Cary aims to ease traffic — and concerns of neighbors — at new development

The village of Cary is discussing ways to mitigate traffic now that a residential road will be connecting to Route 31 for a new mixed-use development.

Last year, the Cary Village Board voted 5-1 to approve the Seasons at Cary development off Route 31.

Residents in the neighboring Cambria subdivision have opposed the development. They say it will disrupt their quiet community when New Haven Drive, a road that currently ends in a cul-de-sac, is opened and extended to Route 31.

Seasons of Cary calls for 5 acres of retail space along Route 31 and 360 apartments. As part of the agreement, Fiduciary Development will work with the village to install — at the developer’s expense — traffic-calming signage, striping and infrastructure inside Cambria.

A conceptual plan of the traffic-calming measures was presented to the village board during a recent Committee of the Whole meeting for discussion purposes only. Options include installing two chicanes, relocating on-street parking and using pavement markings, raised crosswalks, a traffic circle, speed radar signs and directional signs.

New Haven Drive currently has on-street striped parking adjacent to New Haven townhouses and a speed radar sign near the entrance to the Cambria subdivision, according to village documents.

About a dozen residents gave feedback during the discussion. Many were opposed to the traffic circle, which is proposed to replace a cul-de-sac and connect to the new development. Residents asked for it to be turned into a four-way stop or moved, pointing out the awkward positioning with multiple driveways connecting to it.

“I’ve never heard of a circle like that having driveways — multiple driveways — in the middle of it,” resident Susan Clark said.

Chicanes, which act as raised medians, are proposed to direct the changes of on-street parking from one side to the other, according to village documents.

Trailblazer signs along Georgetown Drive are also proposed to direct traffic toward Three Oaks Road for Route 31 access.

Trustee Rick Dudek asked for developers to share what their budget is for traffic mitigation measures, which wasn’t shared at the meeting.

“At the end of the day, this is a good start. In my mind, it is far from what’s acceptable,” he said. “We don’t want to cause an additional problem that wasn’t there before, and some of this looks like it might be doing that.”

After the discussion, village staff and developers will continue to work on adjustments to the plan and present changes to the board.

“Absolutely nothing has been decided,” Mayor Mark Kownick said. “We’re going to take all of your information that you’ve given us right now, we’re going to give it to their team, and we’re going to come up with a plan, and we’re going to re-present.”

Construction for the Seasons of Cary development is set to start in the spring, with the first units opening in spring 2027 and the final units in spring 2028, Fiduciary Development Vice President Tony DeRosa said at a previous board meeting.