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Consider a Preferred Option for Fordham Boulevard Sidepath Project.
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Staff:
Department:
Judy Johnson, Interim Director
Planning
Bergen Watterson, Transportation Planning Manager
Bill Webster, Planning and Development Manager
Parks and Recreation
Overview: The purpose of this item is to request guidance from Council on the preferred option for the Fordham Boulevard Sidepath Project.
Recommendation(s):
That the Council adopt Resolution A, B, or C related to the Fordham Boulevard Sidepath project:
* Resolution A authorizes the sidepath being built along Fordham Boulevard
* Resolution B authorizes the 'shared street' concept, including a sidewalk on Hickory Drive
* Resolution C authorizes the 'shared street' concept without a sidewalk on Hickory Drive
Key Issues:
* Staff presented information about each proposed option for the Sidepath at the February 26, 2020 Council meeting.
* Residents living in the Little Ridgefield neighborhood (adjacent to the proposed sidepath) have expressed concerns related to safety, noise, and loss of vegetative buffer along Fordham Boulevard. Staff expanded the design contract scope to include analyses of these concerns and options for addressing them.
* The neighbors have proposed a 'shared street' concept, which would route bicycles and pedestrians onto neighborhood streets, from Ridgefield Road to Willow Drive, where users would share the roads with vehicles.
* The design consultant developed three alternate designs for the segment between Ridgefield Road and Willow Drive:
o sidepath running along Fordham Boulevard as originally proposed
o shared street along Hickory Drive
o shared street along Hickory Drive with a sidewalk on one side
* If the scope of the project changes from what was originally proposed, Town staff will have to renegotiate the Municipal Agreement with NCDOT. Potential outcomes of this include:
o NCDOT approval and funding to upgrade existing sidepath and shared street alternative
o loss of federa...
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