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Discussions held on traffic operations,
alternative methods of transportation
After specifically addressing long-term campus parking issues, university transportation officials have turned their attention to traffic operations and alternative methods of transportation.
The Transportation Department held a pair of public meetings on Oct. 5 and 6 to receive input on issues related to Wolfline bus services, bicycle and pedestrian accommodations and traffic management. Participants were able to ask questions, submit suggestions and make notes on the various planning maps lining the walls of the meeting rooms.
“We were looking for input, but we were also looking to educate the campus community,” said Christine Klein, communications specialist. “The more knowledge we can provide the campus community about how things work, then the better the quality of suggestions will be and, ultimately, the better the end product.”
Klein and Slade McCalip, assistant director for planning and operations, said that a number of solid suggestions were made, but many were also made that are financially unrealistic. In the end, they said, all ideas are to be measured in terms of their financial viability. Transportation officials will do that over the next month, and then hold another set of public meetings in November to present a draft plan.
McCalip said many of the suggestions made related to transit involved simply tweaking plans already being considered. In the areas of cyclist and pedestrian traffic, the suggestions called for physical changes. They most often cited the intersection of Western Boulevard and Avent Ferry Road/Morrill Drive. Transportation has been working with the City of Raleigh on those issues, and also has made a proposal to the North Carolina Department of Transportation to build a pedestrian/bicycle underpass beneath Western Boulevard.
The underpass was one of many ideas included in an overview of possible transport improvement plans presented by McCalip at the meetings. Others included re-striping southbound Morrill Drive to allow two through-lanes; implementing three-way stop signs at Dan Allen Drive and Sullivan Drive; opening the intersection of Varsity Drive and Western Boulevard to allow through traffic; and installing a new traffic signal at Dan Allen Drive and Yarborough Drive to facilitate a reverse loop for the Wolfline buses.
For a complete list of ideas in the overview, click here.
Posted October 15, 2004
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