Franklin Street’s sidewalk extension project is expected to stay as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to stir up health concerns and affect local businesses.
Back in July, the Town of Chapel Hill began constructing its sidewalk extension project on Franklin Street. Since then, one lane of the busy downtown street has been closed to motorists to allow pedestrians more space to physically distance.
The extension was only expected to remain in place until September, but now Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger said it might become a permanent fixture downtown.
In addition to creating more socially distanced walking areas, the sidewalk extension was adopted so restaurants and businesses could have more space to move operations outdoors – to limit indoor density and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Because of its success, Hemminger said the town is ready to expand the project.
“We’re also looking at five other places to do this in our community,” Hemminger said. “We have a survey online. We’d love people to take a look at those other recommendations and see what they would vote for.”
Some restaurants like Four Corners have used the sidewalk extension to build makeshift patios outside to accommodate more patrons. Under Phase 3, a restaurant’s indoor and outdoor seating can only accommodate 50 percent of the restaurant’s original occupancy maximum.
Hemminger said the extension has allowed for residents and visitors to better support local businesses and move more freely about downtown.
“People are really using that area downtown to just walk about, be there, bicycle, to wander and we think it’s worked well,” Hemminger said.
While the sidewalk extension will continue for now, Hemminger said the project will continue to be assessed as we move into the New Year.
“There’s not been as much of an issue for traffic because things are still closed so we’ll see if that changes when the university comes back together in January – but for now we’d like to leave it up as long as possible,” Hemminger said.
For more information on Chapel Hill’s sidewalk extension project, click here.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.
