I agree with Boylan Ave resident. I think making that a 4-way light would make Boylan Ave more attractive as a cut-through and increase traffic through the neighborhood. The pedestrian light has always worked fine for me. I just don't see the need for a light, and I think putting it in would be disruptive.

I agree with the other comments above. The reason the lights were set up at the intersection of Boylan and Western as they are, is so that traffic doesn't back up in front of our houses. It would be pretty horrible at rush hours. It's a shame that cars don't respect the fact that they are not supposed to turn left onto Western for just this reason.

What may be needed is a light showing like at Hunt Drive which shows that the crossing light they are about to come to is red.

Also, the crossing light should turn right away for pedestrians as it used to do so that people would actually use it.

Finally, a light should be added to the turn lane on Western going east because cars turning don't realize that the light is for them as well as those going straight.

we have crossed properly at the pedestrian crossing with our dogs, and have witnessed cars that don't stop at the red light. they turn off boylan onto western and don't stop!! it's VERY disconcerting, esp at dusk. they don't seem to realize the red light is for them.

I do not wish to see a four way stop for the traffic reasons mentioned above. I would like to have the pedestrian cross more quick to respond and some sign/signal to drivers on Boylan that it is about to change. Maybe we can alert traffic police to the illegal turn practice and they can try to regulate it more?

I would vote NO on a light at the intersection of Boylan and Western Blvd. I believe it would increase traffic on Boylan. I would not be inclined to make a decision to increase the traffic on Boylan Ave.

NO new signal at the Boylan/Western intersection! Traffic on Boylan is already bad enough. A left turn will only encourage more motorists to fly through our neighborhood. Let them drive over to Dawson if they want to travel east bound Western/MLK. Especially once the new train station is up and running.

I am totally open to other solutions, the only thing I could think of is a four way light so people wanting to go left or straight don't endanger themselves or others. could the barriers to the turns be made longer? or would that just make it worse?
and a faster pedestrian light would be nice.

I've referred this to our Public Works Department. When the staff has had a chance to respond I’ll post an update. Thanks for reporting.

Forget about traffic lights. The intersection needs a well-designed roundabout, like the one at Hillsborough & Oberlin has finally become.

A roundabout will cause the same traffic backup onto Boylan Avenue and we do not need to have traffic backed up in our neighborhood. Please do NOT put a 4 way traffic light at the intersection of Boylan and Western. This will also cause traffic problems on Dorothea Drive, again in front of our houses.

Pulling out onto Western is already dangerous as it is. People come flying down the hill from downtown in excess of the speed limit, giving little time to pullout. A roundabout would make them slow down considerably. The Hillsborough & Oberlin gets more traffic than Boylan & Western, still with little back up. Avoiding full stops as much as possible also reduces noise and pollution nearby.

I agree 100% about adding a well designed roundabout here. This would make traffic slow down considerably and allow Boylan to connect easier with Dorthea Dix and S Western Blvd. I'm not too concerned with traffic backing. The roundabout on Hillsborough St does a good job of controlling traffic flow.

Currently, turning left onto Western is like merging onto the Autobahn. This intersection needs to be addressed.

Another issue to be addressed is adding sensors to the existing stoplights on Boylan. They need modernized.

turning left onto Western Blvd from Boylan Avenue is illegal.

Turning right*

This issue has been forwarded on to the Southwest District Station for enforcement, an update will be posted once we hear back from them.

Downtown District Officers will monitor this area for violations. Thank you for letting us know about this issue.

There are several issues here, not simply enforcement.

turning left from Boylan may be illegal, but people do it all the time. They also do not stop when the light turns. I walk across with my dog at least once a day and see a couple violations a week and have nearly been hit on numerous occasions. When the light is red people traveling east on Western going into the turn lane for Boylan often don't stop at all, believing this light is some sort of green turn for them? not sure their logic, but they fly through that lane and cannot see pedestrians because of the plantings in the median (which otherwise I am quite in favor of all the greenery one can have in an urban space). I appreciate neighbors not wanting to make Boylan even more of a thoroughfare as it is obviously not well suited to that role, but this intersection is dangerous and needs a solution.

Plantings could make a big difference. They should not obscure pedestrians crossing, but if they obscured a long straight-away ahead (using a well-planted and raised, wide central section of a roundabout) it'd stop speeding through that intersection.

This intersection is dangerous no matter the direction nor mode of transportation. I am in favor of the roundabout idea. There are way too many near misses to ignore the situation.

I've referred this to our Public Works Department. When the staff has had a chance to respond I’ll post an update. Thanks for reporting.

Working a roundabout into a 45 mph zone is a good plan for disaster. Speeding on western happens all the time, speeding into a roundabout sounds like a death trap.

