Also agree. Fairview, Aycock, and Beckett all need serious traffic calming.

Part of the proposed plans from the Capital Boulevard Corridor Study are to close the ramp from Fairview to Capital - which should eliminate most of the speeding problems.

School speed zones need better marking and monitoring on the roads surrounding Underwood Elementary in order to protect the large number of students who walk to school.

The Fairview/wade ave bridge project has several proposed options, only two include closing the Fairview bridge. The work won't start until 2016..... Plus the change would connect the whole neighborhood more to glenwood south via west st, which may have the effect of increasing traffic overall. I just want people driving slower!

I agree, there was an accident just the other day on Fairview and Aycock. Lower the speed limit and increase enforcement.

I agree, something needs to be done to decrease speed here and other streets in the neighborhood as well.

Agreed. Several weeks ago, traffic study timers/equipment were laid out on Aycock - though for maybe 2 weeks, max. Aycock (as well as Bickett) are major cut-throughs - and Aycock could use stop signs at the park, and at the bottom of the hill (Aycock & Bickett). What's wrong with stop signs, if all of the residents want them?

Speaking of accidents...there was one less than a week ago - Aycock and Sunrise - T-Bone.
Use the tools we already have to slow down the speed.

We have recently completed a speed study for the area from Scales to Capital Boulevard on Fairview (March 2012 SCF 169112). This study showed the 85th percentile at about 36 mph but only 1.9% of the traffic going in excess of 10 mph over the speed limit, which generally is insufficient to justify special speeding enforcement projects. At the same time we did a 4-way stop study for the intersection of Bickett and Fairview which did not meet warrants for installation of this kind of traffic control. Our long experience here citywide is that lowering speed limits as a traffic calming measure does not work, particularly when the speed limit is already lower than the citywide standard of 35 mph. People tend to go as fast as they feel comfortable, and we simply do not have enough officers to effectively enforce a speed zone all the time, so traffic calming using a variety of methods is the preferred solution to a mismatch between traffic speed and the residential character of an area. Empirical evidence around the country also indicates that the installation of 4-way stops generally does not work to solve the problem. People just speed up between the stop signs, plus it has an air quality negative, as the repeated braking and acceleration dramatically increases air pollution near the intersections where stop signs have been installed. We have referred this issue to Tom Fiorello, who leads the City's traffic calming program. This program funds a variety of projects around the City each year, but it is a scored system based on traffic volume and speed that determines the priorities for funding. When he has had a chance to respond I will update this issue. The equipment that you saw on the streets was there for the City's regular vehicle trip count on our collector street system, of which Aycock is a part.

I appreciate the response by the city of Raleigh. However, I would urge the city to take some action here. Speed on fairview is excessive given the close proximity to a magnet elementary school. There are a significant number of walkers to underwood and a high number of cars using fairview to get to capital boulevard. At a bare minimum signs alerting drivers to school crossings should be expanded. Expanding school zone would be helpful. Limited policing and enforcement of the existing speed limit during school hours could also be a deterrent. It would be a shame to wait until there is a tragedy to address this issue.

We are seeing the speed increase on Fairview and Aycock Streets. Signals or stop signs at a minium are needed to slow traffic to an acceptable neighborhood speed. If it were 'inconvenient' to cut down Fairview or 'zip' through Aycock due to stop signs at cross streets, that would be best. I cannot begin to count the number of times I've almost been hit crossing the street (with the right of way) due to a speeding car. Imagine a child walking to or from school without a parent. It only takes one - let's be proactive and not reactive. We all acknoledge there's an issue, and 4 way stops are an inexpensive way to save a life.

Here's some more information from Tom Fiorello: The portion of Fairview from Glenwood down to the railroad tracks was evaluated earlier this year for our traffic calming program. The street currently sits in 27th place out of the 71 streets on the traffic calming minor project list with 43.35 points. Its spot on the list means that it is 2-3 years away from consideration at a minimum.

We also have recently moved the warning signs regarding the school zone back further from the school and increased the visibility of the signs particularly coming from Capital Boulevard. I will ask our staff whether any further signage can be installed.

Regarding the speed limit issue, Fairview was ordinanced at 30 mph in 1996. It is possible to lower it to 25 mph through a citizen petition. If someone is willing to circulate a speed limit reduction petition, Tom will be happy to generate the petition and send it to the person willing to circulate it. This, of course, does not mean the Council will necessarily approve the petition, but it can start the process. FYI, the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program policy states that no speed limit less than 25 mph will be considered. If the speed limit is lowered to 25 mph, after a period of time we can then re-evaluate it for a special enforcement project by RPD. Please contact Tom directly for more information (tom.fiorello@raleighnc.gov).

