Completing the Urban Loop is going to help Greensboro become car optional, according to a report from the Greensboro Planning Department.
Every quarter the Planning Department releases an update on GSO2040 Comprehensive Plan. The update is full of accomplishments associated with bringing the goals of GSO2040 to fruition – setbacks rarely if ever make the update.
The final segment of the 39-mile Urban Loop opened in January, after 56 years in the planning and construction process. The Urban Loop is a North Carolina Department of Transportation project. The final section from North Elm Street to US 29 cost over $300 million to build.
The planning department appears to be taking some credit for a state highway project conceived in 1968 and mostly completed by the time GSO2040 was approved in 2020.
But what is more significant is how the planning department in the GSO2040 update turns a new interstate highway built so cars and trucks can travel around the city at 65 mph into an endeavor to make Greensboro “car optional” – one of the “Big Ideas” in the comprehensive plan.
According to the update, “Becoming Car Optional describes our aim to expand quality transportation options beyond cars and maintain an efficient transportation system that allows people and goods to travel throughout Greensboro.”
The Urban Loop was certainly not built for pedestrians, bicycles, scooters or skateboards.
But according to the update, “This momentous accomplishment helps advance the GSO2040 aim of Becoming Car Optional in a couple of ways. First, with the urban loop complete, the area takes a big step closer towards an efficient transportation system that allows people and goods to travel throughout Greensboro. Second, while the need to manage and improve traffic conditions on the areas highways will remain, the focus can continue to shift to constructing more sidewalks and greenways, improving public transportation, creating safer intersections and pedestrian crossings, enhancing way-finding systems, and improving accessibility for all users.”
There you have it, building a huge interstate highway to help move cars and trucks around the city faster is going to make Greensboro more car optional.
Let’s be clear. The Leftist bureaucrat term “car optional” is a euphemism for herding us onto mass transit, bicycles, and little scooters (“micromobilty solutions”).
“Car optional” means that the wealthy elite will still have the option of their cars, and we won’t.
No worries here. Our dear leaders are a but confused on the concept so more roads for more cars. Go electric!!
Lay off the Fox News it’s ruining your relationships
My relationships are all fine. Married for 37 years with two fantastic sons, now about 30.
How are your relationships, buddy?
You watching MSNBC too much?
I’m just certain that was the goal some 56 years ago. LOL! Yessir, we need to be CAR OPTIONAL.
I was 18 years of age back then. I’m one of those people that didn’t think this through. I was headed to college and then to military service. Car optional cities were not even heard of. All I wanted was an education and to come back home vertical!
Now that the loop is complete has anyone added up the total cost? Yet another boondoggle that every government official wants to crow about, even if they weren’t born when the project started.
“Build it, and they will come”. Businesses and residences will cluster around many of the Loop intersections.
Lol…great article John. I loved the dry humor! So much BS from city govt.
That’s just sadly hilarious. Only the idiots that occupy city hall could come to such a conclusion.
makes sense to me. instead of stop n go thru the center of town where i live n bike, richard petty et al can fly around the outskirts, where they live. enjoying a dull roar 16 hours every day ? beneficiaries ? willing to drive 30 miles for a pack of nabs now instead of the previous 10 ? range extension with negative enviro consequences. california lifestyle : eat highway daily.
By adding a bike lane to the loop?
First, as it’s highly unlikely Greensboro is going to ever get a subway or light rail system to move folks around its sprawl efficiently, the Loop could serve as a high speed, crosstown bus, etc., route.
Second, I think the thrust of their argument is that this project has consumed NCDOT, GDOT, and other city and state agencies’ human, material, and budgetary resources for decades, and having it “done” releases resources to focus on other initiatives, alternative transportation options among them.
City Manager Tai wants a streetcar to link east to west.
Or and try to keep up. The loop is really convenient keeping more cars out of the city and on the loop allowing wider and longer bike lanes. Decongesting streets and allowing for alternative modes of transportation.
Bike Lanes !!!! You’re funny BigCity! Have you ever – ever – seen anyone bicycling in a bike lane? I never have.
What a Leftist B*llsh*t project.
And they don’t decongest streets – you create MORE congestion by throttling roads, turning 4 lane roads into 2 lane roads, reducing capacity, causing more congestion and longer journey times.
People dont bike because the biking infrastructure here is lousy and puts bikers in danger, literally biking amongst high speed traffic. People love to bike in cities that actually accommodate it, same with walking. Widening roads also doesnt show any empirical evidence of reducing traffic congestion, if you can find any study that observes such a trend I would forever be indebted to you. Its a terrible use of land too. you need to take cars off the road to reduce congestion, thats the only way. I agree with you though, it is far from the best usage of city resources.
I love that the last link in the 840 chain cuts 15 to 20 minutes off my frequent trips to Burlington so car optional means either taking the Porsche, the 420 SEL or the family Subaru! LOVE IT!
Words and language no longer have any real meaning.
So please explain to me why we are spending millions on parking garages in the city of Greensboro?
Loop roads also draw traffic from within a city, making internal streets less congested, and perhaps take business from a city core. As loop roads become more congested a need for more lanes in them or newer loop roads will be pushed to reduce congestion, and the cycle repeats itself. One only has to look at the Raleigh and Charlotte areas.
Greensboro is stupid
Bike lanes…maybe on certain roads is perfectly fine. However, don’t think too many bike riders would be safe on Holden Road with all the speeding and distractions really…