Western Boulevard Study<\/strong><\/center>
\nA public input meeting will take place at the Sankofa Room at North Carolina State University\u2019s Witherspoon Student Center with drop-in hours from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.<\/p>\nLearn more about the study at http:\/\/westernblvd.net\/.\n<\/p><\/div>\n
For now, Daniel said, there are no concrete plans in place and hearing from students and residents of the area will help guide the study.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe study will eventually lead to some kind of recommendation,\u201d Daniel said. \u201cBut we\u2019re currently in the data collection phase still, and at the first public workshop we hope to release some of the information we\u2019ve collected up to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Need for Change \u2028<\/strong>
\nBrian O\u2019Sullivan of the N.C. State Transportation Planning office said they approached CAMPO about a year and a half ago asking for a study on the Western Boulevard section of campus.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019ve looked at the pedestrian crossing issue and, indirectly, at the bicycle crossing issue a number of years ago, going almost three years back,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a constant thorn in our side. There\u2019s a lot of jaywalking that occurs across Western Boulevard, speeds across Western Boulevard are pretty high and I just think that we are trying to come up with a better way.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Sullivan said that the pedestrians are almost all students.<\/p>\n
According to Daniel, the State Department of Transportation has previously found that most cars using Western Boulevard are through-traffic, terminating either in Downtown Raleigh or outside of town. This produces a dicey mix of cars traveling at traditional rush hours as well as peak times created by student movement according to class schedules.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe project is trying to connect with as many student walkers, bikers or travelers in general that cross Western Boulevard between Varsity and Pullen Road as possible,\u201d said O\u2019Sullivan. \u201cAnd this is an opportunity right in the core of campus to have some common event and try to pull people in to try and get their feedback on what their observations are, issues, opinions, maybe solutions and to fly a couple of options for improving the situation there in front of a group of students.\u201d
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\nSome Solutions<\/strong>
\nO\u2019Sullivan said anyone is welcome at the workshop, but that they have been reaching out primarily to students. The meeting will take place at the Sankofa Room at North Carolina State University\u2019s Witherspoon Student Center with drop-in hours from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.<\/p>\n\u201cMy interest is in forging ahead and trying to identify, not a pipe dream in the sky as a solution, but what can be done in the short term? What can be done in the medium term? What can be done in the long term?\u201d he said. \u201cAnd whatever is proposed still remains an unfunded project and because the intersection is really not owned by NC State, we don\u2019t control anything that happens there around the intersection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the solutions discussed have been ways to physically separate the pedestrian population from the transit population. A pedestrian bridge, or an overpass to direct Western Boulevard pedestrians over Avent Ferry has come up, but the study will wait on both on the complete data and feedback from the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have to be a joint effort with the Department of Transportation, the State, the City, to find a way to fund some level of investment to segregate pedestrians and bicyclists, if that\u2019s the final recommendation,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said. \u201cThere are a lot of players in the project; we\u2019re just one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study is funded primarily through CAMPO. The organization directs federal funding towards city planning projects for an 80 percent match to the city or municipality\u2019s 20 percent. The total cost for the study is estimated to be around $125,000, carried out by contractor Stantec, a professional design and consulting firm based in Raleigh.<\/p>\n