These streets were made for walking: Chapel Hill reviews transportation

Members of the Chapel Hill Town Council are making an effort to improve transportation for citizens in the town.

Mayor Pam Hemminger said the town of Chapel Hill values connectivity and healthy living, and that helping people get from place to place easily will mean the town is living up to its values.

Hemminger said she helped hire a consultant to look at what needs to be done to improve mobility and connectivity for the town.

“The consultant (is) to help us with the overall picture about how we make better connections, and how we phase it in, particularly to the Ephesus-Fordham district,” she said.

Chapel Hill is a growing area, Hemminger said, and these improvements in connectivity are necessary to keep the town accessible for everyone.

Rapid growth makes connectivity and mobility harder in cities because road systems, sidewalks and bike paths need to be updated to keep up with the growing populations.

The source of these problems can be tracked back 40 years, said Chapel Hill Town Council member Michael Parker.

“In the ‘60s and ‘70s, urban planning design at that point favored serpentine streets and cul-de-sacs,” said Parker. “This is why we don’t have good connectivity in neighborhoods in certain cases, and certainly between neighborhoods.”

This lack of connectivity hinders residents’ ability to commute by walking or biking — which are the main modes of transportation for some Chapel Hill residents.

“For the two years before I got a car, I mainly walked and biked,” said Zane James, a Chapel Hill resident. “I had to get a car so that I could get to my job in Durham easier.”

A new bike and multi-modal path is going to be introduced on Estes Drive that will connect the east side and the north side of Chapel Hill, Hemminger said. The project on Estes Drive will also include new sidewalks with construction beginning in the summer.

“This construction will make (traveling by walking and biking) much safer for people to do,” Parker said.

A reduction in the town’s carbon footprint is an added benefit the mayor and council members hope to see.

With fewer personal vehicles, carbon emissions should go down, Parker said.

“We would like for people to have to rely on cars much less,” he said.

The goal for these improvements is that people can have many options when it comes to traveling across town. Hemminger hopes to continue to fill gaps in connectivity with projects like a greenway from Umstead Park to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

“We are taking a look at the pieces that are missing,” she said. “That is a big priority for me and most of the council members.”

Progress has begun, but most projects will not be complete for a few years.

“We have our goals that we plan to achieve five to 10 years in the future,” Hemminger said. “We are making it a higher priority to create new trails — just connecting those pieces to get people connected to the community and to Carrboro and Durham.”

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