18 / 105
14
3
Existing Conditions
Level of service (LOS) of ‘D’ or above is generally considered
acceptable. Roadways and intersections with an LOS of ‘E’
or ‘F’ are considered unacceptable and should be targeted
for improvements. Current level of service in Morrisville, as
illustrated in Figure 3.2, could then be considered unaccept-
able for many main roadways, such as Davis Drive, Morrisville-
Carpenter Road, and some segments of NC 54. Problematic
intersections are similar, including those in the Town Center,
along Davis Drive and Cary Parkway, several locations along
NC 54, McCrimmon Parkway at Church Street, and Airport
Boulevard and Factory Shops Road.
Accidents
Vehicle accidents in Morrisville, as shown in Figures 3.4 and
3.5, are highest along Cary Parkway, segments of NC 54, Air-
port Boulevard, Aviation Parkway and Morrisville-Carpenter
Road. Since these roadways also carry the heaviest traffic
through the town and rank among the worst level of service,
this data is not surprising. The specific locations with the high-
est number of accidents include Airport Boulevard at Fac-
tory Shops Road and near Cary Parkway and NC 54. More
detailed accident data is provided for major roadways as
part of the roadway inventory in Appendix E.
Accidents involving collisions between vehicles and bicy-
clists or pedestrians are of particular concern in terms of tar-
geting locations where improvements could have the most
safety benefits. Figure 3.4 also shows the locations of those
accidents, which are distributed around the town, with some
concentration along Airport Boulevard, McCrimmon Park-
way, and Morrisville-Carpenter Road. Parkside Valley Drive,
a residential collector through a major subdivision, shows
two pedestrian-related accidents which occurred prior to
the 2007 improvements to that roadway. Those improve-
ments included high-visibility crosswalks and narrowing the
roadway by adding striped bike lanes. This data will inform
the discussion of bicycle/pedestrian recommendations in
this Plan.
Intersections
In addition, during the first public workshop held as part of the
transportation planning process, participants were asked to
tell us the most problematic intersections in Morrisville (Figure
3.6). These intersections largely match those with poor levels of service in
Figure 3.2. Along with accident data, this input was then used to select
intersections for more detailed study (Appendix F), which then informed
the recommendations in Section Five.
3.1 Roadways cont’d
Figure 3.5 High Vehicle Accident Locations in Morrisville 2002-2007
Highest Vehicle Accident Intersections
Accidents
2002-2007
NC 54 & Cary Parkway
60
Airport Boulevard & Factory Shops Road
59
NC 54 & Aviation Parkway/Morrisville-Carpenter Road
53
Davis Drive & Morrisville-Carpenter Road
53
Church Street & McCrimmon Parkway
50
Highest Vehicle Accident Segments
Accidents
2002-2007
NC 54 between Weston Parkway and Cary Parkway
50
Airport Boulevard between I-40 and Slater Road
39
Cary Parkway between NC 54 and Darrington Road
34
NC 54 between Cary Parkway and Wilson Road
19
Overall Roadway Accidents (Intersections + Segments)
Accidents
per mile
2002-2007
NC 54 south of Aviation Parkway
181
Cary Parkway
143
Aviation Parkway
135
Airport Boulevard
135
Morrisville-Carpenter Road
121
Davis Drive
94
NC 54 from McCrimmon Parkway to Aviation Parkway
81
McCrimmon Parkway
77
Morrisville Parkway
66
NC 54 from NC 540 to McCrimmon Parkway
59
Perimeter Park Drive
57
Church Street
35