{"id":20091,"date":"2013-07-31T10:19:36","date_gmt":"2013-07-31T14:19:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raleighpublicrecord.org\/?p=20091"},"modified":"2013-08-01T10:52:54","modified_gmt":"2013-08-01T14:52:54","slug":"changes-approved-for-blount-and-person-streets-funding-uncertain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/news\/city-council\/2013\/07\/31\/changes-approved-for-blount-and-person-streets-funding-uncertain\/","title":{"rendered":"Changes Approved for Blount and Person Streets, Funding Uncertain"},"content":{"rendered":"

A plan to make Blount and Person streets more bike and pedestrian friendly is moving forward.<\/p>\n

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Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/p>

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Raleigh City Council members voted July 16 to approve the recommendations of the Blount-Person Street Corridor study<\/a>. This decision provides city staff with the policy guidance needed to begin the first phase of the project, but funding remains uncertain.<\/p>\n

The corridor would be overhauled with the aim to create a more pedestrian- and bike-friendly environment that encourages economic growth and preserves neighborhood and historic character. Funding for the project would come from the transportation bond going before Raleigh voters this fall.<\/p>\n

The plan area includes Blount and Person streets from Wake Forest Road, near its intersection with Capital Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue, south to the Interstate 40-Hammond Road interchange.<\/p>\n

\"Blount-Person_map\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Plans for the project were developed with input from residents at workshops, an open house, Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) meetings and one-on-one interviews.<\/p>\n

The plan has three phases, the first of which is road re-striping. Re-striping is the least expensive of the three proposed phases because it is typically done when a road is already scheduled for resurfacing.<\/p>\n

The new striping will re-define travel lanes, add bike lanes and define on-street parking. The estimated cost for this phase is $730,000.<\/p>\n

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Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/p>

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The second phase is streetscape improvements, including the completion of missing sidewalks, landscaped bulb-outs at intersection corners, pedestrian crossings and landscaped medians. Phase two is expected to cost about $7.5 million.<\/p>\n

The third phase involves analyzing the restoration of two-way traffic to Blount and Person Streets. If city officials decide to pursue this, phase three would create the transitions from one-way to two-way streets and the necessary sign and signal changes. This phase of the project is estimated to cost $4.2 million.<\/p>\n

Councilors are positive about the project’s potential. Councilor Russ Stephenson, partially quoting Transportation Planning Manager Eric Lamb, said, \u201cCommunity design is about understanding and implementing community values. I think that’s what this process has really done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Funding for phase one of the Blount-Person Street Corridor Project has been recommended as part of the $75 million transportation bond referendum<\/a> that will be decided by voters in October.<\/p>\n

No decisions have been made about funding for phases two and three.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/h6>
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A bridge over Blount Street connects both sides of the Shaw University campus.<\/p><\/div>

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/h6>
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An old strip mall on the corner of Franklin and Person Streets is undergoing renovations. <\/p><\/div>

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/h6>
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Joggers run through Moore Square toward Blount Street. Runners gather at Tir Na Nog every Monday for a social run followed by beer.<\/p><\/div>

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/h6>
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A view down Person Street near down the small business district. <\/p><\/div>

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/h6>
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Some pedestrians jog across Blount Street near the government buildings.<\/p><\/div>

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/h6>
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This is one area motorists may find confusing, as Person Street turns into Wake Forest Road to the right. Veering straight\/left it takes drivers to Mordecai Drive. <\/p><\/div>

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/h6>
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Person Street, where it changes into Wake Forest Road. Ant at the other end of Person Street, it changes into Hammond Road.<\/p><\/div>

Karen Tam \/ Raleigh Public Record<\/h6>
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One improvement to Blount Street. The Merrimon-Wynne house is being restored into a wedding and event venue. <\/p><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City Councilors recently voted to approve the recommendations of the Blount-Person Street Corridor Study, enabling city staff to begin planning the first phase of the project. Funding could come from a $75-million transportation bond that\u2019s up for a vote this fall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24109,"featured_media":20110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,15],"tags":[514,707,691],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20091"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20091\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theraleighcommons.org\/raleighpublicrecord\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}