Smithfield reviews downtown transportation study proposing wider sidewalks, parking changes and one-way options

A consultant team hired by the North Carolina Department of Transportation presented a final Downtown Smithfield Transportation Study to the Town of Smithfield Council on March 4, outlining alternatives to improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow on US 70 Business through downtown.

The study team, led by Candace Andre of VHB, reported that the US 70 Business corridor has a higher-than-expected crash rate and projected growing delays through 2050 if no work is done. "We've seen over 500 crashes in 5 years, and 50% of those are sideswipes to parked motor vehicles," Andre said, adding that more than 80% of those crashes were property-damage-only.

Why it matters: The corridor is the town's main street and also a state highway; changes could alter parking close to storefronts, shift traffic patterns onto neighborhood streets and require state, federal or grant funding. Council members and residents repeatedly raised concerns about lost parking, effects on nearby residential streets and the need for quick, interim fixes.

Study highlights and recommendations

The study area runs roughly from the Neuse River to Brightleaf Boulevard. The project team analyzed existing conditions, public outreach results, traffic operations, parking counts and alternatives. Key findings and recommended actions in the consultant presentation included:

- Crash and congestion data: The team found about 500 crashes over five years; many collisions are sideswipes of parked cars. Projected traffic growth of roughly 1.4% annually on US 70 Business is expected to increase delay through 2050 if no improvements are made.

- Parking: Comprehensive parking counts showed that at typical peak times downtown has available parking outside the most-desired front-door spaces. The team estimated removing on-street parking on the north side would remove about 20 spaces.

- Alternatives analyzed: (1) a five-lane cross section that would remove on-street parking to improve through traffic; (2) sidewalk extensions that widen sidewalks by reclaiming some on-street space and creating buffers between pedestrians and traffic; and (3) retaining parking on one side while removing it from the other. A separate road-diet alternative (reducing lanes) was considered but removed from further consideration because expected queuing and delay would be excessive on US 70 Business.

- Treatments and additions: A one-way pair for Second and Third streets to enable angled parking, raised medians to create a downtown gateway, additional left-turn lanes at congested junctions (notably around US 70/301), high-visibility crosswalks and leading pedestrian intervals at signals.

- Construction cost estimates (concept-level): Sidewalk extension (full build) about $5,000,000; a lower-cost interim pavement-marking approach about $2,000,000; five-lane alternative about $3,400,000; one-way pair option about $400,000; intersection improvements at U.S. 70/301 about $2,000,000. The team noted these are concept costs and final design would change them.

Council and public reaction

Council members and residents asked technical and operational questions about where delays originate (several council members pointed to congestion near the U.S. 301 intersection), the effect of lane widths on speeds, and how proposed changes would shift traffic to side streets. "Part of a main part of the study was looking at how to create a safer feeling for pedestrians, bicyclists, non vehicular users of Smithfield's Main Street downtown," Andre said in response to a council question about whether the problem is downtown or at 301.

Several council members said they want faster, interim measures as well as long-term options: the consultant noted that many short-term changes could be made using pavement markings and signal timing. Council members also raised neighborhood concerns about one-way streets north of Market and requested more localized outreach before any final decisions. Pam Lampe, who identified herself as a resident of North Second Street, urged the council to disclose who asked for one-way pairs and noted broad neighborhood opposition: "Our neighborhood ... does not support the one-way pair of Second and Third Streets," she said during public comment.

Next steps and direction

No formal decision or vote was taken on the study. Council members said they were not prepared to decide at the meeting and directed staff to return with next steps, including:

- Additional community outreach targeted to Smithfield residents and downtown merchants; and - Further refinement of implementation options and funding strategies, and production of final design plans and exact cost estimates if the council chooses to pursue any of the alternatives.

The consultant pointed the council to funding routes in the report, including federal and state grant programs and the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), and said the project team has experience winning competitive grants for similar downtown multimodal projects.

The council did not adopt any ordinance or resolution on the study at the meeting; members said they expect to consider the matter again after additional outreach and budget discussions.