Hello fellow Residents. I apologize for the late agenda and publication this month. I was waiting to hear back from speakers about vital issues for Midtown but that did not pan out As a result, I thought it better to issue some of the correspondence from City staff as reference and we can discuss these items at our virtual monthly meeting on March 27. The agenda for that meeting is attached. If you have any questions, you can either contact me prior to the meeting or save those questions and concerns for the upcoming meeting.
The link for the meeting is the same as that of last month:
Recent Correspondence:
Hardimont Traffic Calming
Browe construction is moving much much faster than their preliminary schedule anticipated and the Hardimont Rd traffic calming project is scheduled to be completed in advance of your March 27th meeting. They requested the survey work be performed last week and after sending a revised construction schedule, the Hardimont project is expected to be substantially completed by March 24th. The website has been updated to reflect these changes.
I can speak quickly on the traffic interruptions and property impacts to ease the mind of the Midtown residents.
Traffic Impacts: Browe Construction or their designated contractor will work to shut down one lane at a time and allow through traffic with a flagging operation. These impacts will be localized to the treatment in question being constructed at that time and as they work along the whole of the street. Access will not be restricted during the construction period.
Property Impacts: This project is staying 100% within the public right-of-way and will in no way encroach onto private property. 2 curb ramps are being updated, but aside from that, all other work will remain completely within the existing roadway footprint. This project is not moving any curb lines associated with the traffic calming elements.
Hopefully this clears up the scheduling confusion and impact questions. The link sent in my previous email was for you to review the proposed plan, but I should have called out with greater emphasis that the construction schedule previously listed was inaccurate and in the process of being updated.
If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me. In the future, we can certainly work to discuss traffic calming efforts in the Midtown area, but with this specific one that is scheduled to be completed prior to your meeting, I’m not sure if the topic will be appropriate timeline wise.
Will Shumaker
Traffic Calming Administrator
MultiModal Bridge
We’ve summarized the feedback we received on the alternatives we presented in February and posted those summaries on the
project webpage (near the bottom of the page). We have also initiated a Comprehensive Plan Amendment in response to staff analysis and this feedback that would adjust the street plan alignment to match Alternative 2. That amendment, CP-2-23, is under review by the Planning Department and can be tracked here:
https://raleighnc.gov/planning/comprehensive-plan-amendments
I’ll follow up once the amendment is scheduled to be heard at Planning Commission. We will continue to keep the project page updated as this progresses. Please feel free to share this update with the Midtown CAC and other interested parties.
Anne Conlon, PE
Senior Transportation Engineer
Six Forks Road Improvements and Future Transportation Bond
At this current time, staff does not have a significant amount of substantive updates to provide in the Midtown area as it relates to current transportation infrastructure efforts. The Six Forks Road Improvement project, from Lynn Rd to Rowan Rd, is in the midst of property acquisition to facilitate delivery of the current design. I do want to clarify that a contractor for this project has not yet been chosen; the current projected schedule would have the project advertised for construction bids in the Spring 2024. I would anticipate future updates on this project as the process continues forward.
As it relates to other efforts in the area, the most notable one is the Midtown Bridge that Ms. Anne Conlon presented on recently. There is no notable update on that effort given how recent that update was, but certainly would anticipate opportunity for future updates as that moves forward as well. The referenced phases 2 and 3 from the Six Forks Road Corridor Study have not been programmed and are currently not funded, so there are no current efforts on those; however, staff is aware of the conversations that were had by the previous Council pertaining to these efforts and would anticipate this being a point of discussion when staff provides an update on the Transportation Bond later this spring.
Kenneth W. Ritchie, MPA, PE
Mobility Strategy and Infrastructure Manager
Midtown Green Streets
The City Stormwater Division has committed funding to the Midtown area plan efforts starting in Fiscal Year 2025 (which starts in July of 2024). Funding commitments go for three years. Based on recent meetings, the Quail Hollow project is further along than the Hardimont. Preliminary scheduling for both is starting in that fiscal year 2025 and beyond timeframe.
Benjamin A. Brown, PE, CFM
Stormwater Administrator
Regards,
Larry Helfant
Midtown CAC Chairman