What could town control mean for Franklin Street? Chapel Hill weighs alternatives.
The Chapel Hill Town Council spent an hour Wednesday night talking about the costs and benefits of taking over downtown Franklin Street.
The N.C. Department of Transportation controls and maintains the iconic street, the western end of which will be repaved and restriped this summer, from Columbia Street to Merritt Mill Road.
On Wednesday, council members talked about taking control from Raleigh Road to Merritt Mill Road, leaving the state in control from Raleigh Road toward Interstate 40.
They also reviewed two options for restriping West Franklin Street to add bike lanes and reduce the travel lanes. One option would put bike lanes between the travel lanes and parked cars; the other would put bike lanes between the parked cars and the curb.
Cyclists want bike lanes next to the curb, but the town would have to work to keep cars from parking in them, Council member Amy Ryan said. That option also could create more conflicts between cars and bikes at driveways and intersections, said Bergen Watterson, the town’s transportation planning manager.
The town is expected to give NCDOT a new design for pavement markings on West Franklin Street by March and could pay up to $250,000 for the changes, which include a redesigned median at Merritt Mill Road and traffic signal adjustments, staff said.
The council could wait until that work is completed to take control of Franklin Street, or it could halt the pending project and instead talk with NCDOT about making other improvements before turning over control to the town.
Controlling Franklin Street’s future
Town staff and elected officials have expressed frustration that lack of control over the town’s main thoroughfare stymies enlivening downtown and creating a better bike and pedestrian experience.
The state has a different view of Franklin Street that can be challenging, said Sarah Poulton, the town’s special projects manager.
“The town really sees Franklin Street and downtown as a destination,” Poulton said. “We want people to come to downtown, whereas DOT’s philosophy around spaces is to get people, mostly in single-occupancy vehicles, from point to point.”
With additional authority, the town could exert influence beyond the sidewalks, experimenting with “parklets” in on-street parking spaces, colorful crosswalks and other innovative ideas. It also could fix an aging stormwater system that often is overwhelmed by heavy storms and is unlikely to be on NCDOT’s agenda.
While council members expressed excitement about the possibilities, newcomer Adam Searing, one of three new members elected in November, took a more practical tone, questioning the timing and expense of the move.
“I do worry about taking over the maintenance ... when we have millions of maintenance that we’ve deferred in our park system and elsewhere. I think it’s something we really need to consider,” Searing said. “It’s a big expense, and if we can’t maintain the stuff we have now, taking on more maintenance — I believe I’d think twice about that.”
Expanding sidewalks, other ideas
NCDOT has been open to some town ideas, collaborating in 2020, for instance, to expand the downtown sidewalks into Franklin Street and reducing the travel lanes to one in each direction.
The change created more outdoor dining space for restaurants struggling under COVID-19 restrictions on indoor occupancy and gave pedestrians and bikes more room to roam. The right travel lanes in both directions were dedicated to parking and takeout pickup spots.
Soon, however, the town will remove the walkways on East Franklin Street to address accessibility and logistic issues, including future detours around pending East Rosemary Street construction, Town Manager Maurice Jones told the council in December.
West Franklin Street businesses could keep their expanded dining areas, at least until May and maybe longer.
To make the expanded walkways on West Franklin Street more permanent, the town would have to reconstruct the street to remove a curve in the pavement that makes the area less accessible to people with disabilities, staff said.
Another proposed option — building wider sidewalks with raised decking boards, as other cities have done — would be too expensive and also wouldn’t leave room for bike lanes, Poulton said.
She noted that the cost of reconstructing the street, assessing its geotechnical condition and drainage system, and making critical stormwater upgrades throughout downtown has been estimated at roughly $2.7 million. The town’s annual cost for maintaining streets, traffic signals, pavement markings and stormwater facilities could be about $190,400, she said.
Council member Jessica Anderson voiced support for waiting to take over Franklin Street after NCDOT finishes rerepaving it. Council member Michael Parker agreed, suggesting the town also negotiate for state money to help pay the first five years of maintenance.
The town will save the state money in the long run by taking control, he said.
“I think we do have somewhat of a negotiating position here, and maybe we can’t make it happen, but certainly, I wouldn’t throw up my hands and say, nope,” Parker said.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 10:34 AM with the headline "What could town control mean for Franklin Street? Chapel Hill weighs alternatives.."
