Went to the Five Points intersection public meeting tonight and here are the 9 concepts they presented at the meeting. I don’t think these are considered official “options” yet but they pretty much laid out everything they’re considering and wanted feedback on various elements within each concept.
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Which one is the most ped friendly typically? That many streets converging just looks intimidating, which it feels when you try to walk through that area now.
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I had the exact same thought. I think whichever plan slows down cars the most would be the way to go.
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I’ll take this one please! Roundabouts give more space to cars, not less, and are therefore highly overrated.
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https://images.app.goo.gl/RutZdjPYiJvfrJRr9
Put a bunch of speed bumps in on the approach and make it shared space
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Nice idea but that would never work in the US. People can’t even figure out 4-way stops, much less traffic circles, something like this would make their brains explode.
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I don’t think that crosswalks should be so close to the actual roundabouts. With that small change, I vote for the peanut roundabout.
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Single lane peanut by far is the most ped friendly. Crossing distances at all points are no more than one lane and it essentially is a diet. That said, I’m sure the neighborhood will fight it since they’re “losing a lane” - in reality they’re not since a lane is parking 90% of the day.
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As much as I would like to see major changes here, now that I see all the options, I kinda like A. Making the crosswalks shorter in distance and narrowing the street at certain points seems like a huge change in perception to cross Glenwood!
My other preference would be a double lane roundabout but add traffic lights for entering. Just doesn’t seem like it would work otherwise with the uneven volumes.
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Whichever one they choose, I think they should also really consider eliminating the “sometimes” on-street parking down that stretch of Glenwood. It’s f*cking insane to me that you can be hauling ass going 35-45 MPH (or more often 55 if we’re being honest about the general public haha) down a 2-lane (basically) highway, and then SUDDENLY there’s the ass-end of an immobile Chevy Tahoe in your path.
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G might at least allow for some cool public art.
If you’ve ever attended one of these public meetings, they typically go through the path of least resistance.
Which means either option A or B. The residents and business on Fairview and Glenn Rd won’t be too happy about loosing part of their street and elderly residents hate round-a-bouts. Maybe I’m wrong and they actually pick the peanut shaped one, but it’s unlikely.
Could you imagine option F, with a full row of trees and median down the middle of Glenwood?! Almost a guarantee someone leaving the Bison going down Whitaker won’t see this and full Duke’s of Hazard the median.
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If we just defer all the time to what people want, why do we even have experts who have both an education and experience in the topic?
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This is a good example of an intersection where roundabouts would make things worse.
I don’t think anything can be done to make it ‘good’ but running a BRT line, bike lanes, and better sidewalks on Glenwood through it would be a start.
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I totally agree with you, but when they ask the public to engage this typically happens. The Six Forks corridor study spent big money on a consulting firm to lay out the same scenarios, but the concept of losing a vehicle lane for a road-diet sent residents into a tailspin. Hence why things go towards the path of least resistance.
Didn’t this process get started after residents and business owners pleaded with council to do something to slow down cars and make it safer for pedestrians here after someone went Dukes of Hazzard into Lily’s Pizza? Will there be that much griping from residents if they lose a lane in order to achieve safety objectives?
I like peanuts. 
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Let’s put the Five Points intersection talk itself in it’s own thread, mainly around a possible re-design of this intersection.
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I really like the safe harbor ped island in the middle of the north and south side of Glenwood Ave. in the peanut plan.
I crossed this intersection last night on my daily evening walk and it would have been so much better with that layout.
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Never say never! Keep your mind open…
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