Potential Street Closings in OWD (NC DOT Railroad Study)

A few months ago I wrote about a study by North Carolina Department of Transportation (DOT) about two railroad crossings in our neighborhood at Anderson St. and Swift Avenue. The agency is looking at three possible courses of action:  (1)Eliminate the crossing; ie, close the streets on either side of the tracks; (2) separate car traffic from train traffic with grade; i.e, dig under the tracks similar to the Erwin Rd and Gregson St crossings; or (3) either do nothing or implement enhanced signaling and markings.

The study is now open for public comment. Please submit your comments by filling out the attached form (download it via Scribd) and submitting it (via email) to Matt West, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc

A few thoughts on the proposed ideas. First,  it goes without saying that simply closing one or both of these two intersection would be disastrous for our neighborhood. Although highly unlikely, it would effectively cut the neighborhood off from access to the Durham Freeway, Duke's West Campus and the Hospital Complex, significantly impairing commercial viability of the Ninth Street Shopping District. For these reasons, I highly doubt the DOT would make such a drastic change.

I am less than enthusiastic about choice two -- it would lead to considerable construction on a vital stretch of the road connecting our neighborhood and, judging by the similar intersection at Erwin road, would visually separate Main Street intersection from Swift Avenue, forcing pedestrians and bikers into a dark underpass if they wish to cross the street. It would sacrifice pedestrian appeal in favor of car use -- a car-first policy that should have been abandoned decades ago (and is surely being abandoned now by most forward-thinking urban planners).

I think I would prefer alternative three, except that instead of doing nothing, I would advocate extending connectivity between Main and Swift streets by building a sidewalk connecting the two.

As a wrote previously, in its current configuration that stretch of the road constitutes the "corridor of death" making it dangerous for bike  commuters, pedestrians (particularly pedestrians in wheelchairs) to cross that intersection without being run over by incoming traffic.



The DOT powerpoint describing the full extent of the study, the schedule of hearings, funding meetings and, ultimately, the decision making authority is embedded below. It makes for a very interesting read and I encourage you to check it out.