Hillandale Road widening project
I haven't made up my mind on this project yet, but some tidbits in Carolyn Rickard's article in the Herald Sun caught my eye.
First of all, a five lane wide road with a center-left turn lane is just as wide, if not wider, than a four lane road with a median. So if you favor that option, then stop wasting your time talking about buffers or woods. Second, take a look at Guess Rd., from Carver all the way up to Horton. Five nice smooth wide lanes for about 1.6 miles with nothing to slow you down at all. No wonder the median speed on that road is something like 47 mph. No wonder there's already been a high school student struck by a car and killed while walking to school.
People really need to get out of the mindset that they have an inherent right to make a left turn from their driveways onto roads of whatever size. If the Hillandale project goes through, of course there will be cuts in the median. I'd be willing to bet that the median gets landsaped as well to match the existing medians just north and south of I-85.
The lesson here is to be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
The $10.9 million project would widen Hillandale Road from three lanes to four and add a concrete median from north of I-85 to a little beyond Carver Street.
Businesses and residents along the road have objected, saying the median prevents customers -- and businesses -- from coming into the already struggling Loehmann's Plaza. The commissioners say the widening of the street would cut into wooded areas along parts of the road that buffer neighborhoods.
"There's a lot to think about," said Ellen Reckhow, chairwoman of the commissioners. "There's a mesh of businesses and offices, but you still have single-family homes that will be affected."
The commissioners plan to send a letter to the Transportation Department engineers, citing their concerns. They -- and some 400 residents and business owners who signed a petition on the issue -- say no median is needed. They believe the road would do just as well with five lanes, with a turn lane in the center instead of a median.
First of all, a five lane wide road with a center-left turn lane is just as wide, if not wider, than a four lane road with a median. So if you favor that option, then stop wasting your time talking about buffers or woods. Second, take a look at Guess Rd., from Carver all the way up to Horton. Five nice smooth wide lanes for about 1.6 miles with nothing to slow you down at all. No wonder the median speed on that road is something like 47 mph. No wonder there's already been a high school student struck by a car and killed while walking to school.
People really need to get out of the mindset that they have an inherent right to make a left turn from their driveways onto roads of whatever size. If the Hillandale project goes through, of course there will be cuts in the median. I'd be willing to bet that the median gets landsaped as well to match the existing medians just north and south of I-85.
The lesson here is to be careful what you wish for. You just might get it.
Labels: Durham, Traffic calming, transportation issues
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1 Comments:
Just watch - the local politicians will cave to a vocal minority and will vote to 5-lane the whole stretch, just like Guess Road and Duke Street. Why would they listen to the transportation experts and vote to build a safe road? Why have a safe road for all modes of transportation when you can have a 5-lane speedway conducive to commercial development?
The irony about the complaints is that if you look closely at the NCDOT, all of the additional road width (2 more lanes) is on the west (commercial/institutional) side of the road. The east (residential) side gets a new sidewalk right at the edge of the existing road. The east (residential) side of the street loses very little of their yards to this project.
Only at the intersection with Carver Street, where trees behind 2 ritzy Croasdaile Farm houses will be bulldozed for the wider road, is residential property effected much at all.
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Anonymous, at 11:39 PM
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