City staff present Patton Avenue corridor study recommending Hilliard extension, roundabouts and a road diet

Urban planner Badila Satvaka told the Planning, Economic Development and Environment Committee on Sept. 16 that the city's Downtown Patton Avenue quarter and feasibility study, completed with consultant McAdams, recommends three primary interventions for the corridor between the river and Pack Square: a Hilliard Avenue extension to create an additional downtown connection, two roundabouts to improve traffic operations and safety, and a 4-to-3 lane conversion (a "road diet") between Clingman and Pritchard Park to add bike lanes and improve multimodal safety.

Satvaka said the city contracted with McAdams for the study at a cost of about $260,000 and held five project-working-group meetings plus two public meetings with more than 100 participants. The study describes the corridor as an underused or auto-oriented gateway and recommends transforming it into a safer, more mixed-use entrance to downtown.

Staff provided preliminary conceptual cost estimates: the Hilliard extension plus the two roundabouts were estimated at roughly $11 million and the 4-to-3 conversion at about $2 million. The presentation subsequently listed the total as "a little over $3 million," a figure that is arithmetically inconsistent with the two component estimates; staff characterized the numbers as preliminary conceptual estimates that require final design and further refinement.

Satvaka and transportation staff emphasized that the project is tied to the I-26 connector and requires continued negotiation with the North Carolina Department of Transportation for right-of-way, cross-section decisions and integration into NCDOT design documents. Staff said the project area includes parcels with high redevelopment potential but also parcels outside the city's direct control, which increases implementation complexity.

Council members asked about funding and timing. A committee member noted that projects must enter NCDOT's State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) to be eligible for certain state funding and that STIP listings can take many years; staff said they are coordinating with DOT but did not identify a specific funding source for final design and construction. Council members suggested that the city could use voter-approved bond funds in future cycles and discussed internal capacity to deliver sidewalks and greenway projects versus contracting out work.

No formal action was taken; staff asked the committee to consider prioritization and next steps such as securing right-of-way, advancing final design, defining redevelopment zoning and coordinating funding.

How this matters: the corridor sits at a transition point between an interstate connector and downtown; staff said redesigns could improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, enable mixed-use redevelopment and help pull downtown toward the river, but implementation will require negotiating rights, funding and a shared design with NCDOT.