The town now has a Comprehensive Transportation Plan that details where all streets, bikeways, sidewalks and greenways should be built over the next 20-plus years. It also includes details of the town's expected public transportation and freight needs.
Commissioners approved the $75,000 plan Thursday evening. It has been about a year and the half in the making.
Deputy town manager Lee Bailey says the plan was necessary to keep up with changes in the transportation-planning industry.
“The entire transportation-planning process is changing over to a comprehensive process where you include all modes of transportation. MUMPO (Mecklenburg Union Metropolitan Planning Organization) is also changing from traditional plans to a Comprehensive Transportation Plan and our plan will fit in their model,” Bailey said. “This puts Mint Hill in an enviable position since we are one of the few small towns with a Comprehensive Transportation Plan in place.”
Kimley-Horn and Associates created the document with input from several public workshops, work sessions with Mint Hill's Planning Board, and a written survey in which all citizens were invited to participate. At a public hearing last month, several people questioned some new roads included in the plan, but Bailey says they shouldn't be too concerned. “This is a long-range guide with 2030 as the horizon year. Just because there is a line on a map doesn't mean the road will get built anytime soon, if ever. But it does help us make day-to-day decisions on new development,” he said.
A copy of the plan can be examined at town hall. For more information, call the planning department at 704-545-9726.
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