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02/27/2024 11:29 am

Rendering of the proposed cycle track

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector

Improving mobility and connectivity for pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic

Updated: Feb 27, 2024

Project Overview

The Downtown North-South Greenway Connector Project is a priority item in the 2016 BikeRaleigh plan, and when all four phases are complete it will serve as a key active transportation link between Dix Park, Downtown, and Five Points. The City of Raleigh completed Phase 1 in 2020 and Phase 2 in 2022. Phase 3 is currently in design and is open for public engagement through January 5, 2024. 

Phase 3: N. West Street from Peace Street – Wade Avenue  

The Phase 3 Pilot of the Downtown North-South Greenway Connector will provide pedestrian and bicycle access on N West Street between Peace St. and the Wade Ave pedestrian underpass. Currently, this section of N West St. is a two-lane street without consistent sidewalks or bike facilities.  

Project Benefits:

  • Increased accessibility to the corridor and businesses by creating dedicated spaces for walking, skateboarding, biking, or strolling through the area. 
  • Parking protected path. 
  • Lower speed from 35 MPH to 25 MPH. 
  • Pilot project with engagement opportunities after 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. 
  • Community: promotes physical activity and creates safe space for people to travel without using a vehicle. 

 

Project Details

 
Type:
Bicycle and Pedestrian
Budget:
$200,000
Project Lead:
Transportation Planning

Contact

 

Barbara Godwin
barbara.godwin@raleighnc.gov
Bike & Pedestrian Project Manager

 

 

Lead Department:
Transportation
Service Unit:
Mobility Strategy and Infrastructure

Subscribe

 

This project supports

Raleigh's Climate Plan in Action

Planning

This phase is complete.

Lead Department:
Transportation

Design

We're Designing Phase 3

Phase 3 of the North-South Downtown Greenway Connector focuses on improving safety and connectivity on N. West Street between Peace St. and Wade Ave. Three design options are being considered for N. West Street and can be found in the West Street Alternatives Roll Plots.

North South Greenway Connector Presentation 

Phase 4 - Planned

Phase 4 of the North-South Downtown Greenway Connector will connect to the Rocky Branch Greenway at Dix Park and use on-street connections most likely on South Saunders, South, and West Streets to reach Cabarrus Street where it will connect to the final phase of the project, the West Street Extension.

Phase Contacts

 

Barbara Godwin
Barbara.godwin@raleighnc.gov
Bike & Pedestrian Project Manager

Lead Department:
Transportation

Phase 3 Project Schedule

Date Activity
Fall 2023 Engagement and Design
Winter 2024 Design Selection

Previous Phases

West Street Bike Lanes

Phase 1 - Complete, 2019

Phase 1 of the Downtown North-South Greenway Connector was completed in October 2019. This project included the installation of a south-bound bicycle lane on the west side of Harrington and a north-bound bicycle lane on the east side of West Street. These lanes provide a dedicated bike lane in each direction from Martin Street to Hillsborough Street.

Image of vehicle protected bike lanes on West Street

Phase 2 - Complete, October 2021 

The bike lanes on West and Harrington Streets were expanded around the Smoky Hollow development near the Publix on Peace Street.

Parking and loading zone configurations changed to accommodate the bike lanes. 

The following curb space changes on West Street and Harrington Street are now in place:

  • The removal of 14 time-regulated parking spaces, and 28 unregulated parking spaces along Harrington and West Streets.
  • The conversion of 45 spaces along Harrington and West Streets to metered parking, and the creation of 17 new parking spaces along North and Tucker Streets.
  • The shortening of a Commercial Loading Zone on Tucker Street, the relocation of Mixed-Use Loading/Unloading Zone on West Street, and the shortening of an evening Taxi Zone on Tucker Street.

About the design of Phase 2

After weighing competing interests along the corridor, on February 21, 2020 the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission recommended proceeding with a one-way pair of separated bicycle lanes on the inside block of West and Harrington Streets. They also included a long-term recommendation to consolidate the facilities onto a single street in the future. 

This recommendation was reached after:

  • An open house for a two-way cycle track concept on West Street on February of 2017.  Bus Rapid Transit needs on West Street along with some physical constraints made the original plan unfeasible. 
  • Testing the two-way cycle track concept on a 3-block section of Harrington Street April 5-7, 2019. 
  • An open house for the entire corridor followed June 18, 2019. Issues around the number of driveways and crossings led to a re-assessment of the 2-way cycle track as the best fit and the development of alternatives. 
  • Six different options were presented at an open house on Jan. 6, 2020. 

North South Greenway Connector Update - One

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Construction Update, Week Two - Roadway Design and Construction

This video features the first week of construction activity along West Street.

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Construction Update, Week Three - Roadway Design and Construction

This video features the second week of construction activity along the northern section of West Street.

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Construction Update, Week Four - Roadway Design and Construction

Work has started along Harrington Street. Find out what the key safety features of the projects are and what some of the paint markings mean.

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Construction Update, Week Five - Roadway Design and Construction

The project is just about completed. Learn some of the challenges of completing a project like this, and why Harrington Streets looks a little different than West Street.

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Project Complete - Roadway Design and Construction

Find out what makes the Downtown North-South Greenway Connector so important to both the City and to people who will use the separated bike lanes

North South Greenway Connector Update - One

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Construction Update, Week Two - Roadway Design and Construction

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Construction Update, Week Three - Roadway Design and Construction

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Construction Update, Week Four - Roadway Design and Construction

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Construction Update, Week Five - Roadway Design and Construction

Downtown North-South Greenway Connector – Project Complete - Roadway Design and Construction

History

The Harrington Street Cycletrack Project was a priority item in the 2016 BikeRaleigh plan, and will serve as a key bicycle connection between Glenwood South to the Warehouse District. The proposed cycletrack will be installed on the east side of Harrington Street from Davie Street to North Street, eventually tying into the proposed greenway at Deveraux.  

This project was originally envisioned for West Street, but a combination of factors including cost and potential Bus Rapid Transit on West Street prompted a proposed change to the Harrington Street corridor.

A three-day, temporary event called a “pop-up” was installed on Harrington Street in April. Users and survey responders were overwhelmingly supportive of the cycletrack concept. After receiving public input in June, the project was sent to a design team for completion with more public meetings in late 2019.

In addition, our friends at Oaks & Spokes raised almost $20,000 from private donors to help with implementation.

Helpful Links

 

Bike Facilities Explained

BPAC

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