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Cary Planning board recommends Act 37 and Act 38 to implement Cary Bike Plan, PRCR System Plan and Vision Zero policies
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Board voted to forward Act 37 (Imagine Cary Engage and Move chapter updates) and Act 38 (LDO amendments) to Town Council with recommendations of approval; updates incorporate the Cary Bike Plan and PRCR System Plan, add bicycle parking requirements, integrate Vision Zero guidance, and allow corridor profile adjustments such as converting Kildaire Farm Road from five to four lanes in some segments.
The Cary Planning and Zoning Board on a voice vote recommended that Town Council adopt Act 37, updating the Imagine Cary Engage and Move chapters to incorporate the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources (PRCR) System Plan and the Cary Bike Plan, and Act 38, related Land Development Ordinance amendments to implement those plans.
Transportation director Juliette Andies told the board the Act 37 amendment replaces the PRCR goals adopted in 2017 with six new guiding principles emerging from the 2024 system‑plan process and updates the Move chapter to align with the Cary Bike Plan and Vision Zero. "The PRCR goals adopted in 2017 will be replaced by the six guiding principles of the approved 2024 PRCR system plan," Andies said, adding that planned corridor profile changes would permit narrower travel lane widths in some places while keeping the same right‑of‑way to create space for bike and pedestrian facilities.
Why it matters: Town staff and the board said the changes aim to make streets safer and more connected for non‑motorists and to give clearer implementable standards that will be used when redevelopment or capital projects arise. Staff said the public process included thousands of participants through surveys, workshops and an open house on March 25, 2025, and that the PRCR plan was council‑approved in December 2024.
Board members focused questions on three implementation points: micro‑mobility (e‑bikes and scooters), lane widths, and how changes would be carried out. "Has the use of e‑bikes been considered in the plan?" asked board member Sel Camarada. Andies said staff included micro‑mobility in the planning work and is continuing to evaluate greenway policies and education efforts. On lane widths, staff and an engineering staff speaker (Todd) said the Move chapter itself does not set an absolute minimum lane width and that typical travel lanes are not anticipated to go below 11 feet in the contexts shown. "We don't anticipate going below 11," Todd said when asked about narrower lanes.
Act 38 contains technical LDO updates that staff said are needed to make the bike plan and PRCR system plan enforceable: updated plan references, clarified easement widths, permission for greenways and bikeways within required buffers (similar to sidewalks), higher bicycle parking requirements (including for uses that previously did not require parking), and updated bike design terminology and references.
Board action and next steps: After staff answered questions, a board member moved and the board unanimously voted to forward both Act 37 and Act 38 to the Cary Town Council with recommendations of approval. Council will consider the plan amendment (Act 37) and ordinance changes (Act 38) and, if adopted, the LDO changes will be used to implement corridor and project designs through redevelopment approvals and capital programming.
Implementation details and limits: Staff emphasized that corridor changes are typically implemented project by project or through redevelopment and that some technical standards (for example, precise minimum lane widths) are controlled in standard specifications or details rather than by the Move chapter text itself.
The board meeting packet and the Imagine Cary documents, including the Cary Bike Plan and PRCR System Plan, are available on the town website; the board recommended forwarding the two items to council for final action.
