Walmart Traffic FAQ Final - Swansboro Area Citizens...

Walmart Traffic FAQ Walmart Traffic FAQ

www.sacred28584.org [email protected] PO Box 474, Swansboro, NC 28584

Why is there a concern about the proposed Walmart SuperCenter and Traffic?

The proposed Walmart SuperCenter development is at terrible location from a traffic perspective. A development of this type would add traffic onto a currently congested roadway that is at a ‘pinch point’ (with no secondary parallel routes) of Hwy 24 in Swansboro.

Although Hwy 24 is the primary traffic artery for the area, it cannot be widened without dramatic impact to nearby businesses and the town as a whole. Creating a bypass around Swansboro is also not feasible as it would cost tens of millions of dollars and be a multi-‐year undertaking, given the river crossings, etc.

Walmart’s own SuperCenter locations help validate SACRED’s concern that a single roadway is an issue. SuperCenters are almost always near the intersection of two or more major roadways. As example, all of the other Eastern NC Walmart SuperCenters1 are serviced by multiple roadways:

• Hwy 24 and 70 in Morehead

• Western Blvd. and Hwy 17 in Jacksonville

• Hwy 70 and Bus. 17 in New Bern

• Hwy 17 and or Hwy. 17, 24, and 258 (Richlands Highway) in Jacksonville

• Hwy 70 and Slocum Rd in Havelock

• Hwy 70 and 258 in Kinston

SACRED’s concern is that it may take years for the NC DOT to untangle a bad traffic situation if this SuperCenter goes in as planned. Meanwhile, the Swansboro area will be left with traffic congestion that starts to resemble Western Blvd in Jacksonville. The main difference is that Swansboro doesn’t have an ability to create a bypass around congested retail outlet area as Jacksonville has implemented (i.e., Highway 17 and Jacksonville Parkway). Swansboro’s additional traffic congestion could also negatively impact beach communities, logistics for Camp Lejeune, etc.

SACRED’s stance is that Walmart should consider another location for a SuperCenter that would not have the same traffic issues and would not directly border multiple public schools.

1 http://www.walmart.com/store/finder?location=28584&distance=50



How much traffic would the Walmart SuperCenter add to Swansboro’s existing traffic?

According to the Walmart Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) plan, a 158,000 sq ft. SuperCenter would draw about 6,000 vehicle trips per day on weekdays2. This figure increases over weekends. For example, by using Texas Transportation Institute studies3, the weekend traffic flow may well increase to 8,400 vehicle trips per day. This additional weekend traffic condition would occur on top of the existing high summer weekend tourist traffic. Considering that Hwy 24 has about a 40,000-‐vehicle load limit, these additional Walmart customer vehicle trips would be substantial and reduce the lifetime effectiveness for Hwy 24 in its current form.

SACRED’s recommendation is that a new TIA include Walmart weekday and weekend customer traffic, and include projections based on Texas Transportation Institute’s more detailed projections.

Did the Walmart Developer create a traffic study and plan to solve these traffic issues?

Like all developments that generate hundreds or more vehicle trips per day, the Walmart Developer created a Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA)4. However, this plan has omissions and creates a design that may save the Walmart Developer in construction costs but may also lead to road hazards. Specifics include:

1. Traffic Count Sampling – The Walmart Developer’s TIA gathered “peak traffic load” conditions of Swansboro’s traffic on a Thursday in April 2014. However, Swansboro’s (consistent) peak times are during the summer as our area is heavily influenced by seasonal tourist traffic. SACRED’s concern is that the lower traffic count assumptions distort the true traffic impact of a SuperCenter and would allow the Walmart Developer to assume a simpler, easier, and cheaper roadway modification.

SACRED recommends that a new TIA be undertaken which considers ‘heavy load’ in-‐season traffic volumes as well as school year traffic (given the development’s proximity to schools). This new TIA may suggest that the Walmart Developer will need to include other roadway improvements (e.g., road widenings, additional traffic signals, synchronization of signals, adaptive timings for signals, etc.).

2. Hammock Beach Rd. Intersection -‐ Per the Walmart TIA, a SuperCenter’s customer (and truck) traffic will drastically worsen the 24/Hammock Beach Road intersection. Specifically, the Walmart traffic plan attempts to channel outgoing customer traffic onto Hammock Beach Road. This customer traffic would add to current traffic coming from/to residential developments off Hammocks Beach Road and the local state park. This additional Walmart customer traffic would not be trivial. For example, per Walmart’s own study, left-‐hand turn (from Hammock Beach onto Hwy 24) traffic lines would be over 560 feet long (nearly two football fields long). This is “F” (failing) roadway condition grade according to NC DOT. This situation would only get worse as other properties off Hammock Beach Road are developed (such as those recently zoned for residential development by the Swansboro Commissioners).

SACRED recommends that a new TIA consider other alternatives that would enable a “B” grade condition for the Hammock Beach Road Intersection. This may require the Developer to purchase additional property and joint it to the development such that there would be a signaled intersection at Hwy 24 and Norris Road. This newly created signaled intersection could allow Walmart traffic to exit directly onto Hwy 24 Westbound, and solve some of the issues the Walmart development would impose for both Norris Road (see below) and Hammock Beach Road.

