Actually, sounds like the speed limit should go up.
He means cycle the lights longerā¦
No I donāt think thatās what he meant. He meant that the traffic lights should incentivize people to drive slower. The current pace of traffic lights currently rewards people for driving faster than the speed limit (in his estimation).
Youāre saying raise the speed limit to match the faster timing and I think John is saying increase the green timeā¦to go slower and make the lights, the lights have to be green longer=longer green light cycles.
That would negatively affect cross traffic.
If youāre one of those people that doesnāt go a little over the speed limit (30 in a 25, not anything crazy), you donāt deserve to make the lights 
Yeah, well, I am one of those people who wants to model my behavior in my car based on how I want to see DT be for pedestrian experience. I donāt want to add to seemingly never ending one-up-man-ship of always driving faster than the next guy.
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When did we start talking about cross traffic? Weāre talking about matching light cycle timing to vehicle speeds.
Those people stomping on the gas to make a light are the people I will be yanking out of their driverās seats and pummeling the next time I am almost hit. It happens a lotā¦itās red, Iām two steps into the street and someone revs through. You cannot even jokingly advocate for cars vs safe pedestrian measures downtown. Iāll get the speed limit lowered to 25 with raised speed humps at each intersection if I have to, so do your part and keep it 35 in downtown.
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If the intention for the city is to have cars make all green lights when one makes the first one, then they need to be re-synced. The reality is that the syncs are, well, slightly out of sync. They often require you to speed up to not be stopped by subsequent signals. The next time you make a trip through, watch the countdowns on each subsequent crosswalk.
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Hey yāall - Mary here, Bicycle and Pedestrian Commissioner for the City of Raleigh. It sounds like council will actually be reviewing the Blount / Person St corridor plan at the next (Oct) council meeting. This came as a (big) surprise to me, since BPAC had been told consistently that this installation was eminent - for the past - ya know TWO YEARS. There was some concern that council may actually modify the proposed installation in order to preserve some of the onstreet parking - which is mostly (or all, I canāt recall specifics) time of day restricted parking. Anyway - just wanted to provide an update on here. To date, Iāve heard 10/2 for changes to traffic schedule and 10/16 for construction contract / bid acceptance.
From how it was explained to me, Council will still need to act three times on this project though 1) to restrict parking during construction 2) to contract the work and 3) to open up the new parking after construction. I will keep everyone updated on here, but if you (like me!) would like to see this corridor remain intact with a full length north south connection, there may be rallying needed with council. If they get heartburn about parking removal, I may send out a link to email them on here (if thatās ok, Leo?) so people can easily send a quick note in support of this road project / multi-modal infrastructure investments in Raleigh.
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Also wanted to add that there have been some unforeseen challenges with this project, including (tragically) the death of the staffer at the city that was the project lead on this, which I think has contributed to some of the timing lag.
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Thanks for the update and the work you do.
However I wonāt support any bike project that isnāt a protected bike lane project.
Itās just irresponsible, ineffective, and lead to more bicycle/motor vehicle incidents. Just because few municipalities in the US are doing it doesnāt mean have to stick with the herd on this.
Oh look a Danish protected bike lane and yet it thereās parking still. What is this Danish Wizard Wheelie Magic!
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Donāt disagree with you and encourage you to continue to advocate for premier facilities (seriously keep saying this is needed, loudly). Incrementalism (with anything) is usually the name of the game though - especially when you are dealing with a deeply embedded car centric model.
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Speaking of protected bike lanes, would you have any update on our only potential protected lane with the West St. Cycle Track?
Other than staff indicating that itās in NCDOTās court (waiting on signal approval at intersections), no. The new Bike / Ped Manager started this week (the position was vacancy for the past 5 months) - this will be a top priority.
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there are other ways to improve safety for people riding bikes or walking besides adding protected bike lanes - this road diet will slow traffic and reduce throughput and make it a safer corridor regardless of the bike facilities.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you, for participating in our little DT community.
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Mary, how can we best show support for the current Blount / Person st bike lane plan (keeping protected bike lanes) if we cannot attend council meetings during the workday?