Poll - Pros/Cons of living in Clayton

Cary
Like
Area...
Yankees
Taking
Over
Now!

Heard that on the radio

 

I moved here with my 2 kids a little over one year ago, and we like it very much. I grew up in the triangle area so it was like coming home. (I can't afford to live where I grew up now.) The schools are great, at least the one where my kids go is. The cost of living is the same or better than where we came from (the northeastern corner of the state). There are things to do around here other than hunt and fish, neither of which I do. I guess the only problem I have with Clayton is the traffic, which is only going to get worse with all the development. Still, the traffic is not as bad here as it is in other parts of the triangle.

When we moved down here, we considered Riverwood, which was developed by the same people as Lionsgate. Considered it again when I bought a home, but couldn't figure out how to make it work with a golden retriever. I liked that golf, swimming, gym, parks and places to walk were all included. Just my 2c worth.

Snuff

 

Clayton is like the neck of the Heinz Ketchup bottle when you're shaking the fool out of it. All that traffic filtering through 6 stoplights from Wal-Mart to 42 Eastbound toward Percy Flowers direction. You've got a speed limit of 45 mph and usually the traffic is either slow stop and go or most cars are running at least 10 mph over the limit. The lights are not sequenced and crossover traffic will wait for what feels like an eternity. I think the traffic-sensing optical sensors they placed at the major intersections made the wait longer for local residents than before. If you try to cross over at say, Robertson St. there by BB&T you'll have to wait and then shoot the gap. Same thing at the high school cross over at Fayetteville. I honestly fear for people at that intersection. I worry that inexperience is going to cost a teen there one day if the town or state doesn't step in.

One thing I wish for would be a road built at or near the Wal-Mart intersection that would flow traffic to Garner Road to the north and to Shotwell to the southeast. That would take a lot of strain off of the Hwy. 70/Shotwell Road intersection. If Guy Road or Garner Road weren't so narrow and winding, it would be a better choice for local residents.

 

The 70 bypass will do that for you.

 

It is a DOT issue.

 

Not necessarily. I just moved from a small town, and during the 7+ years that I lived there, they built a bypass for the US Highway that went through the town. Similar situation, the new bypass replaced the old "bypass" which was actually a four lane street with stoplights and businesses all along it. After the new bypass was built, there was some relief in the traffic on the old bypass, but not very much. With all the growth here in Clayton, I wouldn't be surprized if the new bypass makes little difference in the congestion on the old one. (Although I am hoping it does make a difference. I will be using the new bypass to get to work when it's completed.)

Snuff

 

The thing about the bypass is it seems to connect a couple of miles south of Garner and present US 70. The only benefits of the bypass by '09 will be to handle through traffic from central Johnston and points east such as Wayne County. It will also increase the likelihood of more traffic, shortening the drive and enticing more people to seek employment in the Triangle.

Hught, I agree and realize that the DOT is responsible as a U.S.-designated highway, but I wonder how much petitioning the town has done to get a safer crossover there at the high school. I guess the old adage that someone has to get killed before the traffic signals go up may have some truth. Of course, the new light at John Street may help create appropriate breaks but if it is as slow to change to halt westbound 70 traffic as the lights at Shotwell and Amelia Church are, then it will have little, if any consequence. I still have a hard time understanding why there is a need for that stoplight at John Street, when the DOT is preparing to allow traffic to turn left onto Main there near McCalls. It seems to be in conflict with the residentual needs of Clayton and creates another bottleneck for pass-through commuters.

 

This is all great info, i really appreciate it! We saw both Lionsgate and Riverwood yesterday and were very impressed with the area. We liked the location and house styles (and amenities) of Lionsgate and we are definitely considering it. I want to take a few more trips out that way to see the town and where things really are in relation to the S/D. I can't seem to find one single person to say anything bad about living in Clayton other than the traffic. If that is the only negative thing, I can live with that!