Planning & Transportation

Just yesterday, while planning a trip to the other side of downtown, I was wondering when the heck are we going to get some community bikes that I can jump on, ride across town, and leave for the next person to use?

This morning I got the answer: May. SURGE and the ReCyclery are planning to introduce a community bike program during national Bike to Work Week, May 15-19.

John Herrera proposed a program like this during his re-election campign in Carrboro last fall. But I haven't heard anything since...

I've been thinking a lot about the evolution of our community to a more urban mode of development. I think this is generally a good thing because it allows us to continue to grow without sprawling ever-outward, and also supports more pedestrian-oriented land uses which will build the critical mass needed to support fixed-guideway (rail or dedicated busway) transit. This continued growth (at a moderate pace, of course) is essential to maintain at least a modicum of affordable housing options. We can't just close the gate behind us now that we've got ours.

But of course this doesn't mean that anything big is automatically good. Similar to Carolina North if it's done right urbanization can revolutionize our community. But if done poorly it could ruin many of the things we love about living here. So I have a growing concern that our current planning and development review process is built to manage the suburban-style growth that we have seen for the last couple of decades.

The Carrboro Transportation Board has recommended a roundabout at the Carrboro High School entrance at Smith Level and Rock Haven roads. My guess is that public resistance to this roundabout may be strong. (Read the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Status Report, Vol. 36, No. 7). I further doubt NCDOT and the school system will push it. My guess is that without serious community education about the difference between a modern day roundabout and a Boston rotary this proposal will go over like a lead brick.