If you have had the opportunity to bike along West Street lately, you would’ve noticed that the corridor is evolving and changing quite a bit, with a lot of improvements planned or already in place. One highlight we wanted to share was a new underpass path that better connects neighborhoods like Five Points and those north of downtown to the city center. A few years ago the Capital Boulevard corridor had adjustments made to the ramp configuration, which provided an opportunity to add in this path under the reconstructed bridge.
The southern terminus of West Street has also had significant improvements made over the past few months, with the addition of our first bollard separated bike lanes on West and Harrington Street. There are additional phases of this bike facility planned that will connect further down into West Street to provide a connection directly to the underpass, so over time, it will play an increasingly important role to connect our northern neighborhoods into the city center.
Let’s take a closer look at the corridor to see what is there now and what is planned in the near future.
There is a reason why the City of Raleigh has designated our bike lanes on West and Harrington as the Downtown North / South Greenway Connector, since when fully implemented, it will provide an on-road greenway connection into the heart of our urban environment. For phases II and III of the connector, separated bike lanes will be added all the way from Union Station to the West Street underpass shown above. It’s exciting to think about how this stretch has the potential to provide a critical connection for our community.
Here are plans from the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study showing how this on-road stretch could be further enhanced by greenway improvements along Capital Boulevard (along Pigeon House Branch Creek).
As the corridor currently stands we are still waiting on those connections, but we do have an enhanced crossing that allows an interim solution for those on foot or bike. Although there remains room for improvements, this crossing does have a pretty significant vantage point, where you are able to see cars approaching the on-ramp from a fair distance. There are ways this crossing could be further enhanced, like adding a flashing light to the crosswalk sign (like this) or better yet, making traffic stop completely as pedestrians or people on bikes attempt to cross.
After you cross over the on-ramp, you come down the path and under the bridge, which is actually a pretty nifty little spot and one that could be greatly enhanced with some pollinator plants and very basic / natural landscaping. There is also a location under the bridge that could be beautified with a mural and another spot as you come back up that would be perfect for some picnic tables. One thing that will consistently make this crossing safer is if cars begin to understand and anticipate that they will see people here. Those that travel the corridor daily will know to slow down and look for people to be entering the space, which will provide critical traffic calming.
In 2012 the City of Raleigh undertook a planning process for this stretch prior to the replacement of the Capital Boulevard bridges to consider connectivity in our community. At one point a pedestrian bridge was proposed, and that would still be a good and important goal for connectivity if we want corridors like this to feel all ages and abilities. More information on that report can be referenced here.
What changes would make you feel safer or more welcome using this as a connector to get to Five Points, or north of town (or the reverse into Downtown?). We’d love your feedback and thoughts! For now, this is a step in the right direction and certainly an improvement on what was there before.
Stay up-to-date on changes and improvements to this corridor by joining the Devereux Meadows Project Virtual Open House on May 6th at 7pm with Raleigh Parks and Raleigh Transportation. More information can be found here.