A vehicle turns left from Mill Avenue onto Rock Street.
Photo: Todd Gill, Fayetteville Flyer
The latest tactical urbanism project is ready to calm some traffic in south Fayetteville.
Volunteers last week put the finishing touches on a series of changes to the intersection at Rock Street and Mill Avenue in front of the Yvonne Richardson Community Center.
The intersection was converted to an all-way stop with signs facing all three directions of traffic. The wide turn was reduced in size using bollards and AstroTurf, and decorative pedestrian crosswalks were added to the road surface.
It’s the third official experiment approved in Fayetteville since officials attended a tactical urbanism workshop last November. A temporary mini roundabout was installed at School Avenue and Spring Street in January, followed by intersection changes at Spring Street and Block Avenue last month.
For this latest project, applicant Allison Quinlan, a Fayetteville resident and member of the Planning Commission, hopes to calm traffic at the intersection in front of the community center.
From Quinlan’s application:
To increase the safety and accessibility of the [Yvonne Richardson Community Center] and the adjacent Hayes Park, we propose adding crosswalks and intersection artwork design by the YRCC after school program kids. Additionally we propose to reduce the effective turn radius on west side of the intersection from 55 feet to a more standard 25 feet and add a temporary three way stop sign on the intersection to ensure drivers don’t roll through the intersection and potentially hit a child on foot or bicycling.
Quinlan said the plan was to measure and compare pedestrian crossing comfort levels and numbers of drivers who fail to stop or yield at the intersection prior to and during the pilot project time frame. Her hope is that the project will lead to permanent changes in the future.
The project is set to remain in place for about two months.
For more information about tactical urbanism in Fayetteville, visit the city’s website.
Got an idea for a traffic experiment?
Residents interested in having their improvement ideas come to fruition are encouraged to apply for a tactical urbanism project permit. Applications are available at fayetteville-ar.gov/tacticalurbanism.
According to city engineer Chris Brown, applications will be reviewed by city staff from the engineering, transportation, police, fire, and parking management departments to ensure the projects meet all necessary safety and procedural requirements.
Additionally, the city has developed a guide to help residents design and install their projects. The guide includes timelines, material suggestions, state and city standards for street and right-of-way projects, installation instructions, and helpful hints for evaluating the success of a project.
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