N. Harrison Street, between Lee Hwy and 26th Street N. by the Harris Teeter and Safeway, has just completed it’s road diet!  Four lanes of car travel have been reduced to two, with a center turn lane. The liberated space allowed for the creation of a pedestrian refuge island and also made it possible to extend the bike lanes through the area.  Crossing safety and bike network continuity have both been improved with no negative impact to vehicular circulation. It’s a win-win situation!

The bike lanes are now contiguous from Little Falls Road to Lee Highway. Toward the end of the summer, expect to see the bike lanes extended and contiguous all the way from Williamsburg Blvd. In the other direction, a new climbing bike lane was also added just south of the Lee Highway intersection to carry cyclists through the whole commercial zone without having to share a lane! 

The improvements for pedestrians are also significant. Where pedestrians crossing at the Lee-Harrison Shops had to cross four undivided lanes of traffic, they will now only have to cross one lane at a time with a refuge between crossings. The crosswalk at the park now has standard nub projections out into the street, allowing for 11 feet less crossing distance, and significantly better sight distance for pedestrians and through vehicular traffic as well!