Last April, I wrote a piece about drivers speeding along N. Greensboro Street. As I noted, it’s hard to make safety changes, in part, because our town doesn’t control these roads – NCDOT does.
I’ve still been observing the intersection at N Greensboro at Shelton Street and wanted to note some recent incidents. Keep in mind I’m just one person and this is what I, personally, have observed.
- A pedestrian was in the crosswalk at the southern edge of the intersection. A driver turning left out of Shelton Station did not see the pedestrian. The pedestrian was able to jump out of the way but their phone may have been crushed by the car.
- A parent and two kids wait to cross N Greensboro St. Traffic stops in both directions to let them cross!
- A line of cars comes from the Estes roundabout. The first driver maintains an appropriate speed (the speed limit is 20mph). The second driver continually honks their car horn – presumably at the first driver, perhaps in impatience – from the curve at Pleasant all the way to the Weaver St traffic light.
There has been some positive movement from the town: A transportation update provided last February noted that staff submitted a request to NCDOT to lower the speed limit from just west of Shelton Street to the Estes Drive roundabout from 30 mph to twenty-five mph. The update also noted that staff is working with the Town Engineer to consider possible design modifications to Shelton Street to provide better cycling facilities, such as a two-way cycle track and/or a contra-flow lane, which would make it safer for kids biking to Carrboro Elementary School. (In a separate update from June, the town authorized installing four signals to make it safer for bicycle riders at East Main Street at Roberson Street, Main Street at North Greensboro Street, Weaver Street at North Greensboro Street, and NC 54 at West Poplar Avenue.)
I will continue to follow what happens at this intersection and will continue to encourage the town to work with NCDOT to make it safer for pedestrians.