Did you know that NCDOT is considering removing the traffic signal at the intersection of Estes Drive and North Greensboro St in Carrboro?
There will be a drop-in meeting Monday, November 14th at from 4 to 7 pm in the Carrboro Town Hall Board Room.
Study Area for Potential Roundabout
Roundabouts have significant safety benefits as their design reduces 32 potential conflict points for cars to only 8, and 24 conflicts down to 8 as well for pedestrians- when compared to a standard 4-way intersection.
This intersection also provides a link to the Frances Shetley Greenway, so hopefully there will be an excellent bicycle interface between the two facilities. Make sure to stop by Town Hall on Nov 14th!
I hope NCDOT will then also consider extending the 20 MPH speed limit in BOTH LANES equally to the proposed round-about.
Currently, 20 MPH for southbound traffic begins just south of the driveway to the Cedar Courts apartments, but northbound traffic maintains a 20 MPH speed limit farther to the north, beyond Pleasant Drive and around the curve.
With the round-about, I see no reason for NCDOT to maintain this split in posted speeds for the north and southbound lanes. Car drivers should be going slow approaching and leaving the round-about. No need to speed up.
Sign it and control it for 20 MPH from the proposed round-about, through the intersection with Main Street, on down past the intersection with Old Pittsboro to the current 35 MPH sign a few feet past the last crest before going down the hill to NC-54.
Ray
While they’re changing, maybe we can petition for one of those Dutch intersections? Not as applicable to a three-way intersection, especially when they’re trying to get bikers off of Estes anyway, but still I dream of seeing this one day in Carrboro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlApbxLz6pA
I just received some email feedback stating: “Wow! That would certainly keep cars moving but would leave pedestrians stranded!”
Not so! While getting the design right matters a lot, this Dutch roundabout time-lapse video shows all sorts of users navigate the roundabout with ease. Click on the “gear” button near the bottom right of the video to play it at 0.25 speed. There are crossings for both people walking and people on bikes that cars must slow down to pass through because they are the narrow entry/exit points for the roundabout.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYpwQDJJ8Ps