This issue was recategorized from Street Lighting - Traffic to Traffic Signal.

Chapel Hill, NC assigned this issue to Dylan Horne

Thank you for reporting your issue with the Town of Chapel Hill. This change was intentional to reduce turning conflicts at this intersection during the Estes Drive detour. The Hillsborough St side has dramatically more traffic with the detour in place, and residents on the Umstead side reported issues trying to make turns with such heavy conflicting traffic. The grade changes within the intersection and curve along Hillsborough also make it difficult for the Umstead side to judge oncoming vehicles as well. If you feel this issue has not been resolved to your satisfaction, please contact us by phone at 919-969-5100.

There needs to be a turn signal on Umstead Dr side. There is no indication that oncoming traffic is being held or when it will be released creating a confusing and unsafe condition for drivers. This would make sense with a green turn arrow, but is dangerous without.

Thank you for your comment. Adding a green arrow would require changing the signal head. The phase changing is meant to be a temporary measure during the Estes Road detour. Split phasing (where opposite approaches have different phases instead of running concurrently) is used at many locations in town. Please see the NC DMV driver manual about the meanings of various traffic signal indications.

Likewise the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices says:
Standard:
03 The following meanings shall be given to highway traffic signal indications for vehicles and pedestrians:

Steady green signal indications shall have the following meanings:
Vehicular traffic facing a CIRCULAR GREEN signal indication is permitted to proceed straight through or turn right or left or make a U-turn movement except as such movement is modified by lane-use signs, turn prohibition signs, lane markings, roadway design, separate turn signal indications, or other traffic control devices.
Such vehicular traffic, including vehicles turning right or left or making a U-turn movement, shall yield the right-of-way to:
Pedestrians lawfully within an associated crosswalk, and
Other vehicles lawfully within the intersection.

The crux of the issue is that the current setup confuses drivers. Despite the 'standard' citation, this is definitely not a standard setup for a traffic light. Please return it to its previous state or install a signal.

We agree completely with Rob Zelt’s report and comment. We were very confused when the change was made to delay the green light at the intersection of MLK and Umstead. We have seen near collisions because of the change.

We do not consider this a temporary issue as a result of the Estes construction and detour plan. In fact, oncoming traffic across the intersection is not completely visible for those making a left turn from Umstead onto MLK because the road is not level on the Hillsborough Street side of the intersection. Often vehicles on Hillsborough Street speed up to “beat” a yellow light and are not seen by vehicles in the intersection attempting to complete their left turn onto MLK from Umstead. A left turn signal would make the intersection much more safe.

Rob’s request to make an equipment change to include a let turn signal makes complete sense. We hope that you will consider making that possible.

I agree. It's a troublesome intersection due to cars near the intersection on the Hillsborough St side dipping out of view from the Umstead side. An arrow signal is the ideal solution.

But if that's not something that can be budgeted, a return to the status quo would still be better than the current configuration.

Hello,
To echo Rob Zelt and others, I live off of Umstead Ave. and drive through the Umstead/Hillsborough/MLK intersection every day. The left turn from Umstead onto MLK was already dangerous with cars approaching quickly from down the hill (and out of sight) on Hillsborough. But with the new change to the green light, it adds additional confusion and no risk averse (or properly trained driver) would make a left turn in front of cars that appear to be going straight on a green light. The town's rationale does not make sense and as a public health practitioner, I would identify this change as creating a hazard, not removing one. This intersection would likely benefit from a left turn signal even when Estes construction is finished. But as is, the town has exacerbated a traffic issue, not provided a solution.

I reached out via email to Rob Zelt, asking if there is a day and time he'd be able and willing to meet me at the intersection of NC 86 / Umstead / Hillsborough. That offer goes to anyone else, but he's the only one whose email address is visible in this SeeClickFix platform. Feel free to email me at rhenderson@townofchapelhill.org

Roger Henderson
Transportation Engineering Manager
Town of Chapel Hill

I'm not sure why so little thought seems to have been given to traffic on the detour routes before the Estes construction began. This light sees a ton of detour traffic, and cars are taking shortcuts through the repair garage and gas station to avoid the backup, which is equally unsafe. It doesn't seem like any attention was paid to making this detour work for the drivers forced to take it. If adding an arrow signal requires a new traffic signal to ensure the safety of traffic on Umstead, why is that a problem? And why are the citizens having to raise this issue, instead of engineers regularly assessing the traffic flow along the detour routes? Addressing the issue now, with school out of session, is only a short term fix.

Thank you for reporting your issue with the Town of Chapel Hill. We are pleased to advise you that this issue has been resolved and closed. The signal has been returned to the original settings. If you feel this issue has not been resolved to your satisfaction, please contact us by phone at 919-969-5100.