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Chapel Hill City workers invited group members to share their ideas on the present and future design of Franklin Avenue in a web-based survey.
The Chapel Hill City Council is contemplating transferring upkeep of Franklin Avenue from the North Carolina Division of Transportation to the City. They’re additionally exploring design choices for the road and potential reconstruction challenges.
The survey was posted on the City’s web site on Sept. 23 and features a hyperlink to a design specifics and challenges presentation. City workers introduced the survey outcomes to the Chapel Hill City Council throughout its assembly on Oct. 12.
There are six proposed design choices, based on the survey. Two choices is not going to switch upkeep from NCDOT to the City.
Of the 2 choices, the primary is to maintain bike lanes and add biking and pedestrian enhancements to the highway, based on the presentation. The second is to return to the pre-COVID-19 design with no bike lanes, 4 lanes of visitors and on-street parking.
In line with the presentation, a 3rd choice is to maintain bike lanes and set up pedestrian facilities, equivalent to inventive crosswalks or curb extensions. Relying on the design choices, the City might switch upkeep of the road.
The final three choices on the survey contain transferring upkeep of Franklin Avenue to the City:
- Hold bike lanes and set up parklet eating or commerce areas alongside the curb.
- Reconstruct the highway to incorporate a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists.
- Utterly reconstruct Franklin Avenue.
The survey lets group members rank the designs, share their ideas on the present design of the road and go away suggestions for City workers.
Carol Hee, a professor within the Setting, Power and Ecology Program at UNC, mentioned she voted for essentially the most radical choice on the survey: reconstructing Franklin St.
“For that very small quantity of actual property, it might be good to make that extra pedestrian-friendly,” she mentioned. “Extra like a European-style small city with out the visitors, security and air pollution points that include vehicles and vehicles.”
Hee mentioned it’s nice for the City to have the prospect to reveal management by making adjustments that time it and the world towards sustainability.
Paula Gilland is the CEO of the Purple Bowl, a family-owned eatery on West Franklin Avenue.
The Purple Bowl makes use of the house between the road and the eatery for patios and seating — about half their seating is outdoors, Gilland mentioned.
“We’re built-in to bleed into Franklin Avenue every day,” she mentioned. “Even when it’s chilly out, persons are sitting on the market and having fun with Franklin Avenue.”
The road is essential to the enterprise, however additionally it is essential to her, Gilland mentioned. She mentioned she eats lunch together with her husband outdoors on Franklin Avenue virtually day-after-day and so they stroll down the road to go to the submit workplace and different companies.
Gilland mentioned she want to see safer connectivity between Franklin Avenue and Rosemary Avenue. She added that she thinks these passageways may very well be used higher.
“I really like what is going on down by Franklin Motors with the funky, outside house that invitations folks to sit down out and revel in Franklin Avenue I wish to see extra of that,” she mentioned.
Chapel Hill resident Elizabeth LoFrese has lived within the City since 2008. LoFrese mentioned she thought it was cool that sidewalks have been prolonged so folks may dine and stroll throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I believe Chapel Hill is a way more walkable city for college kids and locals than driving a lot,” LoFrese mentioned.
Over half of the survey respondents, about 350 group members in complete, are impartial towards or like the present design of Franklin Avenue, based on survey outcomes introduced throughout the Oct. 12 Chapel Hill City Council assembly.
Nevertheless, there are vital needs inside the group for infrastructure enhancements, the survey discovered.
City Council member Camille Berry mentioned the City ought to wait to make any adjustments till consultants can present analysis and steering shifting ahead.
“We needn’t bounce simply but as a result of we do not have a plan,” she mentioned.
City Council member Adam Searing agreed with Berry’s request and mentioned he needs to know what different communities have carried out in comparable conditions.
City Council member Michael Parker mentioned he needs to know what this course of will appear to be, how lengthy it should take and what it should price.
Group members all for studying extra in regards to the initiatives or filling out the survey can discover extra info here.
@DTHCityState | city@dailytarheel.com
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