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If you’ve been down Trailwood Drive this week, you’ve noticed that NCDOT (North Carolina Department of Transportation) has been working on the shoulders. The work being done is not for a bike lane or a multi-purpose path. Many residents from the Lineberry Alliance have suggested some type of bike & pedestrian connection from our neighborhood to the Greenway on Trailwood Drive.
The shoulder work is only correcting an ongoing maintenance issue. NCDOT contacts said they were having problems with the low shoulder. Apparently, vehicles were running off the road and creating a drop off at the edge of the pavement.
At first, NCDOT used gravel fill-in on some areas. They are now adding a 2-foot paved shoulder on both sides of the road as a more permanent solution. Future work includes replacing the existing pavement markings to create the 2-foot paved shoulder.
For those of you concerned with the patchwork of potholes and quick fixes between Thistledown and the I-40 overpass, there is no funding available at this time to make more permanent repairs. NCDOT did say that they would continue to patch any potholes reported on Trailwood Drive as they form.
NCDOT recommended to contact the City of Raleigh to request a greenway / multi-purpose path connector. Keep in mind that this section of the city, between Avent Ferry Road and Thistledown, is in Raleighs ETJ (Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction) and not in the city limits. Although I’m in favor of this type of connection, I would also want to get the support of the Trailwood Drive neighbors before the Lineberry Alliance pursues that type of request. Some neighbors may have to give up Right-Of-Way in order for something of that nature to be constructed.
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About: Jason: I'm a neighborhood advocate. I started off by getting involved in the Pleasant Ridge & Ramsgate Community Watch program and helped grow that organization. I saw an opportunity to unite other neighborhoods in our area with the Lineberry Alliance. I became chair of Raleigh's South West Citizen Advisory Council (SWCAC) in April 2010 along with vice chair Anthony McLeod and second vice chair Mary Belle Pate. I work with other neighborhood leaders in District D alongside City Councilor Thomas Crowder, on the District D Neighborhood Alliance (DDNA). I've completed Raleigh Neighborhood College (Spring 2005) and Leadership North Carolina (May 2007). In 2009, I lead a group of neighborhood volunteers to review Raleigh's 2030 Comprehensive Plan. I have a genuine interest in strong communities, fostering diversity, understanding the issues, and being transparent in my work. You can follow me on Twitter: @jhibbets |
This shoulder work was done surprisingly fast iin under 3 days. Cudos to DOT.
I nave noticed several pedestrians and bikers are utilizing this shoulder for commute and while not appropriate or approved, it certainly much safer now for all 2-4 wheelers
As of official bike path there is trail going to Lake Johnson off Trailwood Dr. with no means to get to it.
Putting bike friendly path on Tarilwood Dr. we would achieve:
1. Safer driving environment for vehicles and alternative transportation.
2. Improve visibility to avoid way too common deer influenced collisions.
3. Create alternative commute route to NCSU campus from heavy student populated community.
4. Be able to connect trails of Trailwood neighborhoods with Lake Johnson Trails to emphasize our unique features for better quality of living.
5. Property owners living in woods off Trailwood Dr. would gain much better visibility and access to main Rd = safety.
6. Same owners would have walking path to Lake Johnson = higher resale value to their property.
Considering ongoing shoulder efforts are going along with lines of possible bike path would minimize expense to the state.
Time is of essence here, since to make it now would cost a fraction of cost of adding it later.
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What a contradiction! So DOT acknowledges that yes, the road is too narrow and needs a wider shoulder, because vehicles are using the shoulder as a travel lane: so they pave it, and leave huge mounds of dirt on either side therby restricting access to the SOFT shoulder by pedestrians and cyclists! I **** my pants last night, car coming the other way, guy walking on the new paved shoulder; good thing for anti-lock brakes or my mirror would have decapitated him. He had no where to jump, not over that wide pile of dirt. My MANY phone calls and emails to numerous state, county, and city agencies requesting that this be rectified have gone ignored. I’m completely appalled that NCDOT would create such a dangerous condition for cyclists and pedestrians yet they have a whole departements that promote cycling and pedestrian safety. They even sponsor Share the Road! WTF?!?!?!?! We need more people complaining, loudly, about this. ANother example of how NCDOT is completely out of touch with how roads are utilized in this state.
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You do realize that those mounds of dirt are by-products of the process used for increasing the pavement width for the shoulder right? It’s not really the DOT’s fault for him walking there, he took the risk. I’m not defending the DOT as they are pretty dumb by most accounts, however they can’t police idiocy of others for using something that is not meant to be a path/sidewalk/trail/bike-lane.
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[...] piles that line both sides of Trailwood Drive from Avent Ferry Road to the fire station since the North Carolina Department Of Transportation (NCDOT) completed a 2-foot shoulder extension on Trailwo…. The piles have been there so long that grass has started to grow in most areas. NCDOT officials [...]