2 http://sacred28584.org/wp-‐content/uploads/2015/06/BOC_5.13.15_Agenda.pdf 3 http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.377.1647&rep=rep1&type=pdf 4 http://sacred28584.org/wp-‐content/uploads/2015/06/BOC_5.13.15_Agenda.pdf



3. Other Intersections – The Walmart Developer’s TIA did not include the development’s impact at the intersections of Hwy 24/Norris Road and Hwy 24/Queens Creek Road (refer to the pictorial on page 1). Norris Road is across the street from the development and would certainly be impacted by a SuperCenter. Queens Creek is a nearby and major roadway that services 3 of the public schools and leads to a gate at Camp Lejeune. While not a formal intersection, the study did not include the Middle School entrance, which is very close to the development and impacts Hwy 24 due to turn-‐ins during the school year. SACRED recommends that a new TIA be created that includes all of these intersections (during both the summer tourist season and during the school year).

4. U-‐turn – Per the Walmart Developer’s TIA, west bound shoppers who exit the SuperCenter onto Hwy 24 would only be allowed to turn right and would then need to make a left U-‐turn at the Hwy 24/Hammock Beach Road intersection to then head westbound (toward Hubert or Jacksonville). The TIA only calls out for a slight widening of the road to allow for the turning radius of most cars. However, the U-‐turn area is not likely to be wide enough to allow for trucks or vehicles towing boats, campers, etc. to make the U-‐turn. A secondary issue with this U-‐turn approach is that cars exiting the Walmart must cross over several lanes within a short distance to get in the ‘middle lane’ U-‐turn queue.

SACRED’s concern is that this proposed design by the Walmart Developer could be very hazardous. SACRED recommends that should the development continue with a U-‐turn approach that the Developer must increase the U-‐turn pad size to enable semi-‐trucks and the pickup truck and large (e.g., 24 foot) boat combination that is commonplace in Swansboro’s traffic.

4) Walmart West/East/South customer directions -‐ The Walmart Developer’s TIA assumes a simple 50%/40%/10% split of customer traffic coming from the west, east, and south. This projection is important as it determines how roadways should be modified to better handle increased customer traffic. The Developer’s engineers assumed that few summer tourists would shop at a Walmart SuperCenter. SACRED believes that this is assumption is incorrect based on the influx of tourists who shop at local food stores. If the Developer’s engineers are correct the store’s new customer traffic would then track from the larger population centers from the west (e.g., Hubert). If the Developer’s engineers are incorrect the summertime customer traffic will be drawn from the larger populations to the east (Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, etc.). Either way, a 50%/40%/10% split seems unlikely.

SACRED believes that a new TIA should reassess which directions a Walmart SuperCenter’s traffic will flow from. This assessment should include both incoming customer traffic from our in-‐season (tourist) and out of season (local community) population centers.

Wouldn’t Walmart fix the roads if something was wrong?

Walmart’s (like any retailer’s) responsibility ends at its driveway. The roadways that would be impacted by a Walmart Development belong to NC DOT. It is up to NC DOT to approve and make any changes caused by the additional traffic Walmart would draw in. If it’s proven that a Walmart TIA was in error and traffic issues were due to the development, it’s possible that some of the expenses that NC DOT may later encounter may be paid by Walmart. That later expense may be negotiated as neither party will wish to pay for anything they don’t need to.

U-‐turn



Would more Walmart traffic be better for other businesses in Swansboro?

Not always. A Walmart SuperCenter duplicates many of the current businesses in Swansboro such as the grocery, pharmacies, and hardware stores, and even specialty stores. Additionally, Swansboro doesn’t have other Big-‐box stores or malls that better complement a Walmart SuperCenter. Larger towns offer such stores but Swansboro does not have the room for or the roadways to support them. Given these factors, it is difficult to see how local businesses would benefit greatly by the Walmart SuperCenter’s additional traffic.

What is being done?

The Town of Swansboro has budgeted for a new TIA to re-‐evaluate the traffic impact of the proposed Walmart SuperCenter. While it would have been best for this TIA to have been done before the Walmart building permit was granted, SACRED applauds this activity.

Isn’t this Walmart development a ‘done deal’?

No, this isn't a done deal. Here are some reasons why: • The permits and such were not done properly by the Town, and are being challenged by SACRED members. At

the time the Town approved the permit, the Town was coerced by a developer’s lawsuit which influenced the Town’s behavior (although SACRED argues that the Town was in good standing against that lawsuit based on NC State statutes).

• Traffic -‐ The developer traffic study and plan falls short. It too can be challenged, as outlined in this document. • Walmart is getting pressured to reconsider this location. Walmart doesn't own the property, and its

commitment to have a SuperCenter at this site is limited. This is important as it would stand to reason that Walmart would have bought the property directly if they thought the development would happen without difficulty. Walmart can exercise its options to build a SuperCenter elsewhere if Walmart sees that a different location (e.g., on Hwy 24 towards Hubert) carries fewer liabilities and risks than this Swansboro location, and at the same time another location would better serve its customers.

Are there other issues with this Walmart?

Yes. A large retail box has no place next to our public schools, recreational areas, and residential neighborhoods. The property includes wetlands that would be displaced and the large parking lot and building will create more runoff for downstream neighboring businesses, residential areas, and waterways. Please refer to the SACRED web site for more details on these and other concerns with this proposed development.

What can I do to help stop this development?

As members of the public we urge people to write to Walmart to reconsider this development location (refer to our web site for addresses and suggestions on letters). We also ask people to join SACRED (www.sacred28584.org) and sign our petitions. Our expectation is that Walmart Corporation does not fully appreciate the liabilities it would be creating for itself and the community if it were to follow through with this development. We MUST make them aware and your voice and letters matter!

Walmart Traffic FAQ Final - Swansboro Area Citizens...

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