Please note that although 4-way stops seem to be a simple fix...it really is not a fix. There is no evidence that the installation of 4-way stops results in safety improvements and actually some evidence that they cause more accidents as people get frustrated and tend to "drift" through them or get confused as to who has the right of way, particularly when pedestrians are assuming people will stop at the stop signs, and then they don't. This is why we stick to very specific national standards regarding the location of stop signs, and measure the warrants carefully whenever people request stop signs. The last thing we want to do is to make the situation more hazardous in an attempt to make it safer. And as I mentioned before, frequent stop signs are documented to result in substantially more air pollution, which is not a desirable outcome particularly in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood where a lot of people and kids are on the sidewalks. I can relate because I live here, too, and both my kids walked to Underwood.

I would be happy to work on circulating the petition. Please let me k ow what I need todo.

I can't believe that the concerned citizens & neighbors in this community can't have more of an immediate impact on resolving this issue.
The City has shared how we can start a petition... "Tim" has stepped up to get that going, but we can have more than one person help there.
I would like to know what the RPD can do immediately to get speed enforcement (ticketing) started? Can a petition be created? I suspect that even periodic ticketing in all city school zones would help deter speeders.
Who can the citizens petition to get flashing lights on the school zone signage?
Can the principal at Underwood and/or PTA assist? What political clout do they carry?
If, indeed, this many citizens care enough to respond via a minimally advertised reporting tool... Then I suspect that there are many more neighbors that would support as many possible actions that would help minimize the possibility of an accident.

I've reported this to Capt. Craghead at the RPD Downtown District. He'll let us know what they can do, but I hope you understand we have only a limited number of officers to patrol a large district, and understandably their first priorities are more serious crimes. That is why we have specific thresholds in terms of percentages of vehicles going substantially over the speed limit before we do special speed limit enforcement projects. I am confident he will make his beat officers aware and ensure that they are watching this situation, but they really can't be there all the time, particularly when called away on 911 calls elsewhere in the district. We are looking into the crossing awareness issue and will report back on that.

Honest, I wasn't swearing in that last post!!!! SCF somehow interpreted some of the characters I typed to be other symbols. Sorry!!!

I think I figured it out. What I wrote was a contraction of "he will" which I think SCF interpreted as a four-letter word! Ah, algorithms! Never perfect.

and we just figured you were responding to last night's debate......

I have not been able to get the email for Tom fiorello to work.

I want to thank the City of Raleigh for helping address this issue. I understand from your comments that 4 way stop signs are not without downsides. My question is what about a blinking light. I know that other schools in wake county have a blinking light as a safety measure and require reduced speed only during certain school related times. Traffic coming from glenwood to fairview has only a yield sign at the very intersection where a significant number of elementary children are crossing. There has to be some additional safety measures that can be put in place.

Sorry, my mistake on the email address...please try Thomas.Fiorello@raleighnc.gov. We are currently considering what might be done to make the pedestrian crossings at Scales and Fairview safer and more visible to through motorists. We'll post an update when our engineers have made a recommendation. Capt. Craghead has responded and has indicated that he is making the beat officers aware that people are perceiving a speeding problem here. They will try to ramp up some enforcement. The times when he's directed officers here, though, they have not been able to catch anyone speeding. He indicates RPD would support a speed limit reduction to 25 mph if the Council so chooses.

A little more information from the traffic engineers regarding signage in the school zone: We sign all school zones the same for equity purposes. The standard we use is from NCDOT since a large number of our school zones fall on the State Highway System. We will investigate the section of road mentioned below and verify the school zone is signed appropriately. If any signs are obscured or missing, we will correct. If the residents choose to lower the speed limit to 25 mph, we do not use the typical school signs with the corresponding school zone times. Lowering the speed limit is not possible in a 25 mph area since this is the lowest speed limit the City can ordinance. For further inquiry, please contact Jed Niffenegger at (919) 996-4039 or via email at jed.niffenegger@raleighnc.gov

The community response has been great. I live in an area where there are homeless folks, rentals and section 8 homes. Plus Activism can be rewarded with gangs setting warning fires in your yard. Keep up the good work. We're getting there.

Spoke to Jed. He confirmed what was written earlier. Also have spoken to Tom, who will be starting the paperwork to get the petition started - where we will then need 75% of those on Fairview to sign it, before it goes to Council. So, if you live on Fairview, be prepared to see a neighbor knocking on your door - hopefully this month!