Council adopts pedestrian‑passage zoning changes to shorten crossings and encourage connections

Raleigh City Council on Sept. 2 adopted a zoning text amendment (TC‑11‑24) designed to make pedestrian crossings shorter and to encourage construction of pedestrian passages in new development. Staff described three principal changes: (1) curb extensions (bulb‑outs) and other measures to shorten crossing distances to roughly 20 feet on applicable street sections to improve sight lines and encourage motorists to slow; (2) design standards requiring pedestrian passage paving or raised crossings where passages meet internal drives or parking lots, or, if at grade, permanent separations such as bollards; and (3) an incentive expanding a current block‑perimeter allowance so that inclusion of pedestrian passages could increase allowable block perimeter by up to 100 percent (up from 50 percent). Planning staff said mapped streets in the comprehensive plan would still require construction of the mapped street; pedestrian passages could not substitute for a required street. Staff said the changes implement elements of the community climate action plan, aiming to reduce vehicle miles traveled and improve safety and comfort for pedestrians and cyclists. Council voted to adopt the consistency statement and approve the text amendment. The ordinance will be codified into the Unified Development Ordinance as revised.