Moving Forward - Selected Option

Thanks again to everyone who provided feedback on this project. That feedback, along with many other factors, led us to select our preferred option to move towards construction in 2027.

The West Cameron Ave bicycle improvements will be on the south side of the street in the form of a 10 foot wide cycle-track (pictured below) that covers about 0.6 miles from Merritt Mill Rd to S Columbia Street. This project will provide a safe and convenient connection to and from the Libba Cotten Bikeway in Carrboro and UNC-CH's main campus. It will also include a resurfacing of the entire street.

This will be Chapel Hill’s first cycle-track. It can be thought of as an in-street greenway where everyone on bikes will be consolidated to one side of the street and can travel in both directions. Cyclists will still operate as vehicles and follow appropriate pavement markings, signage, and traffic lights. The project will also have the Town’s first bicycle traffic lights.

This option addresses shared Town and community interests, including safety, accessibility, connectivity, and a high-quality user experience.

Here’s some more about the shared interests reflected in the chosen option:

• Safety. This option provides concrete separation from cars, has the fewest driveway conflicts, and creates safe transitions through intersections.
• Connectivity. This will create a direct connection to the Libba Cotten Bikeway and the S Merritt Mill Rd bike lanes. It will also provide a convenient connections to UNC-CH's south campus.
• Maintenance. The 10’ wide track can be maintained by existing equipment (paving, sweeping, and drain cleaning) and will be easier to resurface in the long term.
• Cost and Efficiency. This is the cheapest option and the most simple to construct. It also uses the least total space while still providing room for faster cyclists (including those using e-bikes) to pass slower cyclists, and maintains on-street parking on the north side.

Next Steps:

• Begin detailed design work - this means figuring out the exact specifications of what the infrastructure will look like and how it will get constructed.
• Continue to coordinate closely with project stakeholders like NCDOT, UNC-CH, Town of Carrboro, utility companies, Historic District Commission, property owners, Town departments, etc
• Proceed to detailed design and engineering to have the project ready to bid for construction by spring of 2027.