Agenda 05-07-24; 6-b - Approval of the Orange County US 70 Multimodal Corridor Study (MCS)

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61 US 70 Multimodal Corridor Study 4.4.2 Bicycle Facilities There are no dedicated bicycle facilities on either the US 70 or US 70 Business corridor (Figure 16).There are narrow paved shoulders, generally three or less feet wide, along the two-lane section of roadway, which represents the largest portion of the corridor. These shoulders are not wide enough for cyclists to ride completely out of the travel lane. Neither Share the Road signs nor shared lane markings were found along the corridor to indicate the presence of bicyclists. 4.4.3 Observed Pedestrian and Bicycle Trips Pedestrian counts were collected for this study at the intersections listed above. These counts revealed a total of 192 pedestrians crossing the corridor during the count periods. A total of 131 pedestrians were observed in Mebane at Third Street (100) and Fifth Street (31). In the Hillsborough segment of the corridor,49 pedestrians were observed at Faucette Mill Road (30), NC 86 (11), St. Mary's Road (7), and Orange High School Road (1). Bicycle counts collected for this study revealed a total of 99 cyclists at nine intersections. Of these, 75 traveled on roads and 24 used sidewalks. Over 40% of the cyclists (46) were observed on the eastern portion of the corridor near Pleasant Green Road (22) and NC 751 (24). All 22 cyclists at the Pleasant Green Road intersection were using the road, and half(11) were traveling on US 70 through the intersection.Two cyclists were turning onto or off US 70, and nine were traveling across US 70 between Pleasant Green Road and Mt. Hermon Church Road. At NC 751, 88% (21) of cyclists were using the road. Eight cyclists were traveling on US 70 through the intersection, and six were turning onto or off US 70. The seven remaining cyclists on the road were observed along the old road alignment between NC 751 and Old NC 10. Five used this pavement section to turn right on NC 751, and the remaining two crossed NC 751 to continue eastbound on US 70 towards Durham. Although the pavement section ends without connecting to Old NC 10, a well-traversed path or maintained strip of grass can be seen, suggesting cyclists may be using this old alignment to avoid the section of US 70 between NC 751 and Old NC 10. Due to large traffic volumes, high travel speeds, and limited accommodations, most cyclists who utilize this corridor are likely experienced and more comfortable operating alongside vehicular traffic. Most cyclists are generally less experienced, and therefore, choose to avoid riding along this corridor. 52 Existing Conditions and Critical Issues