Rea Road Project
City of Charlotte
Citizen Issues shared at May 21, 2003 public meeting
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Protected Southbound Left-turn Phase at NC 51 and Rea This was a primary concern
for citizens. The project team was successful in getting a protected left turn signal at Rea
Road and NC 51. The signal was installed in November 2003.
Impacts to Buffers by Road Widening Any widening of the road, whether by addition
of elements such as travel lanes, bike lanes, sidewalks, planting strips or a median, will
cause impacts to existing features along Rea Road. The degree of impact will be
governed by how many of these elements are included in the project and how those
elements are then designed. Much of the success of this project will be based upon how
well the project team and the community can balance the design elements with the
impacts they cause.
Safety In its condition today, Rea Road presents safety hazards not only to motorists, for
its lack of proper visibility near intersections, but to pedestrians and bicyclists as well. All
design decisions made in the course of this project will need to greatly improve the safety
for everyone traveling along Rea Road.
Pedestrian Crossings In order for Rea Road to be made safe for pedestrians, all
intersections will need to be designed carefully to maximize safety as well as comfort for
people wishing to cross those intersections. During the design process we will evaluate
features such as countdown pedestrian signals and incorporate the best available design
practices.
Increased Traffic Although it is easy to imagine that adding travel lanes to a two-lane
road will increase the volume of traffic along that road, our experience doesn't support
this. When streets make new connections, traffic often increases greatly, as was the case
with the recent Johnston Road connection. However when existing streets are widened,
we find traffic volumes only grow at the average rate that all roads in the area experience.
At the same time, roads which are not widened continue to experience increases in traffic
after the road becomes congested.
Utilities The City of Charlotte does not currently have a policy for moving overhead
utilities underground as part of any street improvement project, including Rea Road.
However, due to the severe ice storm that occurred in December 2003, City Council
asked City staff to prepare an outline for studying the issue of burying above-ground
utility lines. The study would explore options for addressing economic development,
aesthetics, safety, reliability, and storm mitigation. Initially Council deferred
authorization but will revisit it later this year.
Median Impacts to Access If a median is included on any part of the project, there will
be opportunities at future workshops to consider the median openings in order to
maximize both access and safety.
The feedback received reaffirms the importance of these issues and the need for a detailed public
involvement process which will allow a greater degree of citizen participation.