The State of Morrisville

The Sept 19th Triangle Business Journal event was.... informative. Interesting. And right there at the end - downright depressing.

Overall, we're in better shape than many areas of the country. No surprise there. Mayor Faulkner talked about how "blessed" we were. Are. Marvin Waldo, President, Retail Strategies of NC, offered updates on Grace Park. Andrew Kelton, EVP Duke Realty, should have had more microphone time. His encouraging update on Economic Development was one worth hearing, a reminder that Morrisville is a much desired location. In his 90 seconds he offered this fascinating accolade: Out of 47 facilities, and with a Misery Index of only 10, RDU is the 10th least miserable airport. Take that, LAX!

The developer of Park West Regional Activity Center also used the word "blessed" when describing the approval PWV received from Morrisville's elected officials. Though his project is "well funded and capitalized," those looking to live/work/play at the corner of NC54 & Cary Pkwy are being asked for "patience." He also noted that "significant change is in the mix," and that professional and/or medical services might fill some "short term vacancies" in Morrisville.

Ok, now the depressing part. When asked what the state plans to do to address worsening traffic on NC54, especially in light of $4MM Morrisville tax dollars spent at the intersection of NC54/Aviation Pkwy, Joey Hopkins, Deputy Division 5 Engineer, NCDOT had this to say:


"Nothing."

The mayor concurred. The answer is: Nothing. The town of Morrisville has not made NC54 a priority, it's not on the FY 2009-2015 CAMPO MTIP list, so the state has no reason to include the roadway on it's list of priorities.

Our work-in-progress Transportation Plan calls for NC54 to be a Six-Lane Blvd (think US 15/501) for a stretch, narrowing to a Four-Lane Roadway north bound at Henrico Ln, then back to a Six-Lane Blvd at Perimeter Park Dr. Our consultant has noted that even those 6 lanes of asphalt might not be enough to relieve traffic congestion.

Alrighty then. We need a whole bunch of pavement to support existing, approved and planned development. But we haven't yet told the state that their road is in need of repair? I'm good at math. Not half bad at budgeting. But there's no way to turn NC54 into US 15/501 on an annual town budget of $20MM. Even with triple coupons and new calculator batteries it's not possible. The 19% tax increase proposed earlier this summer? Times ten? Still not in the ballpark.

With another nod to that 60s sitcom sage Ricky Ricardo - somebody's got some 'splainin' to do.