by Heidi Reid | Feb 22, 2024 | Buzz, February 2024
Six Forks Road is getting a face-lift.
If you’ve ever been stuck in traffic on Six Forks Road at 5pm on a weekday, celebration is in order. After years of planning and speculation, Raleigh City Council voted unanimously Feb. 20 to widen the stretch between Rowan Street and Millbrook Road.
The current four-lane road will be expanded to six lanes, with the addition of a median and a combined walking and biking path. The initial project—the first transportation bond for which was approved in 2013—was slated to update a 2-mile span of Six Forks, but the approved plan was slashed by ~50% to keep within the city’s budget.
The future design of the improvement plan is a boon for more than just motorists, as pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and emergency vehicles will all reap the benefits. Rather than having separate sidewalks and bike paths as initially planned, the updated plan opts for a multiuse path to accommodate both. To wit, the path will be situated 8 feet from the road to ensure the safety of pedestrians and bikers while also leaving space for utility poles and trees.
Adapted due to rising costs, the project has already spent $3.8 million toward planning and design, with a total price tag clocking in at $56.1 million. Now that the next phase is in motion, Raleighites with businesses, churches and homes lining Six Forks have answers as to what might happen to their properties after years of uncertainty.
That said, Midtown traffic may get worse before it gets better. The project is scheduled to begin construction in late 2025 after obtaining approval from the NC Department of Transportation and will take two years to complete. Until then, it may be time to opt for an alternative route.
by Lauren Kruchten | Aug 29, 2023 | Buzz, September 2023
City of Raleigh will implement asphalt art initiative in September to help save lives.
July 15, 2022, will be a day Susan Woodson will never forget. The local artist and wife of NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson was walking in Downtown Raleigh to meet with her trainer that morning when a truck turned and hit her at the intersection of Hargett and Salisbury streets, dragging her several feet before stopping directly on top of her leg.
“The minute he hit me, it all went slow motion and cartoonish,” she recalls. “Fortunately—or unfortunately, I don’t know which—I never passed out. I was in terrible pain, but for some reason, I just kept myself awake through the whole thing.”
Following her horrific accident, which resulted in almost a year of recovery, Woodson discovered Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Asphalt Art Initiative—which incorporates art at intersections, crosswalks, plazas, sidewalks, and even traffic barriers and underpasses in an effort to improve street safety while revitalizing public spaces—and thought, “That has to happen here.” The initiative now spans the U.S. and Europe, including a mural and colorful crosswalks at a Durham intersection near an elementary school.
Seeing its success, Woodson approached the City of Raleigh to implement asphalt art here and learned the Raleigh Transportation Department had already been considering it for some time. “I am a huge proponent that public art is a part of our infrastructure and a part of our creative problem-solving within the city and the community,” says City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department Public Art Director Kelly McChesney.
Woodson’s accident escalated the conversation, and now the project is anticipated to complete in mid- to late-September. Local artist Jermaine “JP” Powell was selected to design the asphalt art at the same cross street where Woodson was hit, with a second still-tbd location under consideration for the pilot project.
“The whole idea is to create art so, as [vehicles] approach, they realize something’s on the road and slow down. … It’s something to look at and stop you from getting in a hurry,” says Woodson, who, following her accident, heard of many people suffering from similar incidents, especially in Downtown. “It has been very successful in other cities.”
In fact, according to Bloomberg’s 2022 Asphalt Art Safety Study, asphalt art projects throughout the U.S. resulted in a 50% drop in traffic crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists and a 27% increase in drivers yielding to pedestrians with the right-of-way.
“I am hoping this brings more of a visual awareness to those turn lanes and the pedestrian sight lines, and provides more of a comfortable experience for the pedestrians,” says McChesney. “And I think by having something very bright and colorful that will make sure people have to pay attention.”
by 0-UserSubmitted | May 30, 2023 | Buzz, June 2023
The views expressed in this rant are those of the author and do not purport or reflect the opinions of Raleigh Magazine.
Stop running red lights. Please. Before it gets any worse. … It seems during the dark days of the pandemic—with fewer people on the road—everyone got more gutsy. Now, it’s as if it’s the rule rather than the exception to run a red light—like it doesn’t mean stop anymore, but, instead, HURRY UP! YOU CAN MAKE IT!
You see, when you run a red light, you aren’t just “running a red light.” You’re flying through that light at a high speed. Just think of a speeding projectile colliding with a slow moving or stationary object. Impact is quite forceful. I seem to remember a formula from high school physics—force equals mass times acceleration. Do you?
It’s no wonder red light cameras have been installed at many busy intersections. Twenty years ago or less, people could wait. If you’re in that much of a hurry, I’m sorry. What’s the rush? Is your boss such a jerk that you’re worried about being late to work? Is the day care or the ABC store getting ready to close? Think how much more time you’ll spend at that intersection after the crash. And in the hospital recovering—if you survive. Think, think, think—and just press the brake pedal. It’s the one to the left of the accelerator.
I’m waiting for the day when I witness a huge crash because someone ran a red light that I just slowed down for and stopped. I see it happening in my mind. I hear the sound of metal on metal. I smell the burn of tire tracks. I see blood on the pavement. I feel tears dripping down my cheeks. I beg of you, just wait for the light to turn green.
It’s as if drivers think by hurrying through the already red light, it will somehow not matter that other drivers have a green light. I now find myself waiting a few moments before proceeding through an intersection in case some crazy lawless lunatic with no regard for their fellow humans comes barreling through. It’s not like you’re going to save that much time. You’ll probably get stopped at the next intersection anyway.
Instead, chill out and enjoy your time behind the wheel. Listen to some music or a podcast. Talk to your kids. Practice conjugating irregular Latin verbs. Just stay off your phone. But, that’s another rant.
—A friend who cares
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