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Many residents in the South West Citizens Advisory Council (SWCAC) are eager to see Tryon Road widened to four lanes from Cary to Garner. Some sections have been completed and others are still waiting for design and funding. The section of Tryon Road between Lake Wheeler Road and South Saunders Street is waiting on funding to build a new bridge over the railroad corridor East of RGA Golf Course. Some SWCAC citizens were curious about some of the roadway that is already complete, but lacks the landscaping elements shown in the design.
Senior Project Engineer , James Lynn Raynor, PE , with the City of Raleigh Public Works Department answered questions over email. The section of concern is the area of Tryon Road between Gorman Street and Lake Wheeler Road, which has been completed for quite some time now. Currently, the section is mostly four lanes with a median and four lanes with a center turn lane in some areas. The median is supposed to have landscaping. For the purposes of this article, landscaping will mean more than just mulch. Currently, the medians are only mulched. We would like to think that trees, shrubs, and other landscaping elements will add some beauty to the baron, mulched median.
Tryon Road Median, courtesy Google Maps & Streetview
Raynor said that Public Works is currently in the process of selecting landscape architects to perform landscape design work. They typically wait until a number of projects are ready for design before extending a contract. In this case, there are 6-8 completed roadway projects around the City that will be bundled together for the contract. Raynor stated that “once we forward recommendations to the City Manager for his approval, we will then negotiate contracts and then begin the actual design work sometime this winter.”
Citizens were very eager to have public input for the landscape elements of the project. Raynor told us, “there will be public input opportunities on the design for each project location, with the section of Tryon Road that you mention, from Gorman to Lake Wheeler, being one of them.” He also said that notifications will be sent to adjacent property owners, CAC liaisons, and advertised in the News & Observer.
Look for an opportunity to provide feedback during the public review of the landscape design at a future SWCAC meeting. This is tentatively scheduled for February 2010, but check the SWCAC newsletter [PDF] for when this item will be on the agenda. The official public review meeting will still be a stand alone event (not at the CAC meeting), but when we find out more, we’ll pass the information on to you.
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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 |
Tags: district D, lake_wheeler_road, landscape, ncdot, road_project, tryon_road
[...] Why is this section of Tryon Road being neglected? The parts from Cary, NC to Lake Wheeler Road are mostly complete and practically done. Four glorious lanes of asphalt with a median. We might even get to participate in choosing some of the landscape for that median. [...]