I would hope that they choose to go through with the design with a separated sidewalk beside the bike track. Mixed-use paths create chaos between pedestrians and bikers.
Bikers who want to get to their destination quickly often get delayed by pedestrians who have accessibility needs or are just simply strolling.
If you’ve ever biked on the trail, you know that pedestrians ignore bike bells like drivers ignore stop signs.
I am not a fan of these paths crossing so close to the actual roundabout. It would seem to me that they aren’t as safe as if they crossed somewhere that doesn’t already have a lot of activity.
As a walker, I have crossed the street on Hillsborough (at crosswalks) near the roundabouts and it doesn’t feel safe to me because I don’t know where a car in the roundabout is going to exit it. On the plus side, at leas there’s an island in the middle of the crossings to stand and wait if necessary.
After being a peanut/roundabout fanboy on this project, I actually don’t love this design anymore. I think RDOT could have designed a more typical 2 lane urban street with parallel parking separated bike lanes and sidewalks and saved many millions while taking up less space…
#endrant
I tend to agree, and the bike path and sidewalk are actually separated along a few large sections, but in total it’s only for about half the length; from Saunders to Hammell and then again from (roughly) Grissom to Goode. I assume they didn’t fully separate them due to some sort of ROW issue. Then again, there appears to be plenty of room on the Eastern stretch where it isn’t separated, so who knows. 
Would you feel a little better about it if they painted the center to look like an actual peanut, like the pizza slice median on Peace St by Seaboard Station?
Most round-a-bouts are pepperonis.
Not to be a one-trick pony lately but this also stops like 400 ft short of connecting the Walnut Creek Trail and Rocky Branch Trail down Lake Wheeler. Not that it can’t be done in the future but that’s after 3 feasibility studies and 4 planning sessions.
This was disappointing to me, too. A real head-scratcher.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still a fantastic project that will do wonders for the area. But why not go all the way down to the greenway!
I don’t think it will really deter anyone from using it, though, as that gap will still be filled by a sidewalk as part of the Maywood sidewalk project. But it definitely should have been a MUP.
Whatever that creek is that runs from the Union Station to Rocky Branch that would be a solid greenway line to connect downtown to Dix Park better.
Bridging the gap between that and Pigeon House Branch with a greenway will require creativity.
A write up on the Stone Houses:
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article288889004.html
Main Takeaways:
“The first was the Flower Cottage near the sunflower fields that currently houses conservancy staff, and three more homes will be preserved that could host artists or historians in residence”.
The remaining 11 houses will be demolished since they are in disrepair and have hazardous material like asbestos.
FUTURE DIX PARK PROJECTS
“The city will once again see the rise of the popular 5-acre sunflower fields sometime this summer, likely in July.
The park will host a reception for its newest public art, a sculpture of several giant, stacked circles, by New York-based artist DeWitt Godfrey. A reception is planned from 4-9 p.m. June 21, at the Stone Houses. More public art will be unveiled this year.
Construction on the $72 million Gipson Play Plaza is underway, with playgrounds, water features, gardens and cookout areas set to open in 2025”.
I imagine the 11 houses they’re demolishing are the ugly lil white ones that really don’t add anything like the 3 stone houses do. More green/open space is a win!!
Update on the ‘land bridge’ over Western Blvd. 3 options being considered; land bridge, pedestrian bridge, and combo of the two. The combo is the recommended option. Turns out the land bridge sort of conflicts with the whole Rocky Branch stream restoration.
And the overall creek restoration project:
This is going to be such a HUGE upgrade to that corridor and the park. And imagine if the Artery could connect that to downtown via the current Norfolk Southern Railroad line.
I’d have to disagree with this statement. The bridge is raised over the stream and also serves as a storm water sequester. Plus the environmental surveys would’ve killed this bridge project if there were any issues with stormwater management.
If they made the whole bridge out of dirt, they would’ve had to make the creek tunnel through it - that conflicts with the idea of having the creek as more natural.
They originally proposed to use dirt? 
Structurally speaking that doesn’t sound like that would be a good idea given the location.
This is why a combination of both was suggested. A land bridge would extend over Western, then an open air or sky view bridge would continue over the creek. See below:
Would agree that it is possible to have both a “land bridge” cross-section for the elevated pedestrian/bike connection and an open stream corridor.
Land bridges are not usually continuous earthen dams but are instead spanning something. So usually consist of earth placed on a wide structural span crossing the road or water feature separating the two sides.
Frequently used to provide a “natural” habitat for wildlife movement over an otherwise difficult to cross element. In this instance providing a more naturalistic setting than a pedestrian bridge to be more compatible with the park.
The span over the road could be extended to include the stream and/or have a more open air feel over the stream.
