This policy alternative focuses on a shift from automobile travel to non-motorized or public transit.  Non-motorized transit refers to any mode of transportation powered by human beings instead of motorized vehicles, including walking, cycling, or even skating.  The importance of non-motorized transit is that it emits NO (or any other pollutant for that matter). For this reason, transportation policy alternatives are very important in successful carbon dioxide emission reduction for Chapel Hill.

"Diet" for High Volume Roads

To reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector, it is essential to decrease the number of trips taken in single occupancy vehicles (SOV) as well as increase the use of non-motorized transit.  One way to achieve this goal is to make high volume roads “slimmer.”  The extra area created by narrowing these roads would allow for bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and floral buffers between the road and the pedestrians.  Slimmer roads encourage non-motorized transit because they reduce the speed of the cars on the road.  They also create a more welcoming community around the roads.  Many cities such as Portland, Toronto, Santa Monica, and Seattle have already implemented successful “road diet” policies.

These road “diets” can create millions of dollars of increased development and even increase the value of existing properties.  In some cases, the money spent on reconstruction is repaid in a year of less.

For more information, see an article on Road Diets: (Source (.PDF))

This "diet" would serve the following two purposes:

Improve Safety: Large, high volume roads are dangerous to pedestrians and discourage non-motorized transit. Between 1998 and 2002, there were 484 vehicle, 27 bicycle, and 8 pedestrian accidents on Airport Road in Chapel Hill. (Source) These statistics demonstrate the need to improve street safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. Evidence has shown that by narrowing lane width, drivers travel slower and more cautiously than when they have excessively wide lanes. By lowering the average driving speed, pedestrians and bicyclists will be (and feel) safer.

Create a Multi-Modal Transportation Infrastructure: At its current state, high volume roads in Chapel Hill have limited non-motorized infrastructure.  Currently, a narrow sidewalk serves both pedestrian and bicycle purposes. By adding new bike lanes and widening sidewalks, there would be a much more developed infrastructure for biking and walking, most likely encouraging such forms of transportation.