Stohlman Rejected by Citizens

Incumbent Council Member Mark Stohlman was soundly defeated in the Morrisville elections. The main reasons cited was his support of a proposed 19% Tax Increase, runaway budgets and high density developments that caused concern of increase traffic on already congested roads.

Election Results

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Jackie Holcombe & Steve Diehl raise hands in victory

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Margaret reacts to the party cheers for her win

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Election Results - Tuesday, November 3

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MAYOR: Jackie Holcombe received 62% (711) of the total vote; opponent Jan Faulkner (incumbent) got 38% (439) of the total.

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TOWN COUNCIL, DISTRICT 2: Steve Diehl received 55% (627) of the vote; opponent Mark Stohlman (incumbent) earned 45% (509) of the total.

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TOWN COUNCIL, DISTRICT 4: Margaret Broadwell got 65% (680) of the total vote; opponent Creighton Blackwell received 34% (358) of the vote.

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TOWN COUNCIL, AT-LARGE: Tom Murry (incumbent) earned 77% (864) of the vote; opponents, Michael Roberts received 15% (172) and Lydia Martin got 7% (84) of the total.

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The newly elected Mayor and Town Council members will be sworn in at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, December 8 at Morrisville Town Hall. Following will be the first public meeting of Morrisville's NEW Town Council. All members of the public are invited to attend the swearing in ceremony and attend the Council meeting.

Morrisville-Carpenter Rd/NC 54 Intersection OPEN!

After weeks of heavy construction, drivers are now able to take advantage of the improvements made to the intersection of Morrisville Carpenter Road and NC 54 (Chapel Hill Road). The detour has been removed and the intersection is now open!

To permit an additional turn lane from Morrisville-Carpenter Rd to NC 54, the Railroad relocated its crossing gates. Also completed are right turn lanes from NC 54 to Aviation Pkwy & from NC 54 to Morrisville-Carpenter Rd. Click here to see map of the changes. Above photo credit: NBC-17

The intersection of the three roads (NC 54, Morrisville-Carpenter Rd & Aviation Pkwy) combine to create one of the most heavily traveled in the Triangle. Although these are State roads, the improvements were made by the Town because of the importance to Morrisville and the region. The project is the result of a lengthy collaboration between the North Carolina Railroad, Norfolk Southern Railroad, the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the Town of Cary, and the Town of Morrisville. These improvements will allow motorists to move more quickly through this major intersection.

In order to get the additional lane over the railroad tracks, the Town had to give up the two lanes crossing the tracks at Barbee Road. The Barbee Road crossing is required to be closed within six moths.

Town Council Adopts Revised Land & Transportation Plan

Following over a year of substantial effort by citizens, Town officials and staff, outside consultants, and land developers, the Town Council approved its Land Use and Transportation Plan for 2009-2035. Thanks to considerable concern and input from residents, a number of key changes were made in the Plan that was initially presented to the Council:

• Priority to NC 54 improvements.
• Significant decrease in total additional area designated as Regional Activity Center surrounding the planned Park West Village. Also, restrictions on potential additional apartment buildings and “big box” retail outlets.
• Additional low-density residential development designated for areas along both Church St and Aviation Pkwy.
• Removal of the proposed Crabtree Crossing Pkwy Extension. It will be replaced by a greenway.
• Addition of bus stops near residential neighborhoods.
• Addition of green space protection in the McCrimmon Small Areas Plan. A large recreation area to be considered.
• Coordination with Wake County Public School for future school location (removal of Holly Creek Rd area from consideration).

Our appreciation go to all citizens who spoke at public hearings, sent email messages and attended Town Council meetings regarding the LUTP. Your voice was heard! Thank you.

Barbee Rd RR Crossing To Close

The latest obstacle to the East-West (or West-East) traffic flow in Morrisville, NC is the impending closure of the Rail Road Crossing at Barbee Rd. in northern Morrisville which is due to occur about October of 2009.

An earlier closure proposal in 1996 was defeated by citizen complaints and the lobbying efforts of then Mayor Margaret Broadwell together with then Commissioner Mark Silver-Smith (Morrisville) before the NC Dept. of Transportation, Rail Division. An agreement was reached on February 7, 1997 between the Town and the NC Board of Transportation, in agreement with the Resident Vice President of Norfolk Southern Railroad, to “allow the Barbee Road crossing to remain open and be equipped with safety lights and gates.” As stated in official documents, “the Barbee Road crossing will remain subject to closure pending initiation of additional rail service, including higher speed operations.” (This means track speeds exceeding 79mph.) “This issue will again be considered at a public input process for the high speed rail project at a future date”.

Tony Chiotakis, Director of Community Services for the Town of Morrisville stated recently that he had meetings with DOT Rail Division this past summer and was told “our agreement with NCRR is separate and apart from the DOT’s policy of keeping it open until the 79mph is reached.”

The time to speak out is now, both to the Morrisville Town Council and NCDOT Rail Division. The citizens were promised another public input process before closure of Barbee Rd. and then only when circumstances significantly changed for the Southern Railroad in train traffic and/or speed of trains. McCrimmon Parkway is the only other East-West corridor in the northern part of town.

Email: TownCouncil@ci.morrisville.nc.us;

& contact the NC DOT Rail Division:

Patrick Simmons , Director: pbsimmons@ncdot.gov (919-733-7245 ext.263), or

Paul Worley, Engineering & Safety: pworley@ncdot.gov (919-715-8740).

Possible Decision Coming on Land & Transportation Plan

Updated 3/11/09

“No more large developments,” “fix Route 54 first,”, and “don’t route heavy traffic through residential neighborhoods” have been typical citizen objections. The “LUTP” will guide Morrisville’s growth for the next 25 years. A large number of residents are opposing the Plan. Major concerns are more high density commercial & residential developments, additional regional activity centers around the planned Park West Village, and the proposed Crabtree Creek Parkway extension.


Remaining Meeting Scheduled
Tues, Mar 24 – 6:30 pm: Possible Decision

Let your voice be heard! Send Email to: TownCouncil@ci.morrisville.nc.us

Since the Land Use Plan is designed for the long term, current market conditions should not overrule what citizens want. Market conditions change! Five years ago, Cary rezoned large commercial parcels in Weston to low density residential. The Plan should reflect what citizen’s want for the future, not what developers prefer today. The Public and Advisory Committee’s citizen members favored the enhancement of Morrisville as a low-density residential community, NOT higher density apartments, commercial and over 900 acres of “mixed use” development.

For recent developments click on Cary News

More details on citizens’ objections to the LUTP are outlined below in the following article.