The Carrboro Town Council recently held a public hearing to discuss the latest updates for the South Greensboro Street Sidewalk project. The proposed designs for the project span roughly from Public Works to Carr Street.
The Carrboro Town Council has received a lot of feedback on the South Greensboro Street Sidewalk project over the past several years since its approval.
An early debate, according to Carrboro Mayor Lydia Lavelle, was on which side of the street the sidewalk would be constructed.
“It became clear pretty early on that it was going to be on the west side which is the side where there is currently a dirt path already so you know that people use that side,” Lavelle said.
The mayor said this pathway gives access to Old Pittsboro Road, the Rocky Brook Mobile Home Park, and other apartments in the area.
The new sidewalk path is set to be at least 5 feet wide. Some sections of the sidewalk, which would not impact residential property, will have a grass strip between the path and curb.
The June 22 Carrboro Town Council meeting included information about where potential crosswalks along the path may lie. Town staff said the current proposed crossings include at the NC-54 onramps, across Old Pittsboro Road at the roundabout, and across Old Pittsboro Road at the northern end of the street.
In addition, Lavelle told 97.9 The Hill the town is examining other crosswalks to make it more convenient and safe for pedestrians to cross mid-street.
“It’s not absolutely ideal what works best,” Lavelle said. “We did have some discussion about the fact that people go up and down that part of [South] Greensboro Street really fast.”
The town council asked the project team to check with the State Department of Transportation to determine if it could be possible for a mid-street crossing on South Greensboro Street.
In addition to the new sidewalk, the project team requested NCDOT to narrow the lanes on South Greensboro Street under NC-54 to accommodate a bike lane. This would allow bicyclists access to the Roberson bike trail and Old Pittsboro Road to continue into downtown.
The designs for the South Greensboro Street Sidewalk project are in a 65 percent design status according to town staff. The project team said they will accept comments on this design through August.
Final plans for the South Greensboro Street Sidewalk project are expected to be submitted in April 2022 with construction set to begin in Summer 2022.
Lead Photo via Town of Carrboro
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