Raleigh advances preferred emergency alternate access for Rose Lane; MOU talks with Wake County Public Schools underway

Wayne Miles, stormwater manager for the City of Raleigh, told the council that staff has identified a preferred alternative to provide resilient alternate access for the Rose Lane neighborhood, which has about 55 homes and historically becomes isolated when Walnut Creek floods.

The problem and interim measures

Staff said Rose Lane is a single access crossing of Walnut Creek that historically flooded once or twice a year and that the city has taken interim steps to reduce risk, including installing sensor-activated flood warning signs, preemptively lowering Lake Johnson to increase upstream storage and using targeted wireless emergency alerts for the neighborhood. Miles said those measures helped reduce the frequency of isolation; staff said the road flooded only twice in the last five years despite several strong storms.

Preferred alternative and property coordination

After reviewing multiple alternatives, staff said the preferred option is a westward route tying into the Wake County bus operations facility and using an ingress/egress easement across Wake County Public Schools property. Miles said the route was selected after evaluating environmental impacts and cost and said the preferred option was “a lot less cost as well.” Staff emphasized the current step is negotiating a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Wake County Public Schools’ real estate staff; the school system has asked that the MOU go to the Wake County School Board.

Use, timing and funding

Miles said the plan for the initial phase is to provide emergency-only access opened during emergencies (sensed closures at Rose Lane would trigger the alternative access), not a permanent new public right-of-way. He said design is expected to take about 12–18 months, with construction budgeted to begin at the start of fiscal 2027 (expected July/August 2026). Council materials cited an earlier allocation of $800,000 in ARPA funding toward the project. Miles said easement negotiation and final design would follow the MOU and that a later phase could consider permanent public access if agreed by property owners and the school system.

Community and equity context

Staff noted many homes in the neighborhood are Habitat for Humanity or naturally occurring affordable units; Councilor comments framed the project as preserving affordable housing by maintaining safe access. Miles and other staff said they held public meetings and an online survey and will continue engagement with residents as design and negotiations proceed.

Questions from council members

Councilors asked whether the preferred route was the least environmentally impactful (staff said environmental impacts were a selection criterion), whether the route would go through or around Wake County property (staff said phase 1 uses a short connecting segment plus use of an existing operations access road and that a future phase could extend to a permanent right-of-way), and how long construction would take if approvals proceed (staff reiterated the 12–18 month design window and FY27 construction start). Miles clarified that the initial agreement would be an ingress/egress easement, not a transfer of title, and that the first phase is intended for emergency access only.

Next steps

Staff said they will continue public engagement, finalize the MOU with Wake County Public Schools (which the school system will consider at its board), complete design and then negotiate final easement terms. Miles said city attorney and real estate staff are already engaged and that the city will hold further community meetings.

Ending

Staff invited additional council questions and reiterated the project timeline tied to design, permitting and easement negotiation.