For years local officials have mulled over whether to put a narrow portion of Market Street on a “road diet,” turning it back into a two-lane road. Drivers familiar with the section west of Covil Avenue know what a white-knuckle experience it can be when the lanes narrow.
But a consultant hired by the Wilmington-area Transportation Advisory Committee said Wednesday his firm’s study doesn’t support taking such action until more traffic relief is available.
Brock LaForty, with the consulting firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, divided the proposed project into two segments: the portion west of 16th Street to downtown Wilmington, and the segment east to Covil Avenue. Of the two, the western segment could be implemented with the least impact on traffic congestion.
West of 16th Street, traffic becomes extremely congested; the road carried about 11,000 more vehicles per day on that section than the eastern part, LaForty said. The study showed congestion only increasing, resulting in longer lines of traffic waiting to clear signaled intersections, he said.
For that reason, LaForty said, the firm does not recommend putting that portion into place until after another north-south route — presumably the still-unfunded Independence Boulevard extension to Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway — is in place.
The TAC last discussed the idea of reducing Market Street to two lanes in 2007, said Laura Padgett, chairman of the advisory committee. That study resulted in a similar recommendation, that the project be delayed until after the completion of Independence Boulevard.
But residents of neighborhoods that abut Market Street have complained about safety issues, and traffic accidents are common.
A road diet would add medians east of 16th Street, where none currently exist, add turn lanes and reduce the road from four lanes to two.
Padgett noted, “Market Street is not really a four-lane road; it’s a four-lane road due to a bucket of paint.”
Unable to widen the road west of the YMCA without affecting the canopy of trees that line Market Street, the N.C. Department of Transportation created four lanes that are at some points so narrow there is little room between side-by-side vehicles.
The lack of turn lanes increases the chance of rear-end wrecks as drivers must stop down in the travel lane, Padgett said.
Carolina Beach Town Councilman Gary Doetsch is one TAC member who has firsthand experience with the road-diet concept. A few years ago Carolina Beach cut Lake Park Boulevard (U.S. 421) running through the town to two lanes to make it safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.
But complaints, some of them the result of changes a subsequent town council made to engineering plans, caused the town to reverse its decision and restore the four-lane traffic, Doetsch said.
Belville Town Commissioner Joe Breault wondered why officials would even consider funneling four lanes of traffic from a busy thoroughfare into two lanes.
Despite the consultant’s recommendation, Padgett, who also serves on the Wilmington City Council, told the Lumina News she would still like to see the project completed — even the portion Parsons Brinckerhoff advises against.
She said residents of the affected neighborhoods worry about safety. Turn lanes could reduce the number of rear-end wrecks and near-sideswipes, she added. Putting Market Street on a diet would slow traffic in those areas, Padgett said.
Also Tuesday, the committee approved its 2040 transportation plan, which includes projects the region hopes to complete during the next 25 years. With far more desired projects than money, the next step will be to set priorities for projects. Under Gov. Pat McCrory’s Department of Transportation, projects are ranked according to a numerical scale, but local transportation boards may add points to let state officials know which regional projects are the most needed.
Projects listed as being of statewide importance, as opposed to regional projects, do not allow for local input.
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