The Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization completed a U.S. 17 Business Corridor Study in 2007 that evaluated a road “diet” on Market Street between Third Street and Covil Avenue, MPO Executive Director Mike Kozlosky said.
“This road diet evaluation analyzed the conversion of Market Street from a four-lane facility down to one lane in each direction with a median, bike lanes and limited on-street parking,” Kozlosky said. “The preferred alternative in the plan is to reduce the typical section from four lanes down to two lanes, with a raised landscape median, left-turns where appropriate, bike lanes and some on-street parking.”
But based on a traffic model analysis completed during the planning effort, Kozlosky said the plan recommends the completion of the Independence Boulevard extension from Market Street to the Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway before work can begin on the proposed improvements to that section of Market Street.
The plan can be viewed on the Wilmington MPO website.
Date posted: December 14, 2010
User-contributed question by:
Oceanman
I think changing that piece of road back to two lanes with a median is long overdue, but I question the utility of bike lanes there. I typically use either Castle St. or Chestnut St. to ride downtown, so where is the value in building cycling-specific infrastructure two blocks over? Especially when Market St. east of Colonial is the last place any cyclist would ever willingly ride.
I can’t imagine that road being 2 lane again. It is completely full during the day as it is-think of the nightmare it would be if all that traffic was forced into one lane each way.
And a bike lane? Really? I’m scared to just DRIVE IN A CAR on Market St in the narrow portion during the day or anytime near bar closing. It truly is running the gauntlet. Build a dedicated lane on Castle or Grace and Chestnut. Who would want to fight the traffic on Market on a bike?
Terrible idea. Leave it 4 lanes and add bike facilites on one of the secondary parallel streets that get almost no traffic. Carolina Beach over the summer is a perfect example of why the “road diet” plan fails. Americans are not going to stop driving their cars because you make the roads smaller…..