Greene Street Two-Way Conversion Delayed Again, Now Set for August Start
A city email puts the start of the long-awaited Greene Street project in August 2023, four months after the mid-April date given a month earlier.
By Gabriela Flores ·
The long-discussed project to change the traffic pattern on Greene Street in Greensboro has been pushed back again, according to a city email sent to council members last week.
Greene Street currently alternates between two-way, one-way and two-way sections. The project would turn it into a conventional two-way street, a change the Rhino Times describes as far safer. City hall has had the idea on the back burner for more than two decades.
In 2007, then-Mayor Keith Holliday listed fixing the street's traffic pattern among his goals for his final year in office. The Rhino Times noted that many children born that year are now old enough to drive.
The most recent timeline has shifted sharply in a short time. In a Feb. 1 email, Greensboro Department of Transportation Director Hanna Cockburn wrote, "Based on the schedule provided by Yates, we expect work on Greene to begin in mid-April."
Then, on March 9, City Manager Tai Jaiyeoba emailed council members a different schedule: "Greene Street Streetscape: Begin August 2023, Complete Late 2024." In about a month, the projected start date had moved back four months.
Councilmember Zack Matheny, who also serves as president of Downtown Greensboro Inc., responded by email that the news was disappointing. "It is very disappointing the Greene Street project continues to be delayed," Matheny wrote.
Matheny added that downtown has great interest in the project. "If the work is delayed until August, and knowing this is project that the downtown has great interest, why is there a delay and why hasn't there been any further communication," Matheny wrote.
The Rhino Times observed that the project has been delayed many times over the past decade and a half. It suggested another postponement could be announced in April, the month construction had been expected to begin.
The current layout also creates a safety concern. Regular users of the street have grown used to seeing drivers head north on the stretch that is one-way southbound. Because the traffic lights on that section face north, the newspaper said, confused drivers face a serious hazard.
The Rhino Times also noted that the City Council often discusses making streets safer. In its assessment, this safety issue does not appear to worry most council members.
Originally published by News Media House · Source: The Rhino Times of Greensboro
