After a controversy erupted over parking spots for local businesses or bike lanes on Rosemary Street in downtown Chapel Hill, town officials say a new striping plan has the support of all involved parties.
Town manager Roger Stancil said in a release that the new plan was endorsed “unanimously” by Rosemary Street businesses, the Downtown Partnership and members of the group Bike Chapel Hill.
“We appreciate the time and energy all invested in resolving this issue,” Stancil said.
The new plan calls for no bike lanes on either side of Rosemary Street between Henderson and Columbia streets. The road will be striped with a continuous bike lane on the north side of Rosemary Street from west of the Columbia Street intersection to Merritt Mill Road. A bike lane on the south side of Rosemary will be striped from Merritt Mill east to Roberson. That southbound bike lane will be interrupted by eight on-street parking spots and a loading zone between Roberson Street and Mitchell Lane.
The painting of crosswalks on Rosemary Street was scheduled to begin on Thursday, weather-permitting. Bike lanes and parking spots are scheduled to be painted in early January 2017.
The new pattern will be monitored and re-evaluated over the next two years, according to town officials. The metrics factored into that re-evaluation are safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, connectivity, traffic flow, public parking and productivity.
A permanent marking would then be jointly designed and implemented on Rosemary Street.
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