Apparently we must go to the top to get some action from NCDOT.  Pinehurst Village Councilmen John Taylor and Jeramy Hooper have met with local NCDOT officials to explain our case for Improving the Circle Without Destroying It:

1.      The latest proposed design for the Circle has lighted intersections, which are inherently unsafe compared to traffic circles.  We think the Governor would agree that safety is a higher priority than capacity.

2.      The Moore County population growth estimate used by NCDOT is overinflated by a large margin.  We don’t think the future load on the Circle would demand a radical redesign, but we won’t really know if NCDOT refuses to change their growth assumptions to more realistic numbers.  We think the Governor would agree since it’s another one of his agencies – the Office of State Budget and Management – that provided the forecast.

3.      An alternate design put forth by Pinehurst Councilmen Taylor and Hooper - the Turbo Hybrid pictured above - could very well improve the circle flow to an acceptable level considering the more reasonable population growth forecast.  We think the Governor would agree that such a design would be worth serious consideration by NCDOT.

Councilmen Taylor and Hooper wrote an excellent op ed piece that explains it all here.

But NCDOT is not interested in undertaking any of this.  They’re stuck.  Please write to Governor Stein and ask him to intervene so we can Improve the Circle Without Destroying It.  Here’s where to submit your comments: https://governor.nc.gov/contact/contact-governor-stein