There was nothing resolved about the North Avenue changes during the Wake Forest Town Board’s work session last week except Town Manager Kip Padgett did say nothing would be done about the retaining wall and changes on the north side of the street until the Stadium Drive part of the construction was complete.
Therefore, the major change that has led Marty and Debbie Ludas to protest the current plan will be done before the Ludas property and the retaining wall are addressed. (Please see the April 19, 2017 Gazette for the article about the plan.)
The major change is that the new sidewalk on the south side of North Avenue (north side of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) will not be on the seminary property as the existing sidewalk is. Instead it will be moved off the sidewalk and onto the current eastbound travel lane of North Avenue.
That shift northward compresses the street, making it necessary to move the current loading zone on North Avenue to North Main Street (dating from at least 1936) and meaning that all westbound traffic will be immediately beside any retaining wall. Also, instead of the pedestrian-friendly sidewalk along the Front Street side of the campus with a generous swath of grass between walkers and the street, the new plan puts the sidewalk right next to the street.
The question the town needs to answer is why its plan puts the sidewalk on the travel lane and narrows North Avenue.
North Avenue was added to the Stadium Drive Complete Street Plan as a way to repave the bumpy street. Why not just do that?
The plans are nearly ready for bid. Plans can be changed. The town needs to be sensitive to the texture and compatibility of this plan for the entrance to its highly regarded historic district.
