Town council approves upgrade to streetscape

Downtown pedestrians might feel safer as they walk over some newly imprinted, brick-patterned crosswalks this fall.

The Chapel Hill Town Council approved a project to upgrade the crosswalks at Columbia Street and Porthole Alley on Franklin Street at its Monday meeting —foregoing other streetscape plans that are estimated to cost $300,000.

The council has also discussed several other streetscape improvements in recent months, including sidewalk improvements near University Square and lighting improvements at the 500 and 600 blocks of West Franklin Street.

The town currently has $530,000 in bond funds to spend on streetscape projects, which must be spent in 12 months.

The two crosswalk upgrades are estimated to cost the town a total of $50,000 and are set to begin as soon as the town gets permission from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The additional streetscape improvements have been postponed for further review and discussion.

Chapel Hill Town Manager Cal Horton said the crosswalk projects are expected to be completed by summer’s end.

Curtis Brooks, landscape architect and urban forester for the town, said he thought the renovation would be brief.

“The job can be done in a number of days,” he said.

A technology called asphalt stamping used to alter the appearance of hard surfaces, will be employed to change the color and surface texture of the crosswalks.

Because this technology is relatively new, the work will be contracted out to a private company that specializes in street printing.

Brooks said the new process skips a tiresome and lengthy step common to nearly all road construction — demolition.

Workers use machines that carve patterns directly into the existing surface before putting a glazed finish on it at a high temperature.

Horton said the new process has lowered costs of street printing.

"This type of work used to be really expensive," he said.

Brooks added that there are two key benefits of the change.

“They are much more visible than the existing crosswalks, and they give a rumble effect as you drive over them,” he said. “People tend to drive over them more slowly.”

The new crosswalks will also add to the aesthetic value of the streetscape.

Council members agreed Monday that another proposed streetscape to upgrade the sidewalk in front of University Square needs to be revisited at a later date.

“My feeling is that it is still in flux,” Mayor Kevin Foy said at the meeting.

Council member Mark Kleinschmidt expressed a similar sentiment.

"University Square is a complicated issue," he said.

Estimates of the University Square project occupy the bulk of the proposed costs, at $240,000.

The lighting project is estimated to cost $60,000.

Kleinschmidt said the council needs to find an alternative lighting that are less expensive.

“With a little bit of tweaking, it may be done this year,” Kleinschmidt said.

Streetscape construction is usually limited to the summer months to avoid causing traffic congestion during the academic year.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.