Group pushes for bike lanes on Hillsborough

RALEIGH -- ******

CORRECTION

An article in Monday's Triangle & Co. section stated incorrectly that Raleigh's Hillsborough Street turns into Chapel Hill Road west of the Beltline. Hillsborough Street continues west and becomes East Chatham Street in Cary.

****** Some N.C. State University students, residents who live near campus and nearby business owners are fighting to add bicycle lanes to Hillsborough Street's reconstruction, a change that city officials say would further complicate the already delayed and complex project.

A group of about 45 biking advocates recently proposed the bike lanes to the city's new Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission.

The commission then asked the City Council to re-open public discussion, and the council referred the request to one of its committees at its Nov. 3 meeting.

The current construction plan, drafted 10 years ago, doesn't designate space for biking. But the city's Comprehensive Plan, a 20-year planning guide approved earlier this year, calls for wide lanes on Hillsborough Street that cyclists and motorists would share, marked with shared-use arrows and pictures of a bicycle.

But the city hasn't budgeted any money or set a time table for the "sharrows."

Julie Woosley, chairwoman of the new commission, said the city probably would add the "sharrows" shortly after construction is complete, scheduled for August.

"It takes time to do those things, but the construction won't be complete until next year anyway," she said.

Bicycling advocates disagree about what kind of space the new Hillsborough Street design should include for cyclists.

Divided on sharing

Woosley and city staffers said sharrows would make it easier for cyclists to cut across the street when turning, and to keep traffic flowing in one direction.

Members of the group that petitioned the commission say they prefer clearly marked bike-exclusive lanes to sharrows. But they say adding anything to the current construction plans would be better than waiting for the city to implement the changes outlined in the Comprehensive Plan.

"To have no bike facilities in front of North Carolina's largest university campus, in the Capital City, would be just another proof that Raleigh is behind the times," said Will Alphin, owner of a home design and construction company. "A lot has changed in the last 10 years since the plans started."

Alphin and the group say they prefer a bike lane because it's safer for amateur cyclists - many of whom would likely use the lane because Hillsborough Street runs in front of N.C. State.

"We prefer the lane but don't want to see this thing die because people are arguing," he said.

City staffers say they're hesitant to change the existing plans, since they were debated and discussed extensively in public hearings.

"It has already had several rounds of public input and 10 years of project development and public involvement," said Eric Lamb, manager of the Transportation Services Division of the city's Public Works Department. "The bicycle lane [proposal] has only seriously been heard in the last six months."

There also might not be enough room for a bicycle-only lane, Lamb said. And adding lanes could result in cyclists hitting parked cars when people open their doors.

The project's details

The Hillsborough Street project reduces a commercial stretch of the road to two lanes and adds two roundabouts, a median and additional parking. The project was proposed 10 years ago to reduce pedestrian accidents on the street, which runs from downtown Raleigh past the N.C. State campus. It passes the N.C. State Fairgrounds and turns into Chapel Hill Road in West Raleigh.

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee formed in April. It advises the City Council "on matters related to walking and cycling in the Capital City" and promotes "cycling and walking as viable and safe transportation alternatives," the city says.