affected by this decision along with the decision where the same board voted yes to allow a gas station on the corner of Burlington/Ligon Mill. Sadly our subdivsion resides outside of the area to vote these clowns out but rest assured when the next election arrives those affected by this decision will surely remind the voters of this current board members ideas of “sensible growth” for our wonderful town.
Planning board votes for grid lock on Burlington Mills Rd and Ligon Mill Rd.
Is Kitchin Farms going to be another neighborhood like Traditions where the streets are barely two cars wide making on street parking difficult. Drove through there the other day and a landscaper had a truck and trailer parked, barely enough room to get by. What happens if you need EMS/Fire Department?