The Town of Chapel Hill plans to remove its extended sidewalks from East Franklin Street ahead of UNC students’ return to campus January 10.
These extended sidewalks have been in place since July 2020 to encourage residents to patronize local businesses and allow for more social distancing downtown.
Chapel Hill’s extended sidewalk project was only expected to remain in place until September 2021, but it was extended to the end of this year due to its popularity. In November, Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger told 97.9 The Hill that she hoped to maintain and even expand the project; however, she said ongoing development projects downtown have made that idea impractical at this time.
Last month, early stages of the East Rosemary Street redevelopment project led to regular street closures as the town prepares to build an expanded, seven-story parking deck.
Now, due to traffic concerns, Hemminger said the town is planning on reopening the second lane on East Franklin Street before it intersects South Columbia Street. This will not affect the extended sidewalks on West Franklin.
“I’ve been down there a few times when we’ve had Rosemary Street closed down to one lane or even blocked off as we’re doing the construction project over there,” Hemminger said. “So, it’s become apparent that we really do need to be able to let that other lane of traffic come on through. And that usually turns right or left onto South Columbia. That seems to be the major [affected] intersection there.”
In addition to creating more socially distanced walking areas, the sidewalk extension was adopted so restaurants and businesses could have more space to move operations outdoors. This was especially important when the extended sidewalks were first implemented, as restaurants were still operating at 50 percent capacity under the state’s Phase 2 reopening plan.
While the extended sidewalk project on East Franklin may be ending, Hemminger said the town will find other ways to support those downtown businesses.
“We’ve got some other ideas to help with outside dining and increasing awareness for businesses along the East Franklin way,” Hemminger said. “We’ve been working with those merchants to try to find a better way to do this. So, it’s actually a good time while we are a little bit lower traffic volume, because the university is on break, to remove those barricades and figure out a better way to help promote businesses downtown, but also allow our traffic not to back up.”
Although Franklin Street is the centerpiece of downtown Chapel Hill, the local government doesn’t control the road. In October, Hemminger said the town started conversations with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) about seeking ownership of the portion of the road spanning from Henderson Street to Merritt Mill Road.
Currently, the town must ask the NCDOT for approval to do things like close the street temporarily, expand sidewalk dining and install temporary art or permanent markers on the sidewalks.
Under current NCDOT rules, the town must relinquish its extended sidewalks in May 2022. While the ones on East Franklin are being removed ahead of when is required due to construction traffic, they may be reconsidered in the future.
Lead photo via Town of Chapel Hill.
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