New Bike/Ped Path Under Construction

The new paved bike/ped path from Wilson Park to Estes Drive Extension (where the wide shoulders on Estes begin/end) is now under construction! We're hoping to have ti open and ready for riders early in 2013! This isn't a perfect solution, but it provides a safer route between the end of the wide shoulders on Estes Ext and N Greensboro Street - especially useful for those of you who live north of the Estes/Greensboro intersection and only slightly out of the way for the rest of us. Unfortunately, Estes Park Apartments is blocking us from making similar improvements between Estes Park Apts and the end of Pleasant Drive. :(

A Quick Update

A while back, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen decided to pursue a three prong startegy:

1. We are moving forward with the design and implementation of the greenway parallel to Estes Drive and connecting from opposite the driveway of Estes Park Apartments up the (currently) unpaved but cleared sewer right-of-way up to Wilson Park. Cyclists and pedestrians could continue along Williams Street one block to the bikelanes of Greensboro Street. The proposal includes an on-demand pedestrian crossing traffic light at Estes Park Apartments.

2. Because the above solution does not solve transportation problems for some of the neighborhoods in the area, the BOA also voted to pursue creating bike/ped connections from Estes Park Apartments to Pleasant Drive and Hillcrest Avenue. The exact connections haven't been settled on, but staff is supposed to bring more specific proposals before the BOA for public input sometime later this year or perhaps in early 2011.

3. Proper bikelanes and sidewalks directly on Estes Drive will have to wait for a grander NCDOT financed revision of Estes Drive - a prospect that is unfortunately hard to put a date on, but suffice it to say years and years away.

Options for Estes

So the Carrboro Board of Aldermen (BOA) met about this topic last night. A couple of new and important details emerged from the discussion:

1. The remaining projects that are proposed to be paid for with bond money are:

Shelton St Sidewalk: $215,000
Davie Rd Sidewalk: $650,000
Pine St Sidewalk: $625,000

2. Unfunded project:

Estes Sidewalk: $1,200,000

3. Other sidewalks are currently scheduled but are being funded with state and federal grant moneys that cannot easily be redirected to other projects (Ashe St, Bim St and Elm St sidewalks all fall in this category).

4. The Wilson Park Multi-use Path is fully funded and would begin (ie design phase) in 2010-11.

5. The Wilson Park Multi-use Path is now proposed to extend parallel to Estes to connect to Phase 1A of the Bolin Creek Greenway and that would happen as a part of the BC Greenway construction in more like 2011-12. The extended connection between these two would create a bike/ped only corridor that immediately parallels Estes Dr Ext for about 1/4 mile from Bolin Creek to a place opposite the entrance to Estes Park Apartments. The proposal includes a pedestrian-only, push-button-activated traffic light and crosswalk at the entrance to Estes Park Apartments.

So it appears that we can only afford the Estes sidewalk if we shelve both Pine Street and Davie Road - and personally, I think the Davie Road sidewalk project is also very important. Consequently last night I asked the Town staff to report back to the Board of Aldermen about other alternatives such as:

A) formalizing the bike/ped connection from Pleasant to Estes Park Apartments, and

B) building the Estes sidewalk, but only from Hillcrest Ave to North Greensboro Street.

The Board of Aldermen will then evaluate whether to reprogram some of the money listed under #1 above to pay for any improvements in the Estes area beyond the Wilson Park Multi-use Path (such as A and/or B above).

Also, the BOA will soon see a more detailed presentation on phase 1A of the Bolin creek Greenway/Wilson Park Multi-use Path.

Here's a rough sketch of these various proposed paths:

Past Estes discussions on Orange Politics

For past discussions about Estes, see:

http://www.orangepolitics.org/tags/estes-drive

Sidewalks for Estes Drive Extension

A few years ago, the voters of Carrboro approved a $4 Million bond issue to build sidewalks in various locations around Carrboro. One of the projects on the list was a sidewalk on the south side of Estes Drive Extension from the railroad tracks to North Greensboro Street.

The sidewalk bond money has not gone as far as people had hoped. Considerably more engineering, drainage and utility relocation costs have cropped up and not all of the original list of sidewalks are going to be able to built with the money. Also, in the intervening years, the Town annexed neighborhoods on the west side of Rogers Road and it became apparent that Rogers Road was a place that needed a sidewalk, but had not been on the list before because it was not within town limits.

The latest list of sidewalks that are proposed to be built with the remaining sidewalk bond money does not include Estes Drive Extenstion. But the list does include sidewalks on Shelton Street, Pine Street, Ashe Street, Bim Street, Rogers Road and a few others. The Bim and Ashe Street projects are funded mostly from the federal Economic Stimulus legislation and that money apparently cannot be re-programmed.

Some folks have pointed out that there is an informal pedestrian path from Estes Park apartments connecting to Pleasant Street, which we are supposed to think is a sufficient connection from the Estes area to downtown, but I think that connection does not serve the public well:

That is the furniture dumpster for Estes Park Apts. on the right. The rough dirt path goes through a short stretch of woods and is not readily patrolled by police as it stands now. Also, that connection does little good for anyone else. Tree Top and other neighborhoods need a sidewalk on Estes Drive.

Also, the informal path at the end of Pleasant does little or nothing for those of us who live off Greensboro Street and would like to be able to walk safely to Chapel Hill. Along Estes is our connection to Village West, Umstead Park and the future alignment of the Bolin Creek Greenway. Without a good and permanent pedestrian connection to Greensboro Street, walkers are cut off.

I think the Board of Aldermen should re-evaluate the various sidewalk projects and find a way to fund the Estes Drive Extension sidewalk. If you think I am right about that, then please email the Carrboro Town Clerk swilliamson@ci.carrboro.nc.us and she will forward your message to the members of the Board of Aldermen.

Bikelanes for Estes Drive Extension

In addition to the sidewalk problem on Estes Drive Extension, we have a serious bikelane problem as well. In an effort to make the situation safer in the short term, I got the Chapel Hill Town Council, the Carrboro Board of Aldermen and the NC Dept of Transportation to co-operate on the paving of a wide should on each side of Estes Drive Extenstion a few years ago.

Only problem is that there is very little public right of way for the last segment of Estes between Estes Park Apts. and N. Greensboro Street. Here's an aerial photo with the right of way shown in red:



As you can see, the southern end of the road is much narrower. And unfortunately many of the houses are already close to the street.

Consequently, we are proposing to build a bike path from Estes Drive Extension (opposite Estes Park Apts.) up through Wilson Park to Williams Street so that cyclists can skip the narrowest and most dangerous section of Estes Drive Extension. This path is commonly known as the proposed Wilson Park Multi-use Path. Here's approximately what that path would like (in blue):



The Multi-use Path is currently shown on the Capital Improvements Plan as being funded jointly by the Town and the Feds. Construction of the path would happen several years from now, however.