Ask Morganton Road residents about their thoughts on proposed safety improvements on the roadway toward Reilly Road, and many will tell you a safe road begins with slowing down speeding motorists.
The N.C. Department of Transportation can install a raised median, one-way turn lanes, traffic signals, crosswalks and sidewalks all it wishes, some residents say, but speed first and foremost is the culprit.
“We have lived on Morganton Road for 29 years,” says the Rev. Jay Coker, retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church in downtown Fayetteville. “There have been accidents in front of our home with some regularity — one including two fatalities. Poor signage regarding speed and little enforcement have much to do with this mess. Whatever is done to this heavily traveled street will do little to make it safer until speeding is checked.”
Engineers from the DOT are well aware of the traffic perils along Morganton Road, where, according to a DOT news release, between 18,000 and 35,000 vehicles travel daily, with 544 collisions per 100 million vehicle miles that exceeds the statewide average of 430 for a similar five-lane road. It says, too, there have been 33 wrecks involving pedestrians or bicyclists on the corridor between 2011 and 2021.
Coker was among some 60 or so residents who came Tuesday to meet with DOT folks to learn more about the proposed changes. Others included Don Strickland, William Ward, Kathy Smith and Cathy Toussaint.
Strickland and Ward are with Coker about those motorists who drive along Morganton Road as though it is Daytona International Speedway.
“Traffic is terrible,”says Strickland, 79, who lives at the corner of Pinecrest Drive and Morganton Road, just across from Beth Israel Congregation synagogue. “The main problem is speed.”
He’s not talking about 5 miles over the 35-mph speed limit.
“They drive,” Strickland says, “like maniacs.”
Strickland says motorcyclists drive on “two wheels” toward Churchill Drive.
Ward lives adjacent to Strickland in a red-brick home and likes to sit on his porch late in the evening.
“We see them flying by,” says Ward, 74. “They drag-race from Pinecrest to Churchill.”
Strickland and Ward say city police must enforce speeding violations.
“The Fayetteville Police Department’s Traffic Unit conducts traffic enforcement in the area of Morganton Road daily,” Kemberle Braden, the Fayetteville police chief, tells CityView. “The Traffic Unit issues multiple citations on Morganton Road for speeding and other traffic-related offenses. The Fayetteville Police Department will continue to conduct traffic enforcement within the area to ensure the safety of motorists and the public.”
Stoplight approved at Morganton and Northview
You’ll find similar roadway projects with the raised medians and turn lanes and one-way turns along Ramsey Street in 2011, Bragg Boulevard-Bonnie Doone and Owen Drive in 2017 — all in the name of traffic and pedestrian safety.
Aside from speeders, one dangerous intersection on Morganton Road is at the entrance to VanStory Hills at Northview Drive.
Mayor Pro Tem Johnny Dawkins says a stoplight has been approved for that intersection, but the cost could be $800,000, the District 5 councilman says, because the road will be reconfigured for safety with turn and transition lanes.
Kathy Smith resides in the VanStory Hills subdivision, and Smith says she uses Morganton Road often.
One wreck, Smith says, is one wreck too many.
But …
“It’s not a wise use of taxpayer money,” she says. “I’m absolutely against it.”
At least, Smith says, on that section of Morganton Road.
But the truth be told, from Morganton Road at Cross Creek Mall out toward Reilly Road is known for high traffic volume and its more than fair share of pedal-to-the-metal motorists.
No argument from Johnny Dawkins.
“It’s bad from Skibo to Reilly Road,” Dawkins says. “When you cross McPherson Church Road to Reilly, we need to slow people down and make that road safer.”
‘Had we known …’
Cathy Toussaint lives with her husband in Edens Farm at the intersection of Morganton Road and Bonanza Drive.
She is adamantly opposed to the DOT project.
“They are talking about not letting us go across,” she says. “They want us to take a right, then drive to the crosswalk and toward the end.”
“We’re going to be locked in,” she says. “We were comfortable with the access we have.”
Toussaint says she and her husband often sit on their front porch.
“From my front porch, we watch that intersection,” she says. “I have not seen an accident in 10 years. You are welcome to come sit on my front porch.”
Toussaint says this is the “forever home” for the couple. ,
“We just put in a pool,” she says. “Had we known this was going to happen we would not have built there.”
She cringes at the thought of the raised medians and the one-way turn lanes like those on Owen Drive and Ramsey Street, and the inconvenience for motorists.
“And I hate them both,” she says. “What do I have to do to stop this?”
Epilogue
Well, Mrs. Toussaint, nothing anytime soon.
The project is only a proposal, according to DOT, and part of a yearlong study with input from the city and the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
“Nothing is scheduled,” says Andrew Barksdale, a DOT spokesman. “It’s not even funded and likely could be 15 years away.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
