Raleigh seeks input on 4-lane plan for Six Forks Road

The city wants residents to weigh in on a plan to redesign Six Forks Road near North Hills.

Raleigh staff will host a public meeting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the First Citizens Center at 4300 Six Forks. They hope to gather feedback on a plan to transform 2.3 miles of Six Forks into a four-lane road with a median and bike path.

Part of the corridor already has four lanes, but the plan calls for widening them, said Carter Pettibone, senior urban designer for the city.

“Generally, I think we’re looking at wider travel lanes and trying to make it more consistent throughout the corridor,” Pettibone said.

Six Forks, which carries about 50,000 vehicles per day, has a crash rate that’s two times higher than the state average for similar-sized roads.

Raleigh doesn’t have a timeline for starting the project, which it has been working on for years.

A year ago, the City Council balked at a $44 million plan that would have expanded Six Forks to six lanes from Lynn Road to the Interstate 440 Beltline. City staff held several public meetings before producing the six-lane plan.

Some council members said they didn’t want to encourage more vehicular traffic by widening the road. Others suggested using the fifth and sixth lanes exclusively for buses.

Councilman David Cox recommended the four-lane option. Councilman Bonner Gaylor, who represents the Midtown area, said he wants to hear from residents before endorsing a plan.

“I will look for whichever plan best deals with traffic, the number one issue identified by our citywide community survey,” Gaylord said, referring to a survey recently completed by about 1,200 residents.

This story was originally published March 20, 2017 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Raleigh seeks input on 4-lane plan for Six Forks Road."