A gag gift for Davidson this Christmas... Potts Street Development TIA submitted

By Melissa Atherton

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was on social media, not even a mouse;
Their cars were parked in their driveways with care,
In hopes that infrastructure soon would be there;
The adjacent landowners were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of a small college town danced in their heads

The first test for the freshly-inaugurated officials of Davidson and Cornelius came quickly and quietly on Christmas Eve.  While families traveled and celebrated unaware, the Transportation Impact Analysis Plan (TIA) dated December 11th for Crescent's Potts Street Development was posted to the Town of Davidson website nearly two weeks later over the long holiday weekend.

See the entire TIA here.

Kimley-Horn’s analysis included seven recommendations that may or may not happen in a timely manner to relieve congenstion:

1. Payment in-lieu​ of construction of a southbound right-turn lane at Sloan/Beaty/Griffith.
2. Payment in-lieu ​of construction of an eastbound right-turn lane at Catawba Avenue and Main Street in Davidson.
3. Payment in-lieu​ of a left-turn lane from Davidson onto Davidson Street in Cornelius.
4. Payment in-lieu​ of an eastbound right-turn lane at Davidson Street in Cornelius.
5. Payment in-lieu ​of a sidewalk extension on the west side of 115 between Davidson Street and Cornelius Street in Cornelius.
6. Multi-use path (AKA Big Fat Sidewalk) from the 246 apartments and fourteen townhouses to the YMCA.
7. Secondary ingress/egress​ from the high-density apartment complex to Catawba Avenue in Davidson (passes through private property currently owned by Davidson Presbyterian Church). 

Multiple intersections received an “F” or worsening grades for pedestrian and vehicle traffic, even when NCDOT Projects U-5873 (Potts/NC115 intersection redesign) and U-5907 (Potts-Sloan-Beaty connector) were included in the study.

Given that Crescent construction would likely begin in 2018, while the NCDOT construction would begin in 2022, many wonder how this plan could conceivably or responsibly be approved.  Citizens could all potentially spend the next four years parked in traffic on NC 115.

The newly-elected Mayors and Commissioners of Davidson and Cornelius must work together to address the myriad issues:

• Will they allow the Crescent development to proceed without the infrastructure recommended in the TIA being in place?
• What would happen if the I77 Toll Road was completed and the contract deleted thereby possibly forfeiting the $6 million U-5873  and $2.2 million U-5907 “Bonus Allocation” projects?
• Would the changes recommended in Cornelius necessitate an “interlocal agreement”, to which Cornelius is opposed?

All eyes are on the neighboring towns of Davidson and Cornelius who are tied at the hip on this one.  Will they be up to the challenge?

Melissa Atherton lives in Davidson and has been following the various developments along Potts Street closely.  Look for more stories from her on these and other subjects here at aShortChronicle in 2018.