This should be fun.
Greensboro is asking for your input on how to reconfigure the Battleground Avenue, Lawndale Drive and Westover Terrace corridor.
This is an infamous spaghetti of roads that can confuse even long time Greensboro residents and according to visitors is a nightmare.
When the current configuration first opened decades ago, it was said to be the only place in the state where a tractor trailer could run into itself.
Another story that made the rounds at the time was that a transportation engineering student at North Carolina State University copied the intersection, turned it in as his own design and received an F.
It’s more specifically the Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (GUAMPO) and the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) asking for input.
“Residents are asked to detail their concerns about safety and other issues traveling to and through this area.”
An interactive feedback tool is supposed to be online later this week.
A public input session is scheduled for Monday, March 27 at Guilford Park Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 2100 Fernwood Dr., from 2 to 7 p.m. The session for area business and property owners is from 2 to 4 p.m. and the session for the general public from 5 to 7 p.m. But individuals can visit at any time.
The proposed project is in the early planning stages and construction funding has not been identified, which means actually seeing anything happen on the ground is likely years away.
One factor that has made the reconfiguration possible is that the railroad tracks that ran right down the middle of the area have been closed. As long as the railroad tracks were there, the options on reconfiguring this confusing confluence of streets was extremely limited. With the railroad tracks gone there are more options, probably even some that would be more frustrating and confusing than what is there now.
Greensboro Department of Transportation Director Hanna Cockburn in the press release said, “This important corridor has a variety of challenges, from a confusing layout to congestion to limited pedestrian and cyclist access. We are asking residents, property owners, and businesses to help us identify specific issues and set goals for improvements we would like to see NCDOT make in the next decade.”
This should be a monumental SNAFU if the city tries to correct.
The City only wants obedient servants.
How about they address the pending issues before them before starting up new ones… AARRRGGGHH!
The whole conglomeration is a symbol of Greensboro efficiency and management. Leave it alone
Don’t we have civil engineers for that purpose? Or does out local govt want to politicize the whole thing? One giant C-F doon-boggle?
Anyone on the City or County councils have a degree in civil engineering? Plumbing? Contracting? Carpentry? Electrician?
Good luck. This intersection was designed by Chick Whitley, the City’s traffic engineer in the 1950’s or 60’s. He was a good friend. The Roadway Design classes at NCSU use this intersection as a study requirement. Perhaps you should call them!
At the time the railroad track was active and served a textile mill….more important at the time than traffic movement. It was designed to accommodate the rail lines to the mills. The mills were the most important thing to consider in Greensboro. I’d love to help out on the project.
This area contains a historic site from the Civil War. People who live here know how to use this interesting intersection to get where they’re going so it identifies the natives from the interlopers, just like they do the disappearing lanes at Church and Cone. Leave them as they are so we know who belongs and who’s a stranger.
A couple of roundabouts would fix it, easily.
No stop lights needed, no electricity to fail, no waiting at red lights, just proceed when it’s clear.
They work like a charm all over the UK.
Excellent! Roundabouts make too much sense for the City morons.
True !
It’s a solution that’s too cheap, easy and effective for government.
Good. I live near it and it is a mess. The number of traffic jams and accidents it causes is unbelievable. If I go anywhere from 8-6, I have to add on an extra five minutes to my travel time. I will be attending this listening session with a whole host of complaints.
Cupla good ideas in this discussion.
That intersection is not an issue as long as you can read a road sign, understand traffic lights and Put Your Dang Phone Down.
Is there an overhead view of the area we can look at?
Will they be addressing all the electric poles that surround the congestion? Will they be putting them underground?