INC NEWS - Fw: [TrinityPark] Re: How do we solve the Duke/Gregson problem?

[Mike - Hotmail]

Several years ago INC was instrumental in coordinating and orchestrating an 'Alternative for the Eno Loop'.

It was a long and drawn out process which included not only the creation of something called the Northern Durham Parkway but also an endorsement in building the EAST END CONNECTOR  that had been on the books for over 20 years.

Recently discussions in several of the neighborhoods up and down Gregson and Duke have taken place that might necessitate a revisitation of those transportation and road discussions in Durham at INC.

mike



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Kevin Davis 
To: Jdobbinsjd at aol.com 
Cc: adam.j.dickinson at gmail.com ; TrinityPark at yahoogroups.com 
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 11:12 AM
Subject: Re: [TrinityPark] Re: How do we solve the Duke/Gregson problem?


Debbie,

I think you and Adam both make good points.  From my perspective, I am less interested in which solution is chosen in re paint, signs, street direction... than that _some_ effective solution is selected.  I know I don't expect for some consensus over the "right answer" to come from listserv discussions alone. 

It sounds like this has been an uphill battle from day one, and it is terrible that a tragedy brings this to front of mind, but that may just be human nature.  I know it certainly brought things into stark relief for me. 

I would note that city leadership, led by the council, was very responsive with making a change at Broad/Perry, despite NC DOT objections, after the pedestrian accident this fall.  I hope we face this same positive environment for response from the city than in the past when this is brought up anew. 

-- Kevin




On 1/16/07, Jdobbinsjd at aol.com <Jdobbinsjd at aol.com > wrote:
  We have this discussion everytime a tragedy on Gregson or Duke Streets 
  occur. We have been having this discussion for at least 15 years that I 
  know of. All of our efforts to make changes in the situation on these 
  streets have never come to any type of fruition. The debate on 2-way 
  traffic on our current one way streets often ends in some fairly nasty 
  exchanges. Perhaps this time, something can happen. Remember change 
  begins at home and if even the residents of our neighborhood choose to 
  ignore speed limits, stop signs etc., how can we expect those just 
  passing through to respect the rules and show the courtesy to our 
  neighborhood and to pedestrians that our neighbors often cannot be 
  bothered with. Why does it always take a horrific incident to again 
  re-open this line of discussion?

  Debbie
  Monmouth Ave.



  -----Original Message-----
  From: adam.j.dickinson at gmail.com
  To: TrinityPark at yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 9:29 AM
  Subject: [TrinityPark] Re: How do we solve the Duke/Gregson problem?

  Let me start off by saying that this is an incredible tragedy. It
  could have been any one of us either on the street or behind the wheel
  of that car. Even the most conscientious among us have gone 40 mph
  plus on Duke or Gregson. At that speed 85% of car-pedestrian
  accidents are fatal. The conditions on those streets encourage
  highway rates of speed in a residential neighborhood. While any of us
  would have hopefully stopped after such an accident, the damage would
  have already been done.

  The easiest way to slow people down without adding speed bumps that
  will delay emergency response vehicles and jar everyone's bones is to
  change these two streets (back?) to 2-way, and allow parking on both
  sides in as many zones as possible. Where possible, reducing the
  width of lanes will also help. The whole idea is to reduce the speed
  at which drivers feel safe traveling through the creation of "side
  friction".

  It may appear counter-intuitive, but two two-way streets actually have
  more vehicular capacity than two-one way streets, even though traffic
  moves more slowly (it has to do with, among other things, the
  following distance at higher speeds). I'll find references and post
  them under a new thread.

  The old-school traffic engineers at NC DOT are only concerned with
  moving vehicles, but there is a sea-change happening in the traffic
  engineering world due to a body of knowledge proving that modern
  "safer" streets for cars (meaning straighter, wider lanes, with large
  fields of view) are actually much less safe due to the higher speeds
  they encourage, both for motorists and especially pedestrians.

  Adam Dickinson
  Watts Street

  --- In TrinityPark at yahoogroups.com, "Kevin Davis" <ksdavis at ...> wrote:
  >
  > I read the posts on the listserv about the hit-and-run on Duke
  Street before
  > I had time to turn on the TV. My wife and I were horrified to hear
  of this
  > poor woman's death.
  >
  > Just last night, we walked (via sidewalk) from our house on the
  eastern side
  > of Duke St. to Northgate Mall to get some ice cream. The hardest
  part of
  > the whole walk is crossing two lanes of northbound traffic to get to 
  the
  > western side of Duke St. It seems that since the traffic signals
  downtown
  > had their timing updated, traffic just flies up Duke Street at
  increasingly
  > unsafe speeds.
  >
  > We've only been in the neighborhood a couple of years but had
  researched the
  > traffic issue and past traffic calming efforts before moving here.
  We love
  > our house, the neighborhood and the beauty of Duke Street, but 
  something
  > needs to be done about the traffic.
  >
  > If I understand correctly, NC DOT was unwilling to lower the speed
  limit and
  > add traffic calming on Duke and Gregson, and the only real recourse
  was to
  > have the city assume maintenance of the roads, at which point lower
  speeds
  > and traffic calming would be possible. Is this correct?
  (Ironically... our
  > Duke Park neighbors have faced some similar stonewalling from NC DOT
  on the
  > dangers of pedestrians crossing Roxboro St. to get to the park. And
  as I
  > believe Barry Ragin pointed out on another listserv, the design of 
  the
  > pedestrian crosswalks at Duke & I-85 is yet another death waiting to
  > happen.)
  >
  > There was discussion more recently about an idea that I believe 
  Alison
  > Carpenter brought back after seeing in action in Arlington, Va., for
  > intensive street-pavement markings on Duke/Gregson to slow traffic
  > visually. I believe a couple of blocks have been in "test mode." Does
  > anyone know where this stands, or who in the city is evaluating the
  impact
  > of same?
  >
  > Finally, I don't think there's any "real" solution until the East End
  > Connector gets built. I'm thrilled it's on the TIP plan and is moving
  > forward, but I was concerned by a couple of the quotes in the recent
  > Herald-Sun article. Are there any showstopper issues to be
  concerned about
  > with the EEC? (NC DOT is holding a public information session on
  Jan. 30 --
  > I would like to suggest that we try to turn out and make sure our
  voices as
  > residents are heard about the Connector.)
  >
  > In a way, I feel terrible writing about such prosaic concerns as 
  traffic
  > calming and bypasses on a morning when a life was lost up the
  street. But I
  > fear that if we don't speak out now, and loudly, it's just a matter
  of time
  > until this happens to somebody else.
  >
  > -- Kevin Davis
  > 1404 N. Duke
  >
  > --
  > Kevin Davis
  > ksdavis at ...
  > kevin_davis at ...
  >


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-- 
Kevin Davis
ksdavis at gmail.com
kevin_davis at post.harvard.edu 

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