The City of Raleigh is planning an initial kick-off meeting for the Phase II discussion of the Blount / Person corridor and we’re encouraging folks to attend to advocate for a protected facility to be installed along this corridor. In Fall 2019, initial bike lanes were placed down as a Phase I for this project, along with more consistent lane markings throughout the corridor. Actually having a space for people that bike on this facility is a step in the right direction, but paint is not protection, and the city must commit to providing a protected and connected bike network if we wish to make progress on our city’s climate and equity goals in place for our home.
As a reminder, this is what the corridor looks like today. With 2 travel lanes for vehicles, on-street parking, and a bike lane that in some places has a painted ~2’ buffer and is otherwise just a conventional bike lane with no buffer.
The final renderings for Phase I also includes Raleigh’s first bike boxes (at both Martin and Hargett for each respective street and also at Hoke and Person) and green striping through the intersections to provide additional visibility for the bike lane at higher stress/busy intersections. The final paint markings will be placed in the Spring of 2020 once the pavement is sufficiently warm for markings to adhere. Images of examples for both of these facility treatments can be viewed below.
It is our recommendation that the City of Raleigh ensure that any Phase II considerations first and foremost include a vertical and horizontal separation for people on bikes, to make this facility safe for all ages and abilities. To date, this street is still considered a high traffic, high stress corridor. The current road design doesn’t sufficiently reduce vehicle speeds, which creates an even greater risk to cyclists and pedestrians. As we look at large scale investments along this corridor, including the Bus Rapid Transit system along portions of Blount and Wilmington, it will be critical to provide safe first-mile and last-mile connections for pedestrians and cyclists. The current facility is woefully insufficient if our desire as a community is to encourage mode-shift and create facilitates that all ages and abilities can feel safe using.
Furthermore, Oaks and Spokes encourages the city to act with urgency on the implementation of a connected and protected bike network that ensures mobility options for our community. The first protected facilities in our downtown market are planned for Summer 2020 that will connect the Warehouse and Glenwood South districts (an effort Oaks and Spokes was critical in engaging on and advocating for, full history here), and we’d like to see these facilities connect to one another to provide residents safe and convenient access to jobs, recreation, local businesses, and homes.
These are examples of facilities we’ve seen in other communities that we think could be a good fit for this corridor. All would need to include adequate intersection treatments to ensure optimal safety (NACTO guidelines for intersection treatments, here)
Parking protected lane, San Francisco, CA. NACTO design guidelines for 1-way cycletrack, here.
Jersey City, NJ. 2-way cycletrack. NACTO design guidelines for 2-way cycletrack here.
Please mark your calendar for March 24 from 6pm – 7:30pm and plan to attend to let the city know that we need to put the safety of vulnerable road users first. If you are unable to attend and would like to provide feedback, please contact Project Manager, Reuben Moore, at reuben.moore@raleighnc.gov or 919-996-4171. We will share any online surveys created by the city on this post. Those interested in staying up to date on this project can register to receive more information here.
