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Provide Guidance on West Franklin Street Restriping.
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Staff:
Department:
Colleen Willger, Director
Planning
Bergen Watterson, Transportation Planning Manager
Planning
Sarah Poulton, Downtown Special Projects Manager
Managers Office
Overview: Council is being asked to provide guidance on the design for West Franklin Street when the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) resurfaces the road in summer 2022. Staff shared options for West Franklin Street with Town Council on January 5, 2022 and is now seeking final input on restriping plans only. In order to adhere to NCDOT guidelines, there are two options for restriping the road after resurfacing: traffic-running bike lanes and curb-running bike lanes, both of which are described in more detail below.
Staff will return to Council in the spring to discuss next steps and timeline for transferring maintenance of Franklin Street and future design options, including a public input process on those designs. None of the options presented tonight for NCDOT's restriping would limit the options for future road configuration.
Recommendation(s):
That the Council provide input on how NCDOT should restripe West Franklin Street after resurfacing in summer 2022.
Decision Points:
* How West Franklin Street is restriped after NCDOT resurfaces the road in summer 2022 (see decision matrix attached for more detail).
Key Issues:
* NCDOT must have an approved pavement marking plan by March 2022 to restripe the road and that plan must meet current federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) requirements as long as the road is NCDOT-owned.
* If the Town does not provide NCDOT with an approved pavement marking plan West Franklin Street will revert to its pre-COVID five-lane design. Staff does not recommend returning to that configuration.
* The road resurfacing and restriping does not affect future design of Franklin Street but does allow the Town to take advantage of NCDOT resurfacing.
* The To...
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