Road Diets: Pedestrian Safety Lane Reduction projects

In November 2022, following the success of the Augusta Street project, City Council voted in support of three additional lane reduction projects:

Grove Road – Henrydale Avenue to Augusta Street
The road diet will include restriping the road from four travel lanes (two in each direction) to three lanes (one in each direction with a center turn lane). This will allow for the creation of 4-foot buffered bike lanes and a designated turn lane for making left turns along the road. The Grove Road lane reduction project will be part of a larger resurfacing plan underway in early 2023.
Cleveland Street – McIver Street/Southland Avenue to East Faris Road
The proposed improvements will involve reconfiguring the road from five travel lanes (two in each direction with a center turn lane) to three travel lanes (one in each direction with a center turn lane). This change will reallocate the outside westbound travel lane (on the YMCA side of the road) to a two-way protected cycle track and reallocate the outside eastbound travel lane to landscape and/or concrete medians. The project will also involve an enhanced mid-block crosswalk with a median refuge and pedestrian flashing beacon signs near the intersection of Crescent Avenue.
City Council will need to designate and approve funding for the work.
Elford Street – Academy Street to Church Street
The proposed improvements will involve eliminating the existing traffic signal at the Academy/Elford intersection, making Elford Street a right in/right out only at Academy, and reconfiguring Elford Street from five travel lanes (two in each direction with a center turn lane) to three travel lanes (one in each direction with a center median). This project will be implemented as part of the Cultural Corridor Improvement Project. Bids for the work are anticipated by the end of 2023.

Augusta Street Project

Beginning in March 2022, the City implemented a "road diet" along the residential section of Augusta Street, from Augusta Place to Crystal Street.

The plan included restriping the road to convert the existing four-lane section into a three-lane roadway, with one lane in each direction and a two-way left turn lane in the center lane.

The new lane configuration gives left-turning cars a space to wait without blocking traffic. It also gives vehicles turning left off of side roads a refuge before merging into traffic. The City expects the change to increase safety of the corridor, improve sight distance for vehicles turning off side roads and reduce speeds.

The City presented its final report to the community during an open house held Oct. 13, 2022. Download the Final Report Presentation (PDF)

City leaders hosted neighborhood meetings to provide data, listen to concerns and receive community feedback before the first "road diet" project along Augusta Street.
City leaders hosted neighborhood meetings to provide data, listen to concerns and receive community feedback before the first "road diet" project along Augusta Street.
City leaders hosted neighborhood meetings to provide data, listen to concerns and receive community feedback before the first "road diet" project along Augusta Street.
City leaders hosted neighborhood meetings to provide data, listen to concerns and receive community feedback before the first "road diet" project along Augusta Street.
City leaders hosted neighborhood meetings to provide data, listen to concerns and receive community feedback before the first "road diet" project along Augusta Street.
City leaders hosted neighborhood meetings to provide data, listen to concerns and receive community feedback before the first "road diet" project along Augusta Street.
City leaders hosted neighborhood meetings to provide data, listen to concerns and receive community feedback before the first "road diet" project along Augusta Street.

Traffic Calming Terms

Road diet: Lane reduction technique to reduce the total number of travel lanes via use of a center, shared turning lane or median.

Roundabout: Circular roadway improvement used on higher volume streets to allocate right-of-way between competing vehicle movements. Roundabouts limit vehicle speeds and control flow on multiple streets simultaneously.

Landscaped Median: Area at the center of a roadway raised above roadbed to allow adequate width for plantings.

Pedestrian Refuge Island: A type of median used to reduce pedestrian crashes by allowing a safe place to stop at the midpoint of roadway.

Enhanced Crosswalks: Use of enhanced painting techniques to make pedestrian crosswalks more visible to oncoming traffic.