Residents urge Morrisville to pause Airport Boulevard extension over safety, environment concerns

Residents urged the Morrisville Town Council on Jan. 13 to pause work on the proposed Airport Boulevard extension, citing safety for children, habitat loss and incomplete planning.

Several speakers during Morrisville Speaks public comment said the town has not produced a fully vetted, implementable design for the project and questioned its timeline and costs. Patty Chang said the project (referred to in some materials as the Airport Boulevard extension) lacks a three-dimensional, vetted plan and that the White Paper published in November forecasts the project’s completion as far out as 2055. She also said Phase 1 was estimated at $15,000,000 and asked council to “pause this project until better information is provided about how this project will look when it's finished and how it will be implemented.” (Patty Chang, public commenter.)

Lehi Close focused on pedestrian safety, telling council that two elementary schools lie along the proposed alignment and that “if this road does go in … it’s going to have an injury or a death,” based on his review of pedestrian-incident records near elementary schools. Edward Money added environmental and resource concerns, urging the council to consider wildlife habitat loss and long-term water availability as growth is planned: “once that land is cleared and once it's paved, it will be generations before that land could actually be restored, if ever,” he said.

Why it matters: Speakers framed the issue as one that affects public safety, environmental stewardship and the town’s use of public funds. They urged council to consider alternatives — Edward Money suggested widening McCrimmon Parkway as a more plausible traffic solution — and to provide clearer cost, water-supply and safety analyses before advancing major clearing or construction.

Council response and next steps: Council members acknowledged the concerns during subsequent council comments and referenced past work session discussions about safety features, crossings and speed. Several members asked staff to provide additional detail about safety measures considered and design assumptions for the project; council did not take a formal vote on the project during this meeting. The administrative CIP materials and the CTP update presented later in the meeting were identified by members as channels to surface more detailed technical analysis, and members requested any available updated traffic counts and intersection data to inform prioritization.

Context: The Airport Boulevard extension has drawn repeated community attention in recent planning discussions. During this meeting speakers repeatedly urged more specific, implementable designs and safety analysis before additional commitments or clearing occur. No formal council action to advance construction was recorded at the Jan. 13 meeting; the consent agenda did include unrelated resolutions (see ‘Votes at a glance’).