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Resident urges speed bumps and enforcement on Green Hill Road, citing narrow lanes and elderly pedestrians
Summary
Tricia Aiken, a Blowing Rock resident, told the council Oct. 14 that cut-through traffic and speeding on Green Hill Road endanger elderly pedestrians and asked the town for speed bumps, signage and enforcement.
Tricia Aiken, a full-time Blowing Rock resident, told the Town Council on Oct. 14 that speeding and cut-through traffic on Green Hill Road have grown worse since a 2021 traffic study and are endangering older residents who walk along the road.
Aiken said the section she described — about 0.4 miles near Heather Ridge and Wonderland Woods — is in Blowing Rock’s extraterritorial jurisdiction but is state-maintained. She said the 2021 traffic study covered a portion of Green Hill but not the stretch she lives on, and cited measurements she took showing the travel lane between white lines at 14.5 to 15.5 feet wide — narrower than the North Carolina minimum of 20 feet she referenced. The posted speed limit is 25 mph; the 2021 study reported an average southbound speed of 27 mph and about 381 vehicles per day in the surveyed location, she said.
Aiken described incidents she said illustrate the danger: her 97-year-old neighbor checking mail, a mailbox recently struck and knocked down, and an 85-year-old neighbor who walks with a cane and crosses Green Hill daily. She also said a new signal at the Green Hill–U.S. 321 intersection installed in February 2023 made left turns easier and may have increased cut-through traffic.
“Green Hill is a residential street that’s being used as a cut-through highway,” Aiken said. She asked the council to install speed bumps, deploy speed-feedback signs and increase police enforcement. “In the short term, can the police please do what was in the Green Hill study and put up the speed feedback signs? Can we set up some speed traps?” she asked.
Melissa Tausching, another resident who spoke during public comment, said she was nearly T-boned on the same road the prior week and urged the council to revisit traffic-safety work and follow up on consultant recommendations for communications with residents.
Council response: The mayor said the issue has been addressed previously and asked town staff to re-examine current options and to contact state representatives as needed. The mayor suggested Shane Fox (town manager) look into possible actions the town can take, noting past efforts to work with the North Carolina Department of Transportation because the segment is state-maintained.
No formal action or vote occurred on the item during the meeting. Residents offered to lead neighborhood efforts to implement traffic-calming measures and asked the town for short-term enforcement while longer-term remedies are considered.
Follow-up: Town staff indicated they will revisit options, which may include enforcement, speed-feedback signs, or requesting additional study or treatments from NCDOT given the road’s maintenance status.
