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5
Recommendations
5.4 Bicycle and Pedestrian Network
Overall, Morrisville has tremendous potential as a bicycling and walking community due
to a number of as-yet-undeveloped stream corridors and easements that could be used
to provide a “trunk” system of off-road facilities, and a rapidly expanding roadway system
with a number of road widening projects being conducted by both public and private
entities that can be used to leverage on-road improvements for both pedestrians and
cyclists. Caution should be exhibited, however, as intersections and roads are designed to
ensure that pedestrians and cyclists are accommodated more than just adequately and
ensure not only their safety, but their convenience as well. The objective is to encourage
more walking and bicycling by increasing the attractiveness of the pedestrian and cycling
environments.
To create excellent walking and bicycling opportunities, Morrisville needs to participate
in ensuring that the Five E’s of sound bicycle and pedestrian planning are accomplished:
Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Encouragement, and Evaluation (this idea origi-
nated with NCDOT). The first four are accomplished by creating projects and programs
that address cycling and walking problems, and create a better transportation system
for all levels of users. The last, Evaluation, is part of an ongoing outreach program, which
Morrisville is already very good at doing; holding public meetings and conducting citizen
surveys on a regular basis. The Five E’s typically require the partnership with other agencies
besides a town planning department to implement successfully and continuously. These
partners can and should include health-based organizations, law enforcement agencies,
engineering staff, state and regional planning agencies, and the business community.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Project Recommendations
The Morrisville Transportation Plan worked closely with the community and Plan Advisory
Committee to develop project priorities. A public workshop conducted on March 27, 2008,
asked participants to identify roadway, transit, and bicycle/pedestrian improvements us-
ing both markers and string to prioritize improvements to the transportation systems. A vari-
ety of considerations were used to develop the initial candidate project listing, including:
•
The
Morrisville Parks, Greenways, and Open Space Master Plan
(2006), which contains
recommendations particularly for off-road greenway facilities.
•
Public comments received at three public workshops and three focus groups, par-
ticularly the Youth Focus Group conducted on January 8, 2008.
•
Comments received from the Plan Advisory Committee.
•
Field observations conducted by members of the consulting staff experienced in
bicycle/pedestrian planning and development.
•
Comments received from the Town of Morrisville Staff at several coordination
meetings, notably including one coordination meeting with the Town of Cary in
April, 2008.
•
Triangle J Council of Governments Center of the Region Enterprise (CORE) bicycle
and pedestrian plans.
An important consideration in the development of biking and walking recommendations
is that while bikers and walkers do “cross paths” on greenway facilities, the two modes of
travel are as fundamentally different from each other as either one is compared to driving
a car. These differences include emphases on skills, facility types, safety features, govern-
ing policies/regulations, and the degree of interaction with vehicular traffic. Therefore, the
recommendations have to respect these differences, as do the priorities that the Town
should emphasize to create better environments for pedestrians and cyclists. Certainly,
both cyclists and pedestrians share the experience of a slower pace; more exposure to
sensory elements like lighting, noise, and odors; and heightened sensitivity of the distance
between origins and destinations than their car-driving counterparts making the same trip.
Hence, walking is about more than sidewalks and cycling is about more than a bicycle
lane or parking rack. Both modes benefit greatly from a diverse and complementary set of
land uses in near proximity to one another; superior façade and landscaping treatments;
adequate ground-level lighting conditions; and an awareness and enforcement of safe
walking, driving, and cycling habits that comes from program and policy changes.
The general recommendation of this Plan is for 8-foot multi-use paths on both sides of
major roads as well as 4-foot bike lanes (plus a 2-foot gutter pan). Exceptions are Airport
Boulevard and Aviation Parkway, which will have 6-foot bike lanes in recognition of higher
traffic volumes and speeds; Davis Drive and Cary Parkway, which will have wide outside
lanes to match the cross-section in Cary; and NC 54, which has a 10-foot walkway on the
east side, 5-foot sidewalk on the west side, and 6-foot bike lanes (4-foot in the Town Cen-
ter). Smaller roadways will have 5-foot sidewalks on both sides of the roadway; two-lane
roads have wide lanes to allow for bicycles sharing the road, and four-lane roads have
wide outside lanes.
Small-scale bicycle and pedestrian improvements, which could be implemented at a low-
er cost to the Town and as interim solutions to immediate safety and accessibility problems
until funds for larger-scale renovations are available, are listed in Figure 5.15. One recom-
mendation for specific improvements to the Airport Boulevard and Factory Shops Road
area is detailed in Figure 5.16, and several are displayed in the map in Figure 5.17. Some
of the projects in the map are described as primary recommendations in Figure 5.18; ad-
ditional projects shown on the map are planned to be implemented at the same time as
new roadway construction. Estimated cost for many projects is listed; the estimates are
for the specific project improvements only, and will not include ancillary costs associated
with signal, intersection, or crossing improvements; those without a cost would likely be
constructed as part of a major roadway widening project, and the costs are included in
the roadway improvement cost listed in Figure 5.6.
Policies that affect biking and walking are often contained in different places, like subdivi-
I think Morr i svi l le i s better
than where I l ived [before] .
I did not l ike the feel ing of
being scared to be hi t by a
speeding car or my dog hurt
and no places to walk or r ide
my bike.
- Youth Focus Group Participant (January, 2008)
NCDOT’s Five E’s of sound bicycle
and pedestrian planning.
Bicycle/Pedestrian Facility Definitions
Bike Lane
- A portion of the roadway that
has been designated by striping, signing and
pavement markings for the preferential and
exclusive use of bicyclists.
Multi-use Path
- Physically separated from motor
vehicle traffic, usually within the roadway right-
of-way. Wider than a sidewalk, typically 8 to 10
feet wide.
Greenway
- Similar to a Multi-use Path, but
contained in an independent right-of-way,
separated from roadways.
Signed Bicycle Route
- Designated route with
directional and informational markers.
Designated along more lightly traveled
residential or secondary roads where additional
facilities are not necessary.
Wide Outside Lane
-The through lane closest to
the curb is wider (generally 14 feet, rather than
12 or 11 feet), allowing cars to more safely pass
bicyclists.
Sharrow
- Sharrows are streets marked with bi-
cycle symbols to denote that bicycles “share” the
travel lane with motorized traffic.