Carrboro aims to stall big-box talks

Possible store stirs traffic worries

CARRBORO -- The Board of Alderman said Tuesday that it will seek a delay in negotiations that could place a Wal-Mart or other big-box retail store on property that could dump more traffic onto Smith Level Road.

Smith Level Road intersects U.S. 15-501 at the Orange-Chatham line, which is near some of the parcels of land owned by developer Lee-Moore Oil Co.

Lee-Moore has identified its largest parcel as a potential site for a Wal-Mart or other big-box store. This could also mean more vehicles traveling on Smith Level Road to get to the store.

The company has not yet filed any paperwork with the Chatham planning department, but it has been in talks with the Department of Transportation about building a driveway to the property, one of the first steps in development. Tim Johnson, a DOT division engineer, has said Lee-Moore wants to put the driveway on the Chatham County side of the property. The developer is also negotiating with the DOT on a settlement for land that DOT obtained during U.S. 15-501's widening.

But the DOT, which evaluates driveway applications based on traffic flow and safety, wants access to a shopping center to be on the Orange County side -- at Smith Level Road and U.S. 15-501.

"We are in jeopardy right now," resident Terri Buckner said. "A lot of truck traffic has been coming off 15-501."

She presented the board with a petition, which 100 residents signed. On the petition, the three main concerns listed are protecting the land within the watershed, providing safe avenues for students going to the soon-to-come Carrboro High School, and making it safe for cars going in and out of driveways along Smith Level Road.

Buckner said she and her neighbors started worrying when U.S. 15-501 was recently widened and exited onto Smith Level, which began to bring more traffic to the area. They have been talking for a while about forming a task force to protect the street, Buckner said, but Lee-Moore Oil Co.'s plans pushed them to act now.

The aldermen said Tuesday that they will ask the DOT to cease negotiations with Lee-Moore until all surrounding and affected stakeholders have had more time to discuss the issue.

Though the board stopped short of appointing the task force requested by Buckner, at least her intentions got through to the board, she said.

"The idea behind the task force was to give us a chance to come up with proactive ideas [to keep Smith Level Road safe], to get all the stakeholders together and identify those ideas," Buckner said.