More than 40 residents, community members and local officials gathered at a public forum before the vote to discuss the town's proposal to widen Weaver Dairy. The approved resolution also included the construction of bicycle and turn lanes, gutters, curbs and sidewalks.
In January 2001, the council voted to expand the two-lane road into a three-lane design. But in March 2001, the N.C. Department of Transportation responded by advocating a four-lane option that it says would better meet the road's traffic needs.
On April 16 of this year, Mayor Kevin Foy met with the NCDOT to discuss the concerns of council members and citizens and to formulate a compromise between the NCDOT and the town.
During the public forum Monday night, several local residents expressed concern that expanding Weaver Dairy Road beyond two lanes would threaten the safety of nearby residents and other drivers.
Tim Dempsey, a resident of the Silver Creek neighborhood, said the widened road would encourage more traffic and faster driving. "Speed is the real issue here," he said. "If we you build it (with more lanes), they will drive fast."
Cyndy Risku, president of the local homeowner's association, presented four petitions with 367 signatures protesting against widening Weaver Dairy Road into four lanes and advocated keeping the road at two lanes. "Please make the road safer, not wider," she said.
But Jim Hefner, property owner at Weaver Dairy Road, said he thinks the NCDOT's proposal for a four-lane road serves to address trends of increasing traffic on the road. "I believe that the (NCDOT) is trying to do what is best for the public good," Hefner said.
After the public forum, council member Edith Wiggins said she does not support widening the road to three lanes because further widening of the road is inevitable and expanding the road to four lanes now would be more cost-efficient in the long term.
"(Widening the road in the future) would bring more of a tax burden for our citizens," Wiggins said. "We're setting a precedent for overturning decisions."
