Last November, the Chapel Hill Town Council committed $500,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funds to a “Streetscape Enhancement Mobility Plan,” focusing on how people move around downtown. In February, the town selected the Raleigh-based firm Toole Design to conduct a study of Chapel Hill’s downtown streets.
Director at Toole Design Jared Draper presented the latest updates from the Downtown Mobility Plan at a town council meeting in June.
“I think it’s really important for us to start with the idea that the vision for mobility has to create a framework of what how people move in the future,” Draper said. “We can respond and think about what is going on today, but we really want to set forth principles that can be taken forward.”
According to Toole Design, the main considerations for the study and its recommendations include safety for all people, economic vitality, connectivity and functionality.
“In the past, we’ve always talked about mobility as the movement of people and goods. That has led to this assumption that we need to move people faster and farther and in the downtown setting, that’s not the right definition for mobility,” added Draper.
Draper proposed a new definition of mobility: a population’s capability to move and get access to what they need.
In their presentation, Toole emphasized what they call “Path as Place,” or the idea streets can themselves be destinations, not just a way to get from one place to the next.
“We need to think about how do we distribute that pressure and think about using the system instead of just pushing everyone through,” Draper said during the meeting.
As a result, many of Toole Design’s proposals are ways to make Franklin and Rosemary Streets more attractive places to spend time. The proposals call for paving the streets with bricks, adding street trees and creating places for sculptures and monuments.
Proposals also included ways to enlarge the sidewalks and change parking and bike lanes.
“We know that if we are going to create safe spaces we need to separate and create formal spaces for all of our different users because they are going to use the street whether we decide to give them space or not,” Draper said.
After hearing what Draper had to say, many town council members, including Amy Ryan, were excited by the Mobility Plan’s suggestions.
“I am so excited to see a wider pedestrian realm, I keep trying to get it project by project and have not been successful for it,” Ryan said. “Franklin Street, it just feels so visually busy to me right now. And the designs that you’re showing, you have these nice trees, you’ve got the bike lanes are very readable and legible and the wider sidewalks, it will be so much of a nicer place.”
An illustration from Toole Design detailing the proposed changes in pedestrian space.
Still, Ryan and other council members shared concerns about the limited emphasis placed on Cameron and connecting streets. Michael Parker asked the project to take a wider scope.
“Downtown isn’t just, and certainly shouldn’t be going forward, just Franklin and Rosemary, and I think Cameron warrants similar attention, particularly for the pedestrian realm,” said Parker.
Council members were also concerned about Toole Design’s suggestion to not include bike lanes on Rosemary Street. Paris Miller-Foushee put a voice to the concerns.
A sketch of Rosemary Street with increased pedestrian space and no bike lanes from the presentation shared by Toole Design.
“I live off Roberson Street and when you get down to that side you’ve got a community center, access to the Tanyard Branch Trail, an elementary school and a whole lot of community members,” Miller-Foushee said.
Draper said their plans include more connections to Franklin Street, where there will be a parallel bike lane.
“Here,” Draper responded, “one of the thoughts was we wanted to emphasize that pedestrian space and so, by removing the bike lanes on Rosemary we’re able to have the idea of trees and shade and other amenities along with that high quality pedestrian space.”
In the next phase of the Downtown Mobility Plan, Toole Design will create a document including final recommendations and examples the town can use as they move forward updating and improving the accessibility of downtown streets.
Featured photo via Toole Design.
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