Fayetteville planning organization wants public to weigh in on transportation projects

The Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization is seeking public input through a survey to determine the priority of road projects in Fayetteville's urban area. The survey responses will play a crucial role in shaping the future of the Metropolitan Transportation Plan.

The MTP, also known as the Sandhills Safe & Connected plan, is updated every four to five years and includes data gathering, future growth projections, assessment of auto, truck, rails, air, pedestrian and bicycle transportation, and the development of short- and long-term transportation projects, according to a recent news release from FAMPO. This plan is meant to meet the transportation needs of the region over the next 20-plus years.

In the survey, residents are asked to select five roadway improvement projects they would like to see prioritized out of a list of 23 projects, which includes the NC 210 Murchison Road widening project.

The survey also requires residents to select five bicycling and walking shared-use path projects from a list of 16. Additionally, residents are asked to choose five pedestrian improvement projects from a list of 18. They're also asked to select three bicycle lane projects from a list of seven and three public transportation projects from a list of nine.

FAMPO’s goal is to build upon existing transportation systems and provide transportation options, according to the release.

“These projects take on a life of their own when it comes to transportation,” a transportation planner with the organization, Kelvin Raiford, said last week. “People still use those roads, people live off of those roads … construction might be going on Interstate 95 and it’s going to go on for a while because we still have to use those roads.”

Raiford said that updating all of the projects in the Metropolitan Transporation Plan guarantees that the municipalities that submitted those project plans still want them to go through, adding that “we have to make sure things go smoothly and it’s a plan for things that need to get done in the future, that those projects move forward and that they are funded.”

The organization's planning area includes the cities of Fayetteville and Raeford, the towns of Spring Lake, Hope Mills, Eastover, Parkton and portions of Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke and Robeson counties, according to the release.

Short-term transportation projects describe any project that may occur over the next 10 years, Zachary Bugg, an associate engineer with Kittleson & Associates, explained at the Sandhills Safe and Connected online open house No. 2 on Feb. 29.

FAMPO is currently gathering public feedback to determine what high-interest projects should be prioritized in the MTP and asks residents to cast their votes for what they would like to see completed in their areas.

The Metropolitan Transportation Plan includes 12 different projects scheduled for 2045, covering areas such as aviation, congestion management, environmental justice, environmental mitigation, freight, fiscally constrained projects, highways, metropolitan transit, public involvement, safety and security, rail, bicycle and pedestrian plans.

Raiford said these plans are designed with the growing population in mind. According to the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation Plan, FAMPO's population projections indicate that the population within the planning area is expected to reach 462,655 by 2050, which is a 17.4% growth from 2020's 394,265 figure. All four counties within this area are projected to experience overall increases in population.

To take the survey, visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/DB9DBH9.

Reporter Lizmary Evans covers growth and development for The Fayetteville Observer. You can reach her at LEvans@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What transportation projects should Fayetteville, NC prioritize?