Tim Brook

The hill on Lewis Road from Brooks Avenue to Nottingham Road continues to affect our neighborhood. Traffic/speed here has increased and gotten worse over the last 5-10 years now to a point where it needs to be addressed before something bad happens. Cars speed down this hill where there are no sidewalks, many children, walkers and pets affected. Our intersection alone at Duplin Road and Lewis Farm Road houses over 18 children + the bus stop for Lacy Elementary. We need a 4 way stop solution before the school year starts and would appreciate any attention to this issue.

Location(s) of Concern:

Shearon Farms Avenue, particularly near its intersection with US1/Capital Boulevard.

Various residential streets within the Shearon Farms neighborhood (both public and potentially private streets with public access).

Nature of Issues:

This report details several ongoing traffic safety concerns and parking violations in the vicinity of Shearon Farms Avenue, largely appearing to be associated with the operations of Capital Chevrolet. These issues pose a significant risk to residents, pedestrians, and other drivers, and appear to contravene state and local traffic laws.

1. Illegal and Hazardous Parking on Shearon Farms Avenue:
* Wrong-Way Parking: Vehicles, including a large pickup truck with a car hauler trailer (see attached image: image_bd6b58.jpg), have been observed parked facing oncoming traffic on Shearon Farms Avenue. This is a direct violation of parking regulations, specifically NCGS § 20-162 (requiring vehicles to be parked on the right-hand side of the roadway, headed in the direction of lawful traffic), and creates confusion and potential for head-on collisions.
* Obstruction of Traffic Flow & Blind Curves: Multiple vehicles, including large commercial trucks/trailers (see attached image: image_bd6aff.jpg) and customer/dealership vehicles, are frequently parked along Shearon Farms Avenue in a manner that obstructs the normal flow of traffic. This practice is contrary to NCGS § 20-161 (prohibiting stopping or parking on the main-traveled portion of a highway or in a way that obstructs traffic) and likely violates provisions within the Town of Wake Forest Code of Ordinances, Chapter 30 (Traffic and Vehicles), concerning obstruction of public streets. This is particularly dangerous on curves where visibility is already limited and near the busy intersection with US1/Capital Boulevard, forcing vehicles to maneuver into the opposing lane or make unsafe adjustments.
* Proximity to Major Intersection: The hazardous parking often occurs very close to the US1/Capital Boulevard and Shearon Farms Avenue intersection, impeding sightlines. This may violate specific setback requirements for parking near intersections as outlined in state law or the Town of Wake Forest Code of Ordinances (e.g., prohibitions on parking within a certain distance of intersecting curb lines or traffic control signals).

2. Unsafe Driving Practices in Residential Neighborhood (Allegedly Capital Chevrolet Related):
* Excessive Speeding & Potential Racing: There are frequent instances of vehicles, believed to be associated with Capital Chevrolet (employees and/or customers on test drives), being driven at excessive speeds, well above the posted 25 mph limit, on residential streets within the Shearon Farms neighborhood. This conduct potentially violates NCGS § 20-141 (Speed Restrictions) and could constitute Reckless Driving under NCGS § 20-140. At times, this driving behavior appears to constitute racing, a more serious offense.
* Operation of Tagless Vehicles: Many of these vehicles conducting test drives or being moved by dealership personnel are reportedly being operated without visible license plates. This raises concerns regarding compliance with NCGS § 20-111 (requiring registration and display of plates) and the proper use of dealer plates as stipulated in NCGS § 20-79.
* Use of Private/Neighborhood Streets: These unsafe driving practices are occurring on public neighborhood streets and potentially on private streets within the community that are generally accessible, endangering residents, children, and pets. Even on private streets open to public use, state traffic laws regarding safe operation may still apply.

Impact on Community:
These ongoing issues create a hazardous environment for the residents of Shearon Farms and anyone traveling on Shearon Farms Avenue. The illegal parking obstructs visibility and traffic flow, increasing the risk of accidents. The aggressive and potentially illegal driving practices within the residential area directly threaten the safety and peace of the neighborhood, contravening the intent of established traffic laws designed to protect the public.

