AGENDA #5f
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Response to a Petition from the UNC Student Bar Association Regarding Pedestrian Safety Improvements on Country Club Road
DATE: April 14, 2003
This report responds to a petition from the Student Bar Association of the UNC School of Law requesting pedestrian safety improvements on Country Club Road between Ridge Road and Laurel Hill Road. attachment #1 is a copy of the petition.
At its January 13, 2003 meeting, the Town Council received a petition from the UNC Student Bar Association requesting pedestrian safety improvements on Country Club Road between Ridge Road and Laurel Hill Road. Please see the area map provided in attachment #2.
The Student Bar Association noted that pedestrians must walk on Country Club Road between Ridge Road and Laurel Hill Road to reach UNC Parking Lot T, and they requested the following improvements in their petition:
1. Improve Street Lighting on Country Club Road between Ridge Road and Laurel Hill Road:
The Town and Duke Power Company staff reviewed the existing street lighting conditions in the area in question. We noted that some existing lights serving the area in question were not functioning, and Duke Power made the necessary repairs. Once all of the existing street lights were operating properly, we checked the lighting levels and determined that the street lighting on Country Club Road between Ridge Road and Laurel Hill Road meets established Town standards.
If the Council wishes to have supplemental street lighting installed, it can instruct the Manager to have the Town Public Works Department work with Duke Power Company and nearby residents to install additional street lighting to the extent practicable.
2. Install Sidewalk on Country Club Road between Ridge Road and Laurel Hill Road:
The existing sidewalk on Country Club Road ends at Ridge Road and no sidewalk exists between Ridge Road and Laurel Hill Road. This portion of Country Club Road is 20 feet wide with no curb/gutter or roadway shoulders. A retaining wall on the west side of Country Club Road, and nearby street trees on the east side, leave no suitable location for pedestrians to walk except along the edge of the pavement.
This segment of Country Club Road is not on the Town’s current list of locations being considered for sidewalk improvements. Unless otherwise directed by the Council, we will evaluate this project using the approved ranking system, and will include it in our annual sidewalk report to the Council for funding consideration along with other sidewalk projects town-wide.
In the interim, we will install pedestrian warning signs on Country Club Road between Ridge Road and Laurel Hill Road. We believe that the street light repairs and pedestrian warning signs will improve conditions for pedestrians in the area.
ATTACHMENTS