A roundabout could replace the stoplights at one of Winston-Salem's busier intersections -- where Miller Street meets Cloverdale Avenue.
The city is considering a number of changes -- some large, some small -- along Cloverdale Avenue from Hawthorne Road to Oakwood Drive, and on Miller Street between Five Points and Cloverdale.
Also affected would be traffic patterns on Hawthorne and Oakwood at either end of Cloverdale.
The goal is to improve pedestrian safety and access, said Greg Errett, the coordinator of traffic planning for the city of Winston-Salem.
The roundabout would be the biggest change, but it's one of two alternatives for the intersection, which is near Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and Comp Rehab Plaza.
"With most traffic circles, if designed properly, you have the opportunity of continuous movement of traffic with a minimum of delays," Errett said. "You are also making the intersection much clearer and defined because everyone knows which way traffic is going to move. Pedestrian movements become safer because they know which way traffic is traveling."
The proposal calls for narrowing Cloverdale and Miller to one lane in each direction heading into the roundabout. Miller Street has steep hills on either side of Cloverdale.
The other alternative for the intersection would keep the traffic signals in place but eliminate some lanes near the intersection.
Either way, most of Miller Street from Five Points to Cloverdale would become a three-lane road with a center turn lane and bike lanes on each side.
Miller would also have a sidewalk on both sides, where now only one side has a sidewalk.
George Llanaj, the owner of Cagney's restaurant which is at the corner of Cloverdale and Miller, said he is worried that the plans would increase congestion near his restaurant. He said that long lines already form in the westbound lanes of Cloverdale near the Wendy's restaurant, but with two lanes, drivers can avoid the backup.
"These people who make the decisions should come out here and see what happens at lunchtime," Llanaj said. "One lane will hold up traffic."
The city has made no decision on any of the plans. Errett said that the city will be taking comments until Friday on the plans, but that a decision would be made later and could be up to the Winston-Salem City Council. He said that planners need to consider the concerns raised by Llanaj and others.
The proposed changes are being considered as one overall plan because of various concerns from pedestrians, residents of the Ardmore neighborhood, school officials and others.
No cost estimates are available yet.
A key element of the plan is turning a number of intersections into "T" intersections: where Cloverdale splits from Hawthorne westbound, for instance, and where Melrose and Magnolia streets turn into Cloverdale at an angle. In each of those cases, the intersection would be converted to a "T" intersection.
Errett said that would give pedestrians a shorter crossing and slow down some of the traffic.
One traffic-slowing measure would be a raised pedestrian crossing on Cloverdale at Highland Presbyterian Church.
Another feature to help pedestrians would be more islands in the center of Cloverdale or Miller, giving people a place to pause and wait when crossing the street.
"Ardmore people have been clamoring for years for better pedestrian access for Cloverdale," said Julie Magness, a former president of the Ardmore Neighborhood Association. "The plan in general has a lot of wonderful ideas."
But Magness said she doesn't like the roundabout, because she thinks pedestrians will have a hard time finding a break in the traffic. She said she also has doubts about having a roundabout at the bottom of a hill, where people already speed up to beat the traffic signal.
wyoung@wsjournal.com
727-7369
To submit comments, go to www.ci.winston-salem.nc.us/Home/Departments/Transportation.
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