I have followed with great interest, and no little concern, the discussions related to the city’s proposed Loudon Road (three-lane) road diet, which most recently was the subject of an extended debate before the city council and a Monitoreditorial (Monitor Opinion, Aug. 14).
Although I believe that the city council and city staff genuinely are motivated by safety concerns along this corridor, I can’t help but feel that the direction of these discussions has been influenced more by the legend of Loudon Road rather than reality.
Furthermore, I fear that the enticement of free federal dollars will have a disproportionate effect on the decision-making process and cause the city council to discount the legitimate concerns of the residents and business community of the Heights – the constituents that are most heavily invested in this area and will bear the brunt of an ill-conceived design.
As a Concord resident for almost 40 years and having worked for The Hodges Companies directly on Loudon Road for the past 32 years, I have a fairly comprehensive understanding of the vehicle traffic history and patterns, as well as the pedestrian and bicycle volume along this corridor.
The central offices of The Hodges Companies are located at the approximate center point of the targeted project area. I personally travel this roadway five to six days each and every week.
The Hodges Companies has a direct stake in the future of Loudon Road. We also have a sizable investment in the city of Concord. A substantial percentage of our holdings are located along the Loudon Road corridor.
Collectively the Hodges entities own and operate more than 800 apartment units in Concord with more than 700 of these along the Loudon Road corridor. We also own and operate six office complexes in Concord with three of these directly along the corridor.
These developments, coupled with other land and development parcels, translate into The Hodges Companies contributing slightly more than $1.9 million per year in real estate tax payments; with more than $1.5 million directly from properties located along the corridor.
Because of Hodges’s substantial stake in Concord, specifically including the Loudon Road corridor, we are particularly concerned as to the potential disruption and long-term damage that the proposed road diet will have on our commercial office and retail tenants, our community residents and families, property values and the city of Concord.
Make no mistake: Improvements to the paved surface are warranted and desperately overdue.
A variety of safety measures also should be considered and incorporated as part of the work. However, the proposed road diet is the wrong solution to the problem and out of step with the needs of the Loudon Road property owners and residents.
Common sense will tell you that squeezing 20,000 vehicles per day from four travel lanes into two will cause either a substantial increase in congestion and motorist frustration, or a drastic decline in the traffic numbers due to frustrated motorists avoiding the congested areas.
Common sense will tell you that traffic will increase on the predominantly residential side streets, creating safety hazards and changing the way of life for those calling those streets home.
Common sense will tell you that adding a shared east/west turning lane with as many competing north/south curb cuts as are existing along the Loudon Road corridor will inevitably result in turning conflicts.
Cars that stack in the turning lanes to access high demand commercial businesses or residential apartments absolutely will block opposing turning traffic looking to access drives on the opposing side of the road.
Delivery vehicle stops, fire and police vehicle stops, bus stops occurring outside designated pull-out areas, and vehicle breakdowns that occur in the two travel lanes will cause major, frequent disruptions to traffic flow.
The impact from all of these consequences will be permanent damage to the businesses and the tax base along the Loudon Road corridor.
The success of the Main Street improvement project does not imply that the proposed road diet is the right design solution for Loudon Road.
Loudon Road is not North Main Street. Pedestrian traffic on Loudon Road is a fraction of the pedestrian traffic on North Main Street. Main Street is intended as a community center, a place for people to gather and enjoy a variety of shops, businesses, agencies and restaurants. It is appropriate that the traffic flow should be designed to encourage a slow pace.
Loudon Road, in contrast, is designed for the motoring public, traveling mostly to specific destinations – residences, restaurants, banks, retail stores and the like, the success and value of which is predicated on higher traffic volumes.
We have all watched over the past 10 to 15 years the decline of the Steeplegate Mall. Changes in consumer buying habits and recessionary influences contributed to a significant drop-off in shoppers and traffic.
Why should we as Concord taxpayers care? The decline in shopper traffic resulted in a sharp and substantial decrease in the mall’s value and a major drop in the city’s tax revenue. Negative consequences from an ill-conceived road redesign along the Loudon Road corridor likely will have a similar but much more significant impact on our city.
The desire to tap into federal funds is as disturbing as the harmful design consequences. Acceptance of funds would appear to mean implementing the design as proposed.
Proponents of the plan argue that, if traffic safety isn’t improved and travel conflicts materialize, the city can at some point in the future just seal coat over the existing pavement and restripe back to four lanes with no consequences other than paying back the federal government the interest-free loan. This is seriously misleading.
The project includes installation of lane barriers, medians and other physical elements. These would need to be removed and the pavement patched at considerable cost and with potential consequences to the integrity of the pavement.
Further, there is no consensus on what the length of the test or probationary period would be. Would this be three years, five years or more? What would be the determining measures for this decision and who would be the arbiter?
The Monitor expressed concern about the tax rate impact if the city were forced to pay for improvements without federal money, through bonds or a combination of bonds and reserve funds. This concern is overstated.
First, with the city’s current outstanding credit rating (thanks to the city’s sound fiscal management, led by the efforts of the mayor, city manager and city council), the cost of bonding the necessary improvements over their 20-year life span would have a minimal impact on the tax rate.
Second, the Loudon Road corridor constitutes an extremely large tax base. Not only do these single-family homes, multi-family communities, office developments, and retail businesses deserve the road to be upgraded, they have more than paid for the cost of the road improvements through their historical real estate tax payments and impact fees.
Opting to reclaim and repave Loudon Road and maintain the four lane structure does not prevent the city from implementing various safety measures.
The city should consider 1) reducing the speed limit on Loudon Road; 2) increasing patrols during strategic travel times of the day to control speeding and aggressive drivers; 3) work toward curtailing jaywalking violators; 4) install signage to promote drivers staying in lanes except for turning; and, most importantly, 5) the city should install strategically placed and time-sequenced traffic lights that would provide a slowing and break in the traffic, easing the difficulty of the numerous left hand turns.
Finally, with each new development along Loudon Road, the city requires property owners to dedicate an additional 7-foot right of way. As Loudon Road redevelops, the additional right of way can be used to improve the sidewalks and create bike paths to remove any bike traffic from the roadway itself.
It is encouraging that the city is planning to hold a neighborhood meeting at 6:30 on Sept. 7 at the old Dame School. I am hopeful that many residents and members of the Heights business community will attend this meeting in order to obtain additional information and to express their opinions.
I am also hopeful that members from the city council, including those from Wards 8 and 9, will be in attendance.
(Alan Johnson of Concord is president of The Hodges Companies.)