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Cornelius News

Torrence Chapel left-turns on tonight’s Town Board agenda

Photo by Jason Benavides

Sept. 19. By Dave Vieser. It’s an issue which just won’t go away: How to handle the heavy volume of left-turns at the Torrence Chapel/Liverpool/West Catawba intersection. Several months ago the Town Board rejected a suggestion by the NCDOT that left turns be immediately eliminated. Now the NCDOT has some other suggestions which will be unveiled at today’s Town Board pre-meeting.

Background

In May of 2017, the town struck an agreement with NCDOT that these turns would remain after the completion of the triple roundabout projects planned in the area. They would only be phased out over time as average daily traffic volume increased.

Greater efficiency

In June, the NCDOT asked the town for one last consideration regarding removing the left turns now vs. in the future. “Removing the left turns now would increase efficiency and level of service (LOS) and the cost would be significantly less now than in the future,” according to the NCDOT.

Costs

The town will foot the bill. The NCDOT estimates it would cost the town approximately $10,000.

Opposition

The suggestion to eliminate left turns received a cold reception from the commissioners in June. There’s no assurance that would change but the state has asked for the opportunity to offer some more options.

Discussion during ‘pre-meeting’

The board has scheduled the Torrence Chapel issues to be discussed during the pre-agenda meeting which is not broadcast online. Town Manager Andrew Grant said “it’s very common to have work session items” during the pre-meeting. It is open to the public just like the regular meeting but not live-streamed.

How to watch the regular meeting

The pre-meeting begins at 5 pm, while the regular meeting begins at 6. To live-stream, visit www.cornelius.org online and click on “watch meetings online” under Quick Links on the left-hand side.