ALSTON AVE WIDENING

I went to the public hearing last night for the planned widening of Alston Avenue (NC 55) through downtown. (From the Durham Freeway to Holloway). Public presence at the informal and formal sessions was scant - approximately 10 citizens. I spoke, as did Tom Davis of the The Community Builders, which is the lead organization on the HOPE VI project.

Key aspects of the project as currently designed:
1) Project is to be widened to 4 through lanes from NC147 to Holloway (NC98).

2) Left through lane 11 feet.

3) Right lane 14 ft (to accommodate bicylcists) but not striped for bikes.

4) Intersections may be as wide as 6 lanes due to dedicated turn lanes with wide turning radii.

5) Grass 16 ft. median.

6) 5 ft sidewalks with 4 ft grass planting strip (between sidewalk and road).

7) One way streets in the Golden Belt Historic District, creation of a cul-de-sac at the current intersection of Wall and Alston and another at Eva and Alston.

Key points that I advocated for, as guided by the institute for transportation Engineers Context-Sensitive design manual:

1) Sidewalks should be a minimum of 6 feet, preferably 8 ft in width. 5 ft is the absolute minimum for non-commercial areas, and does not allow comfortable side-by-side passage of pedestrians.

2) Left lane should be no wider than 10 feet, the minimum design recommendation by ITE. Wider lanes increase capacity minimally, and the right lane is appropriately wide to accommodate trucks and buses.

3) Dedicated right turn lanes are superfluous and have a major adverse impact on pedestrians at intersections, particularly when combined with wide turning radii (which allow cars to make right turns at higher speeds). Consolidate right turn lanes with right through lanes.

4) Reduce curb radii, as noted above.

5) Allow adequate planting strip and median width to allow planting of minimum 4 inch diameter street trees. Allocate necessary funds from the $175,000 landscaping budget to plant these trees. Street trees will provide a functional pedestrian buffer (which grass does not, particularly at less-than the recommended 6 ft width).

6) Cul-de-sacs are not recommended urban design and should be eliminated at Eva and Wall.

7) Stripe bike lane - a 14 ft unstriped width will increase effective traffic speeds, making biking inherently less safe.

I've scanned in some of the intersections so you can see the plan.

Current right-of-way is in black, proposed in red. Notice the very wide turning radius at the northwest corner of Main and Alston - 4 lanes southbound traffic at this intersection.

Alston through the Golden Belt National Register Historic District. The DOT requirement to avoid damaging properties has constrained the widening more in this section, as you can tell by the tighter curves. DOT has therefore made all of these streets one-way, and closed Wall Street on the East side (see red line/yellow Right-of-Way on Wall). Eastway elementary is at the northeast corner.

From Eastway to project end at Holloway. Notice the size of the intersections at Holloway and Liberty - very large turning radii with dedicated right turn lanes. Picture the speed of the cars whipping around these curves as people walk from the neighborhood on the west side of Alston to the park, school, etc. Notice the cul-de-sac on the west side of Alston at Eva.

If you want to comment on the project, the comment period is still open. Please email both:

Kimberly Hinton
khinton@dot.state.nc.us

and

Mark Ahrendsen
mark.ahrendsen@durhamnc.gov

with your comments. If you agree with my recommendations above, feel free to copy them verbatim.