AGENDA #5b
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Response to Petition Requesting Crosswalk and Sidewalk on Estes Drive
DATE: October 11, 2004
This memorandum responds to a petition from Barbara Kline received September 7, 2004, to construct a sidewalk on the south side of Estes Drive from Halifax to Franklin Street and address the issue of how residents living on the south side of Estes can safely cross Estes Drive (please see Attachment 1).
In the fall of each year the Town Council normally holds a public forum to receive citizen input about an annual sidewalk and bicycle facilities construction plan. On September 22, 2003, the Town Council adopted a sidewalk and bicycle facilities construction plan for 2003-2004 which reaffirmed the use of $50,000 in capital improvement funds to continue work on the top 10 listed sidewalks on the sidewalks priority list.
In November 2003, voters approved a measure for the Town to issue $5.6 million in bonds for streets and sidewalks; and on April 14, 2004, the Council authorized a plan for issuing these bonds in two-year increments.
The Council is scheduled to consider a long-range Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan on October 27, 2004. The sidewalk priority system is being revised as part of that document. On tonight’s agenda, we also propose calling a public forum for November 8, 2004, on an annual sidewalk and bicycle facilities construction plan.
Requests for sidewalks are assessed using the Council’s adopted sidewalk ranking system. The first step involves quantitatively ranking sidewalk projects based on a series of factors. The second step is to work from this list and consider other factors, such as existing or available rights-of-way, construction feasibility, and immediacy of need, to determine a list of new sidewalk projects for each fiscal year.
The requested sidewalk is located on the south side of Estes Drive from Halifax Road to Franklin Street (see Attachment 2). The proposal was not shown on the September 2003 sidewalks priority list. However, it is identified in the Town of Chapel Hill 2006-2012 Transportation Priority list adopted by the Council on October 27, 2003. Therefore this proposal was incorporated into the Draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan which identifies it as a first priority based on the new sidewalks priority list compiled for the Action Plan.
Because Estes Drive is a State-maintained street, any alterations or additions to crosswalks or sidewalks will require approval by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT).
We have forwarded the crosswalk request to NCDOT for investigation and response. In addition, the Draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan also identifies that an additional crosswalk is desired at Library Drive.
We recommend that the Council consider the requested sidewalk through the annual sidewalk and bicycle construction plan process (see related agenda item #4h).
ATTACHMENTS
1. Petition (p. 3).
2. Map of Request (p. 5).