Some residents of the Larkspur subdivision are pounding the pavement over a proposed thoroughfare through the Larkspur neighborhood that they say will congest their area with traffic and create hazardous conditions for children.
Several members of the neighborhood made heated statements during a Chapel Hill Town Council meeting Monday about a proposed extension of Maywood Drive, a dead-end road that runs through Larkspur - and a road that Chapel Watch Village developers believe would alleviate some of the traffic flow problems within their new subdivision were it to extend to Eubanks Road.
Several of the residents who spoke out said there are better ways to create connectivity without adding vehicular traffic on their roads.
"Connectivity will drive residents inside their homes," said town transportation board member Laurin Easthom, a Larkspur resident and Town Council candidate.
Many residents pointed to specific implications extra traffic could bring to neighborhood safety.
One resident said connecting the road with walkways, as opposed to a vehicular thoroughfare, would create a safer environment for children.
Amy Chute, chairwoman for Larkspur Safety First, said her real estate agent never mentioned the possibility of Maywood Drive becoming a connector road, adding that no mention of the road was made until January 2005 - and that even then only one sign was posted.
"People are fired up in our neighborhood," said Chute, a Larkspur resident since 2004.
Phil Post, Chapel Watch Village transportation planners representative, said the developers would be taking the discussion's results seriously when reviewing the transcripts.
