Chapel Hill Seeks Ownership of Franklin Street To Make Expanded Sidewalks Permanent

Although Franklin Street is the centerpiece of downtown Chapel Hill, the local government doesn’t control the road. That power falls to the state department of transportation. A recent petition submitted to the Town of Chapel Hill is looking to change that.

Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger and the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership submitted a petition asking the town to explore taking over the downtown portion of Franklin Street.

The town is currently seeking ownership of the portion of the road spanning from Henderson Street to Merritt Mill Road. The North Carolina Department of Transportation would remain in control of the section of Franklin Street from Henderson through Interstate-40.

If the town does take control, it would be responsible for the costs of repaving and repairs. Currently, the town must ask the NCDOT for approval to do things like close the street temporarily, expand sidewalk dining and install temporary art or permanent markers on the sidewalks.

For the past year, Franklin Street has looked a little different and has inspired the town to make these changes permanent. In July 2020, the Town of Chapel Hill expanded sidewalks by closing one lane of the street to traffic to benefit local businesses. Dining on the extended sidewalks allowed for restaurants to expand their capacity during COVID-19 restrictions.

Matt Gladdek, the executive director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, spoke at Wednesday’s Chapel Hill Town Council meeting. He said during the past year, the town learned just how valuable those extended sidewalks are to the local economy.

“Many businesses would not still be here were if not for those expanded sidewalks,” Gladdek said. “A number of businesses have had a record summer where normally we have doldrums as students leave. In part because our residents have come out to eat and dine in beautiful spaces.”

In May, under current NCDOT rules, these restaurants would lose their sidewalk space unless the town takes over control. Gladdek said this has become the number-one priority of businesses on Franklin Street.

“We want to make sure that, as the pandemic drags on and as our downtown is finally having a resurgence, we don’t lose these outdoor dining spaces,” Gladdek said.

Additionally, Gladdek said these changes could also allow for the sidewalks to provide adequate ADA accessible spaces for people who need it.

Hemminger said the Town of Chapel Hill has started conversations with the NCDOT, which is open to the idea.

“That would give us the flexibility to stripe it and use it the way we would like to do that,” Hemminger said. “We can design our downtown for pedestrian and bike implementations and we can rearrange things the way we would like to have [them.]”

With control of the road, the town could put planters in crosswalks or “bump out” corners of intersections to increase pedestrian safety.

The Chapel Hill Community Design Commission recently reviewed the petition ahead of Wednesday’s council meeting. Susana Dancy, who chairs the group, said the commissioners unanimously voted to support the effort.

“We really think that this is a great initiative and we want to offer our full support for this exploration,” Dancy said. “We hope that its successful so that downtown and Franklin Street are able to build on the vibrancy that we saw with the sidewalk dining this summer.”

The Chapel Hill Town Council voted unanimously to receive the petition and refer it to the mayor and town manager, who will direct staff on how to proceed.

 

Featured Photo via Town of Chapel Hill

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