At Tuesday’s evening meeting, City Councilors discussed a series of street safety improvement projects and voted to draft an ordinance that would ban skateboarding outside council headquarters.
Dennis Lane of the Raleigh Police Memorial Foundation addressed councilors over the need to adopt an ordinance that would prohibit skateboarding, roller skating, and in-line skating on the property of the Avery C. Upchurch government complex on West Hargett Street.
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A new ordinance could make skateboarding at the Avery C. Upchurch government complex punishable by fine
Those participating in the activities were wearing out the asphalt and a police memorial that will be donated to the city, Lane said.
Councilors voted to have staff draft an ordinance prohibiting those activities on the complex. Those found in violation could be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $500.
Mack Paul from Morningstar Law Group spoke to councilors about an amendment to crown signage in the Unified Development Ordinance. The proposed amendment would allow for signs on buildings to be proportional according to the height of the building. The matter was referred to Law and Public Safety for further debate and consideration.
Traffic Calming
Three traffic calming measures were held for separate public hearings. The streets included were Cross Link Road, Currituck Drive and Town and County Road.
The proposed traffic calming measures on Cross Link Road included a mini round-a-bout with narrow medians. Concerns were raised by the bus stops at the mini round-a-bout slowing down the flow of traffic and imposing a hazard for those getting on and off the busses. It was also said that many of those affected by the change hadn’t received proper notification of the proposed changes.
City council elected to hold the hearing open and have staff make a presentation directly to the southeast Citizens Advisory Council to inform them of the proposed changes.
The proposed traffic calming measures on Currituck Drive consisted of median and curb extensions, section sidewalk and speed reduction through a neighborhood traffic circle.
Those in favor of the traffic calming measures cited the speeding on Currituck Drive and the danger of pulling out of a driveway or walking to a nearby park.
Those in opposition were concerned about the medians in unsavory weather and said the proposed changed would turn the street into an obstacle course.
Councilor Baldwin asked about the accident count and average speed on the street, both of which were said to be higher than the state average for comparable streets. She also asked about the cost for the project, which was said to be a rough estimate of $450,000.
Councilor Maiorano wanted the item put into the public works committee, saying, “There is no question we need to do something because it lends itself to speeding.”
Other councilors echoed his request and elected to send the item to the public works committee.
The proposed traffic calming measures on Town and Country Road included a series of long medians and a round-a-bout.
James Borden / Raleigh Public Record
An existing roundabout on Hillsborough Street
Those for the traffic calming measures said that the driving was too fast on this street and that it’s a cut-through road in Raleigh. Pulling out of the driveway, they said, caused them alarm.
Those against the traffic calming measures said that there was no curb and gutter on this road and that the proposed measures were too many for such a small stretch of road.
Councilor Gaylord made a motion to approve the project, and Councilor Odom made a substitute motion to send it to public works committee. With a 5-3 vote of approval, the project was sent to the public works committee.
