Study to Measure Local Traffic

The town of Chapel Hill and the University have mobilized mechanical and human counters around the Chapel Hill area for a traffic study that began this week and will last into mid-November.

Chapel Hill Traffic Engineer Kumar Neppalli said the surveys are examining traffic, pedestrian and bicycle volumes at UNC, in Chapel Hill and in the greater area in line with the town's Comprehensive Plan for transportation goals, which was passed May 8, 2000.

UNC is conducting the survey to collect traffic data to prepare for the Master Plan, UNC's 50-year growth guideline. The University has hired M.A.B., Inc., a local consulting group based in Chapel Hill to examine the data.

Data from the count in and around Chapel Hill will be taken by a separate consulting group, L.S.A. and Associates. It will be presented in a mobility report card to the Chapel Hill Town Council to compare the present situation with the goals that were outlined in the town's Comprehensive Plan, said Jeremy Klop, transportation planner for L.S.A and Associates.

The transportation goals stated in the Comprehensive Plan were to fully pave the sidewalks in the downtown area, provide more bicycle access routes and secure storage facilities, to encourage the use of bus transportation for transit to work and to find ways to increase parking.

Klop also said the objective of the survey is to count the volume and direction of all vehicles in at least 50 locations, to count vehicle volume at certain intersections during peak hours of traffic and to count the number of pedestrians and bicycles at certain areas from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"This report will give the council a snapshot of how people are getting around the town today," Klop said.

The two consulting firms will be sharing information to avoid overlapping the same study areas. M.A.B. is focusing its survey on the campus area, while L.S.A. is covering the downtown and surrounding areas.

Klop said the surveys will collect data at pinpointed areas of high traffic, such as those on South Road and Cameron Avenue.

Data will be taken by the use of tube counters, which are black cords that run across the street, and by people noting the numbers of pedestrians and bikes by hand.

Klop said all the data will be used to provide a model to which future reports can be compared.

"The report will establish a baseline, and then we'll repeat the survey every three years to see how things have changed," Klop said.

But Senior Transportation Planner David Bonk emphasized that the immediate effects of this report will not be known until after the survey is completed. "Until we see the data, we don't know what the report will hold," Bonk said. "We're just getting a feel for what the situation is."

The City Editor can be reached

at citydesk@unc.edu.