Jones Ferry Road Separated Bike Lane Project

Overview

During the summer of 2024, NCDOT will resurface Jones Ferry Road from the intersection of Old Fayetteville Road to the intersection of West Main Street as part of its regularly scheduled maintenance program. In 2021, the Town partnered with NCDOT to establish the first protected bike lane in North Carolina on a state-maintained road, when it installed plastic delineators along the north side of the corridor to create vertical separation for the eastbound bike lane. For the resurfacing project, the Town prepared a new pavement marking plan to add a westbound “separated” also known as a “buffered” bike lane. The project involved the Town hiring a contractor to reduce the width of the center median to provide sufficient space for the new bicycle facility.  When the resurfacing has been completed, the segment of Jones Ferry Road from the entrance to the Willow Creek Shopping Center to a point just southwest of Barnes Street will have protected bike lanes (painted buffers with plastic delineators for vertical separation) heading eastbound into Town and buffered bike lanes (painted buffers only) heading westbound. The project will include micro-milling around the stormwater grates in the bike lanes to minimize grade changes, and the installation of new green pavement markings to increase the visibility of bicycle facilities at potential conflict points along the entire corridor.

The project was identified as one of five top priority projects in the Town’s Updated Bike Plan (2021). For more about the history of this important project, please read below.

Download NCDOT approved plan 

Project Background – Protected Bike Lane Installation & SPOT Safety Project

Protected Bike Lane Installation

In response to community interests, a pilot project for a protected bike lane on Jones Ferry Road was developed in collaboration with NCDOT with discussions beginning in earnest as early as 2018. The goal of the pilot was to determine the effectiveness of vertical separation for improved rider safety and comfort along the corridor, and to understand how the installation might have implications relating to road maintenance and, in particular, snow, leaf and debris removal. The project was developed and submitted through an encroachment agreement process with NCDOT and approved for installation in May 2021.

A new protected bike lane was installed along the eastbound lane by the Town’s Public Works Department in August of 2021. It began just south of the NC 54 eastbound ramps and extended north to the point near Barnes Street, where the street narrows and the buffered bike lane ends. The pilot project was in place through August 2022, and during this period, Town staff disseminated a survey to understand the user experience, collected supporting data (bike-ped counts and motor vehicle volume/speed) at regular intervals and discussed impacts relating to maintenance with NCDOT and the Town Public Works Department. Based on the evaluation, it was determined that the delineators could remain in place as a permanent installation.

A map of the pilot project installation can be viewed here.

Group Ride to celebrate the installation on October 29, 2021.

SPOT Safety Project (TIP# W-5207 I)

In October 2009, Town staff met with NCDOT for a site visit at the intersection of Jones Ferry Road and Davie Road to discuss countermeasures for safety following a crash involving a pedestrian on September 10^th. The Division Traffic Engineering staff subsequently prepared a safety study and concept plan for modifications to the Jones Ferry Road corridor to address safety. Elements under consideration included constructing a roundabout or installing road diet with traffic calming features such as reducing the speed limit, reducing pedestrian crossing distances, and relocating bus stops for better site distances. The Town held a public hearing on a concept plan which involved the road diet on March 27, 2012, and had a follow-up discussion on June 5, 2012. The Town expressed support of the concept plan and NCDOT finalized the designed in 2015. Construction was completed in 2016. The project was funded through the SPOT Safety Program on of the programs under the Highway Safety Program (HISP).   There was discussion of installing vertical separation between the bike lanes and travel lanes as part of the SPOT Safety project, but ultimately it was determined that the installation of delineators or similar elements was outside of the scope of the NCDOT project. 

If you have any additional questions or comments, please contact:

Tina Moon
Planning Administrator
919-918-7325
cmoon@carrboronc.gov