The Carrboro Board of Alderman unanimously passed a resolution at Tuesday's meeting to begin stage two traffic calming measures in the Blue Ridge Road neighborhood.
It's been two years since the Town of Carrboro received the latest traffic calming request from the residents of Blue Ridge Road.
Bergen Watterson, transportation planner for the Town of Carrboro, said the request was sent in because of cars speeding in the mornings and afternoons while children walked and biked in the street. There are no sidewalks or bike lanes on Blue Ridge Road, and it has been recently included in the walk-zone for McDougle Elementary.
In August 2015, a petition was signed by more than 75 percent of the residents and data was gathered in February and March of this year. The road is about half a mile long, has a speed limit of 25 mph and serves around 55 residences.
In an evaluation done from July to September of this year, three test zones of the road were eligible for stage two traffic calming, which includes curb extensions, sidewalks and speed humps.
The traffic calming process began in 2005, but Watterson said some neighbors did not want to implement speed humps on Blue Ridge Road and the process failed to continue.
Watterson said he recommended implementing stage one traffic calming, and in three to six months, re-evaluating for stage two.
Despite the recommendation, the residents of the neighborhood pushed for stage two to begin soon.
"Even if it's just a stop sign, a sidewalk, a bike lane — something that marks the street, so that somebody has to pay attention," said Helena de Fay, a neighborhood resident.
