Fight the Forsyth County - Stokes County Landfill

Walkertown Planning Board Letter Opposing Landfill

We, the Planning Board for the Town of Walkertown, feel it necessary to convey our concerns to the CCUC and Forsyth County Commissioners about their decision to build a landfill off of U.S. 311, north of the town of Walkertown.

Although the area potentially designated for the landfill is outside the municipal jurisdiction of the town of Walkertown, access to this site is via Highway 311, which runs through the center of Walkertown. This would mean that a vast majority of the dump trucks carrying construction waste would have to travel down Walkertown's Main Street to enter this site.

Our downtown area has generated concern from citizens who have experienced the already overcrowded, narrow streets, and busy traffic patterns. The fact that this potential landfill would also accommodate recycling only heightens our concerns about traffic and safety.

Specifically, the Planning Document for the Construction and Demolition Debris Disposal and Recycling Facility, quotes a traffic impact analysis study undertaken by John Davenport: "this landfill is expected to have only minimal impact on the transportation system".

In 2003, Walkertown commissioned a NC 66 Corridor Study, also by John Davenport. The study found that the intersection of 66 and Main Street has a current level of service (LOS) of D and E during peak hours, and by 2008, a level of F (the worst on the LOS scale), accompanied by a projected grown rate of 3% a year. The new shopping center alone, when fully built out, is estimated to generate an extra 10,000 trips per day.

This intersection and roads would be the ones traveled by a majority of the construction debris vehicles. Currently, Main Street feeds 2 schools, a church with day care, Post Office, Town Hall, Fire Department and numerous commercial enterprises. The addition of construction debris vehicles would only hinder our traffic situation even further.

According to the CUCC Planning Document, the current landfill has approximately 165 trucks per day. Most of these vehicle trips would come through Walkertown on Highway 311 and would also be returning through Walkertown. The Estimate of Future Disposal displayed in the Planning Document shows that the waste tonnage will double in about 10 years. This could mean over 600 vehicle trips through Walkertown daily. If the construction debris facility is open to other counties or state-wide, then this number would only increase.

The Walkertown Planning Board's main concerns are for the safety of our citizens and neighbors, the increases in traffic, debris from construction vehicles, and road maintenance. We are cognizant of the fact that a landfill for construction and demolition debris is much needed; however, we believe the extra traffic and the disruption of safety would be detrimental to our citizens. A site closer to the actual construction zones in the county and a site with access by major highways would be preferable.

The Walkertown Planning Board would like to be kept apprised of any public meetings or discussions concerning the landfill issue, and we hope that you take our concerns seriously.

Sincerely,

Charles Trivette

Chairman, Walkertown Planning Board

Back