The British, French and Germans manage it just fine, with multiple lanes. Are we in Raleigh less able? I don't think so. The key to slowing the speed is obscuring a straight-ahead view, making drivers attend to the traffic calming device they must work their way around.

All of these are helpful but take time. a helpful and quick improvement would be to cut the overgrown plantings along the timber wall bordering BH on Western Blvd. It has never been cut back enough to give a clear view of oncoming cars racing down the hill to Boylan. Turning right from Boylan to Western is a very big chance every day.Please City of Raleigh, cut back your fast growing hazards on this dangerous roadway.

Per Public Works, the traffic signal at Western and Boylan is a pedestrian signal providing connectivity to the greenway and Dorothea Dix. It was installed years ago when the City undertook the Western Boulevard Capital Improvement Project. Vehicles are not allowed to make a left turn egress movement from Boylan. There is signage and concrete channelization reinforcing that. City staff reviewed the reported crash history for this intersection and did not find any crashes/crash patterns with any of the maneuvers mentioned. Staff will review the signage and delineation and add additional to ensure vehicles are aware a left off of Boylan is prohibited and pedestrians use the crossing.

Thanks for fixing this issue!

can something at least be done about the visibility in this crossing? the bushes are way overgrown in both directions. also left turners from western onto boylan often do not stop, as they see the traffic coming through on western is stopped. how about a sign marking stop here for them? and the turners from boylan onto western sometimes do not have adequate time to realize the light is red and run the light. which is unnerving as a pedestrian.

Western Blvd drivers still speed through this intersection, and turning left from Boylan should be a safe option.

I agree with AB. As the bushes grow, visibility and safety in the pedestrian crossing and makeing a right turn from Boylan Avenue is getting more and more dangerous. When the light is red, some people making a left onto Boylan Avenue do not realize that the light is for them since the light is not over that lane. They assume it is like a green arrow for them to make the turn. I've been nearly hit a few times while crossing the street.

To Meesh, no left turns are allowed from Boylan Avenue to keep traffic from backing up in front of our houses. That is why the intersection was made the way it is in the first place.

People still back up in lines there, waiting for the fast (and usually speeding) traffic to pass by. If that traffic were slowing to enter a roundabout, those already there and wishing to turn could more easily enter and have right-of-way before the others get there.

Besides the lack of visibility and the traffic light not being over the left turn lane on Western Boulevard, there is another problem. It takes so long for the pedestrian light to change that most people either don't use it or even if they do press the button, they cross when the road is clear and the cars are then stopped for no reason. Originally, the light changed almost immediately which is much safer for the pedestrians. Even though there may not have been any accidents at this intersection, it is a situation ready to happen and it would probably be fatal.

There is a sensitive pedestrian button triggered light control here already, but no way, this original proposal is ridiculous! Can you imagine the massive mess and cost of construction, along with ugly concrete, flashing lights, and signs, associated with installing a 4way signal intersection here? The existing traffic pattern works very well and has for years. Heavy and commercial traffic access Western Blvd from Dawson and McDowell, and has no reason to travel Boylan Ave. I think the residents of Boylan Heights that have commented above have the most insight into this predicament. Allowing a left turn towards downtown from Boylan would destroy the little bit of shelter that still exists here from the roar of Western Blvd. As mentioned above, local traffic and residents would pay heavily, especially during rush hour back-ups.

I do agree and think that the visibility of oncoming eastbound traffic could be improved while you're sitting at the bottom of Boylan Ave. If shrubs and fences can't be maintained or moved, perhaps reducing speed limit or putting one of those big "your speed is" signs upstream on Western Blvd could help give you a better chance of merging almost blind into speeding traffic.

Maybe the technique used on the other side of this intersection at Hunt Dr/Western Blvd could be used effectively to solve the hiccup at Boylan Ave. The new(ish) third signal on the westbound side of Western, opposite the prison at Hunt Drive is AWESOME. It lets you prepare for the red, yellow, or green light at the signal down the road around the blind corner as you come into town on Western. Installing a flashing yellow on westbound Western Blvd to alert speeding traffic that there is a blind entry ahead at Boylan Ave could be a cost effective, minimally intrusive solution. You could even stick a sign up for cheap next to the flashers that says, "Merge left, blind entry ahead" with a big ol arrow

perhaps this should be a new thread since the original post was already discussed and mostly deemed unworkable. the remaining issue about the turn lane onto Boylan and the shrubbery and the length of time for the light to turn still need to be addressed

I noticed that there actually is already a sign on Western Blvd alerting drivers of the upcoming intersection with Boylan Ave. I finally got a chance to take a picture of the sign and thought I'd share to offer a little more to the "existing conditions" story.

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