Leave the car behind when traveling around Carrboro
Commons Photo by Liz Thomas
By Liz Thomas
Co-editor
Springtime is the perfect time to enjoy Carrboro’s scenery. By leaving the comfort of personal cars, citizens of Carrboro and Chapel Hill can truly enjoy this beautiful season.
And the town’s growing usage in public transportation, pedestrian and bike travel allows for more alternate transportation funding. This year, Carrboro citizens and visitors can expect more developments in alternate forms of transportation. Participating in these new advancements promotes a healthy environment, less traffic and a greater sense of community.
Carrboro by bus
“Without buses to Carrboro, my crew team would be at a loss” said Danielle Litt, a UNC first-year student on the rowing team from New York City.
Although she prefers the public transportation that large cities offer, she said she enjoys using public transportation in Carrboro.
Buses in Carrboro are part of the Chapel Hill Transit system. Compared to other North Carolina Transit Systems, Chapel Hill Transit has by far the most passengers. According to the National Transit Database, Chapel Hill Transit has about 5.4 million annual passengers. Durham Area Transit only moves about 3.9 million annual passengers.
The Web-based, real-time transit information system called NextBus aids in the rising popularity in the bus system, according to the Chapel Hill Transit presentation at the
Carrboro Board of Alderman’s March 20 meeting.
By selecting a location and requested route, users of the NextBus Web site see actual bus arrival and departure times immediately. Users can also choose to receive computer pop-up alerts when their requested bus is about to arrive, or they can watch a live map of the exact location of the vehicle.
Because of the growth of the transit system, 20 new buses are planned to be added 2007. Of the 20 new buses this year, three are diesel-electric hybrids, according to Chapel Hill Transit.
For more information about the real-time bus system, visit http://www.townofchapelhill.org/index.asp?NID=397.
Carrboro by foot
The town of Carrboro continues to promote pedestrian safety by improving sidewalks and crosswalks. Crosswalk improvements are extended because applications have to pass through the Chapel Hill Transportation Department.
Early last year, requests were made for audible sirens to aid the visually impaired at crosswalks. Sirens were installed at the Main and Greensboro street intersection for visually impaired crosswalk users to know when to safely cross. When the sound speakers were activated in February, they ran all day and night at levels high enough to be heard from blocks away.
“Customers were asking if this loud chirping was the new mating call of Carrboro,” joked Cliff Collins, owner of Cliff’s Meat Market.
“I was worried it would have to be incorporated it into the music festival.”
Dave Laney, who lives in an apartment near Cliff’s Meat Market, presented a petition to the Board of Aldermen in February to change the volume of the crosswalk siren. Now the crosswalk siren has been turned down to a lower level.
Some future improvements for the town are increasing the visibility of the crosswalk on South Greensboro Street at Carr Street, including the possibility of adding flashing lights. Additional crosswalks may appear between Main Street and Jones Ferry Road and between Main Street and Hillsborough Road at Carrboro Elementary, according to the Board of Aldermen.
Carrboro By Bike
Blue Urban Bikes (BUB), a community bicycle loan program, plans to offer bicycle stations in Carrboro, Chapel Hill and the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.
Two stations are running in Chapel Hill at Three Cups on Roberson Street and Skylight Exchange on Rosemary Street. The project is run by ReCYCLEry and Students United for a Responsible Global Environment, a Carrboro-based environmental group.
Similar to the nation-wide ZipCar car sharing program, members can rent transportation for the day and return it to any station. BUB plans for Carrboro stations at Open Eye Cafe on South Greensboro Road and Carolina Fitness on Main Street, according to the Board of Aldermen’s presentation.
For more information about BUB, visit http://www.recyclery.info/node/6.
