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TOWN OF MORRISVILLE
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around the heart of the Town Center, and a CMAQ grant with the Town of Cary to
construct Crabtree Creek Greenway.
Trees and vegetation are integral to the improvement of air quality. The Town has tree
requirements for developments, as described in UDO Section 5.4. This section requires
preservation of some existing healthy vegetation and planting of new vegetation to meet
tree and vegetation requirements for development. The requirements for retaining existing
tree canopy vary inversely with the percentage of existing tree canopy.
Additionally, the Town is preparing a Sustainability Plan to organize and expand the
Town’s energy and resource conservation efforts. The plan includes current and proposed
measures for the following focus areas: buildings, transportation, water systems, land use,
solid waste, and Town operations. Efforts to conserve energy indirectly contribute to
improve air quality; Town adoption is anticipated fall 2014 (Town of Morrisville, 2014).
The Town is partnering with the Town of Cary to install a major regional greenway link
originating at Lake Crabtree County Park in Cary’s jurisdiction, running along Aviation
Parkway to Morrisville near the Crabtree Crossing bridge on NC 54, and eventually linking
with the Indian Creek Greenway in the Town Center area of Morrisville.
6.2.8.2 Cooperative Efforts
There are several regional activities and planning efforts related to transportation that have
the potential to improve air quality by reducing traffic congestion. In addition to local
transportation activities, the Town continues to be active in regional planning through
NCDOT, the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO), the Turnpike
Authority for the Western Wake Freeway and the Southeast Connector, which refers to the
extension of the Triangle Expressway for the completion of the 540 Outer Loop around the
greater Raleigh area. The Triangle Expressway has already improved commuter mobility,
accessibility, and connectivity to western Wake County and RTP on the existing north-south
routes that serve the Triangle Region, primarily NC 55 and NC 54 (NCDOT, 2013). These
regional efforts allow for decreased congestion and alternative transportation. This
improved connectivity improves air quality.
A number of Triangle organizations were working on and/or funding Transportation
Demand Management (TDM) projects in 2006 and 2007 to create a long-term plan for
improving TDM initiatives. During that period, Triangle Transit, formerly Triangle Transit
Authority, brought together those organizations and one result was the Triangle Region 7-
Year Long Range Travel Demand Management Plan. The purpose of the Triangle TDM
Program is to reduce regional growth in Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) by 25 percent
between 2007 and 2015 through a moderate package of TDM strategies that encourage
alternative modes of transportation. The TJCOG is now coordinating the marketing and
evaluation of this effort through a grant program, and promoting commute alternatives,
such as mass transit, carpooling, biking, teleworking, and vanpooling (TJCOG, 2014).
TJCOG coordinated with CAMPO (of which the Town is a member) and other stakeholders
to develop a 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP), which involved an air quality
conformity analysis for 2012 to 2018. The 2040 MTP incorporates the recommendations of
the 2035 Long Range Transit Plan released by CAMPO, including proposed bus service
expansion and enhancement, as well as a light rail system linking the Cities of Raleigh and