To the Editor:

As owners of businesses and homes that line 15^th Street and citizens living in adjacent neighborhoods or other parts of town, we care deeply about the character, success and future of Washington.

We wish to add our voices to those of the citizens who wrote last week expressing their opposition to the NC Department of Transportation’s proposed expansion of 15^th Street.

NCDOT is proposing to turn 15^th Street into what it calls a Super Street (SS). While the SS design has been shown to be effective on rural highways and urban commercial districts, we feel that it would be inappropriate for 15^th Street.

Fifteenth Street is currently bordered by residences, businesses and medical facilities. Densely populated neighborhoods adjoin both sides of the street. The proposed design would essentially convert 15^th Street into a highway with a 17.5-foot central median, limited left turns, five U-turns, and several larger intersections.

Left turns onto 15^th Street from side streets, including 12^th, 13^th, 14^th, Nicholson,

North Bonner, North Respess, Summit, Van Norden and Washington streets, will be prohibited.  Vehicles wishing to make left turns onto side streets from 15^th Street will have to travel to the next U-turn intersection, make a U-turn and retrace their “steps” back to the side street. Fire trucks, delivery trucks, UPS vans and any vehicle larger than a passenger car will be too big to use the U-turns.

Access to many stores, banks, drug stores and other businesses will be made extremely difficult. History has shown that when customers can access a business only with difficulty, the business will decline.

Property values along the road and in adjacent neighborhoods will be dramatically affected, which will have a negative impact on the town’s tax base.

Washington is working hard to make itself more appealing to residents, tourists and entrepreneurs and an attractive, historic town in a beautiful setting that maintains a small town feel. Installing this kind of highway across its midsection would conflict with these goals.

The DOT estimates the cost of this project to be $16-20 million. We firmly believe that there are simpler, less expensive alternatives to the current proposal. We encourage the City Council to vote against the proposal at its upcoming meeting on March 27 at 5:30 p.m.

We also encourage residents to attend the meeting and speak up for their town.
Bob Rich, property owner, The Rich Company founder

William Taylor III, senior vice president, First Bank

Floyd Brothers, former mayor and homeowner

Amy Gerard Thomas, owner, Fitness Unlimited

Jimmy Walker, DDS, Inner Banks Dental