Oakview widening proposal scaled back
HIGH POINT - Plans for widening a segment of Oakview Road will be scaled back to accommodate concerns from residents.
The city wanted to widen Oakview Road from Old Winston Road to Johnson Street by adding a center turn lane to the two-lane road for $4 million.
The widening was expected to affect about 100 properties, though none was likely to be relocated. But at a public meeting in April, many residents said the road does not need to be that wide. They were concerned the widening would take too much of their property.
"We feel like we needed to be responsive to that," Matt Carpenter, a city traffic engineer, said at a meeting Wednesday of the City Council's transportation committee.
Instead of adding a center turn lane from Old Winston Road to Johnson Street, the city will place turn lanes at key intersections to improve traffic flow, Carpenter said.
Those key intersections will be determined later.
The existing lanes on the road are narrow and still will be widened, Carpenter said. Sidewalks will be built as part of the work.
But by reducing the project's scope, the impact on properties will be less severe, and the city will likely have money left over to make further improvements along Oakview Road between Johnson and Centennial streets, Carpenter said.
About 3,500 vehicles use Oakview Road each day, and that's expected to double in the next 20 years.
Funding for the road widening was approved by voters in November. Work could begin in 2006.
Contact Amy Dominello at 883-4422, Ext. 248, or adominello@news-record.com
