More traffic on Providence Road? Neighbors worry about proposed townhomes
'You're adding more and more to an already bad situation,' nearby resident says.
This article appeared in the Feb. 10, 2021, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, a morning e-newsletter with smart and original local news. Details here. Sign up for free:
Developer is planning 45 townhouses on the corner of Providence and Alexander roads
by Tony Mecia
Plans to build townhomes along Providence Road in south Charlotte are drawing objections from nearby residents, who say that all the new developments in the area are making traffic worse.
In the summer, Lat Purser & Associates proposed 76 townhomes on 6 acres at the intersection of Providence and Alexander roads. In January, though, the company backed out of the project, which is now being developed by Fielding Homes and DRB Group. The latest proposal calls for 45 townhomes.
Even with the reduction of the size of the project, neighbors say it will cause problems. About 70 residents attended a two-hour-long online community meeting last week and expressed concerns.
“It will just compound the issue — it’s a cumulative issue,” says Gwen Marseille, who lives in the Kellers Glen development next to the proposed site. “If you look at all of the development that’s going on on Alexander Road and Rea Road, then you add this one, it’s like you’re adding more and more to an already bad situation.”
Traffic backups: When she moved in 12 years ago, she says, morning traffic headed uptown on Providence would back up to Fairview Road. Now it stretches past her house: “The overall impact of all of these projects on this particular area is making it almost a not desirable place to live. You can’t get anywhere in the mornings.”
She says she also worries about the proposed maximum height of the townhomes, 44 feet, because it will allow residents to “actually peer into the existing homes.”
Leslie Wilsie, who lives about ¼ mile from the corner of Alexander and Providence, says she worries about the prospect of more U-turns and accidents at the intersection, where drivers often speed: “The traffic concerns are definitely one of the largest concerns. … We don’t want to exacerbate the problem.”
Building townhomes would require a rezoning. The land is currently zoned for single-family residential (R-3). A representative of the developer didn’t return a phone call and email.
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