UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees Work On Master Plan To Improve Campus' Layout

Officials are getting closer to finalizing the plan, but a number of details still need to be hammered out.

"I think it is doable. It has to be doable and one of the things that we have learned about this plan is that the university has been here for a long time, and the physical appearance of the campus and makeup has changed over the 200-year history," says master plan chairman Johnathan Howes.

The master plan hinges on a new access road for the southern part of the campus. Board of Trustees members are wrestling over whether to build the road, its width, where would it go and when.

"We are pretty certain that it is going to be needed eventually," says consultant Adam Gross. "If not, I think the university's growth will be curtailed, traffic would be worse on Manning Drive. There have been traffic accidents on Manning Drive. I think it's dire if it were not ultimately incorporated into the plan."

Residents from the Mason Farm Road area attended the meeting Monday because they have concerns that if the road is built, property along the road would have to be acquired.

The final recommendation from consultants is expected to be brought back to the Board of Trustees later in the month.