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Pinehurst Group Wants to Stop Proposed Roundabout

A group in Pinehurst is taking a stand for trees -- while trying to uproot plans for a traffic roundabout.

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Residents in the Village of Pinehurst are petitioning to stop a traffic project that they say would harm the town's scenic and historic charm.

The Concerned Citizens of Pinehurst says it has collected 700 signatures on a petition demanding hearings on a proposed roundabout for N.C. Highway 2 at Carolina Vista -- the entrance to the famous Pinehurst Country Club. The group has also taken out a full-page advertisement.

The project would mean getting rid of 90 trees, most of them longleaf pines. John Marcum, who leads the group, says a roundabout is excessive.

"Most days, there are no problems whatsoever," he said.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation has construction plans and work could start as May.

"It's going to be built," said Pinehurst Town Manager Andy Wilkinson, adding that the intersection is dangerous and in need for roundabouts.

"The roundabouts will resolve the dangerous conflicts but won't demean or lower the standards of that vista," Wilkinson said.

"Every tree that we cut down will be either replaced with the same kind of tree, and we're going to move as many trees as we can, also," he added.

But Marcum says the trees are in their prime.

"They got a couple of centuries to go, but it will be spent in a saw mill," he said.

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