Requested Action:
We request the Town of Wake Forest to investigate these matters urgently. Specifically, we ask for:

Increased enforcement of parking regulations on Shearon Farms Avenue, with particular attention to violations of NCGS § 20-161, NCGS § 20-162, and related Town ordinances concerning wrong-way parking, obstruction of traffic, and parking in hazardous locations (curves, near the US1 intersection).

Investigation into the alleged unsafe driving practices (violations of NCGS § 20-141, NCGS § 20-140, and NCGS § 20-111) by individuals associated with Capital Chevrolet within the Shearon Farms residential area.

Consideration of traffic calming measures or increased police presence in the neighborhood if these unsafe driving behaviors persist.

Direct communication with the management of Capital Chevrolet to address these concerns and ensure their operations comply with all applicable state and local traffic laws and respect the safety of the surrounding community.

We believe that prompt attention to these issues is necessary to prevent accidents and ensure the safety and well-being of our community.

Supporting Images:

image_bd6b58.jpg (Shows pickup with trailer parked wrong way/obstructing)

image_bd6aff.jpg (Shows semi-trailer and other vehicles obstructing curve/roadway)

Thank you for your attention to these critical safety concerns.

The people who live at 3404 Ruffin Street regularly park so that the sidewalk in front of their house is completely blocked. Pedestrians must actually go into the street to go around the car parked at the end of the driveway.

They keep a boat on a trailer in their driveway and do not seem willing to arrange things so that they can pull their cars up far enough to avoid blocking the sidewalk.

They are in clear violation of the parking rules listed at: https://www.raleighnc.gov/home/content/PWksParkingMgmt/Articles/ParkingFactsFaqs.html.

In particular:

May I park on a sidewalk?
No. Even if a sidewalk crosses over a private driveway, no portion of any vehicle parked in the driveway can protrude into the sidewalk.

Car for sale has been blocking bike lane for some time.
Weekly, trash cans are left in the bike lane, blocking access.

Illegally parked vehicles on left side (median park side) of Park Dr making it difficult to see. There is only allowed parking along the curb. There are kids playing in the park and this is dangerous we can't see them as they run out in the street.

There is a large dead tree that is on greenway property. It may come down in the occuring storms that we have been having. It is close to the greenway trail on city property. The base is about 2 feet across so it is a large tree and a tall one as well. I have many other pictures I can send but it appears that I can only download one. The picture that I have sent has been taken from the back of my house. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Non-permitted construction in the rear of both houses.

The city routinely uses 4 backpack blowers for an hour at 4 am to blow leaves and trash into the street for the street sweeper, violating the noise ordinance. It is quite loud when echoing against the buildings. The city should seek alternative methods to clear sidewalks. It seems as though this is being done in part to abuse the homeless. Major cities do not clean their sidewalks this way. The city has often encouraged people to live in the downtown area.

There is a dumpster along Snow Ave for Cameron Court Apartments that is regularly overflowing with trash. Trash ends up on the street and birds and other animals get into it, pieces of trash, rotting food, etc are along the street. Homeless people dig through it and pull out stuff leaving torn bags on the street. Our community at 500 Saint Mary’s has he dumpster behind a wooden fence. I notice the Boylan does too. It should be compulsory. This is an eyesore and not something one would expect in our type of community. It’s appalling to have to see this and lowers the quality of life for the neighbors. Apparently Cameron Court has low life standards that just don’t fit in with our neighborhood.

Silver sedan, full of trash, reported 4/1/19 but no apparent action taken. This vehicle has now been in the same position for years. The owner lives at the address where the vehicle is located. Time to do something about this!

Silt fence along west side of Norris associated with construction of new houses not being adequately maintained. Fence down a a couple of locations and filled to top of fence near curb inlet near intersection

Courtland Drive is a one way street at the intersection of Courtland Dr. and Wake Forest Rd. Numerous vehicles continue to drive the wrong way on this oneway street. Extremely dangerous for vehicles legally turning left or right onto Courtland Dr. Drivers are illegally using the oneway street to exit to Wake Forest Rd. resulting in multiple collisions and near misses