Mayor Mitch Colvin | Mayor Mitch Colvin Official Photo
Mayor Mitch Colvin | Mayor Mitch Colvin Official Photo
(Fayetteville, N.C.) – The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) announced it will host a public input meeting on a series of recommended safety improvements Morganton Road on July 18 at Highland Presbyterian Church, 111 Highland Ave., from 5 to 7 p.m.
The proposed improvements include adding sidewalks where there are currently gaps; installing or enhancing crosswalks and pedestrian markings; improving traffic signals; and constructing a raised median. NCDOT staff and consultants will be on hand to discuss the recommendations and answer questions.
The recommendations are the culmination of a year-long study involving several NCDOT planning and traffic divisions, as well as stakeholder input from the City of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The study focused on more than six miles of the Morganton Road corridor from Dobbin Avenue in Haymount to 500 feet west of Reilly Road.
Residents can also submit comments via email at Morganton-Road-Fayetteville@PublicInput.com or by phone at 984-205-6615; enter project code 2372 to leave a message. The deadline for accepting comments is Aug. 2.
This departmental public input webpage summarizes the recommendations and offers an alternative method to digitally submit comments.
Corridor Details
The corridor carries between 18,000 and 35,000 vehicles a day, and its crash rate of 544 collisions per 100 million vehicle miles traveled exceeds the statewide average of 430 for a similar five-lane road. Additionally, there were 33 crashes involving pedestrians or bicyclists on this corridor from 2011-2021.
Among the changes being contemplated are replacing the corridor's open center turn lane with a raised median to improve safety and traffic flow. Known as a reduced conflict intersection, the design decreases by more than half the potential places where a collision can occur. The department's reduced conflict intersection webpage explains this design and its benefits.
The department has used this innovative design to install raised medians on other congested Fayetteville corridors, such as Owen Drive, Bragg Boulevard and Ramsey Street. The department plans to provide the same treatment for much of Raeford Road.
The recommendations are only preliminary, but they are an important step before any of the proposed improvements can compete for future funding.
Original source can be found here
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