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Fayetteville Street Plan


mcheiss

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I've got a list of the street projects that Fayetteville has approved due to the implementation of the sales tax vote, courtesy of the Arkansas Times.

Project Design-------------------Start Date---Construction Start------Finish Date-------Estimated Cost

1) Fayetteville Expressway---------3/2006-------6/2008------------------10/2010----------$9.5 Million

Economic Corridor

2) Mount Comfort Road-------------2/2007-------12/2007-----------------9/2010-----------NA

Shiloh Dr. to Deane Solomon Rd.

3) Mount Comfort Road-------------2/2007-------6/2008------------------9/2010-----------$6.2 Million

Rupple Road to Alpine Ave.

4) Wilson Park/Washington Willow-10/2006------3/2007------------------9/2013-----------$4.2 Million

Area Transp. Improvements

5) Cato Springs Rd.-----------------10/2006------6/2008------------------12/2000----------$5.0 Million

S. School Ave. to Razorback Rd.

6) Garland Ave.---------------------10/2006------8/2008-------------------2/2010-----------$3.6 Million

I-540 to Howard Nickell

7) Zion Rd---------------------------10/2006------2/2008-------------------6/2009-----------$2.5 Million

N. College Ave. to Vantage Dr.

8) College Ave.---------------------10/2006------4/2008-------------------7/2009-----------$1.7 Million

Rock St. to Maple St.

9) Garland Ave.---------------------1/2008-------1/2010-------------------1/2012-----------$6.6 Million

North St. to Melmar Dr.

10) 15th St.-------------------------1/2008--------1/2010------------------7/2012------------$5.5 Million

Happy Hollow Rd. to S. College Ave.

11) Huntsville Rd.------------------1/2008---------1/2010-----------------7/2012------------$2.8 Million

Happy Hollow Rd. to Stonebridge Rd.

12) Crossover Rd.------------------2/2008--------12/2008----------------3/2010------------$15 Million

Mission Blvd to city limits

13) Rupple Rd.----------------------12/2011-------4/2013-----------------7/2014------------$8.1 Million

6th St. to Persimmon St.

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I see you beat me to it. :lol: Anyway thanks for posting the info. It will be nice to have as a reference. Nice to finally see that the other section of Galrnad is being mentioned, it's just a while off though. I'm a little surprised they only seenm to have plans to go as far north as Melmar though.

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I also have a question about the section of College from Rock to Maple. I read the short description in the paper but still didn't really get the gist of it. They're going to close as many of the curb cuts as they can, replace the sidewalk and redo the street overlay. Maybe I'm just being ignorant but I'm just not catching on to what they're mainly trying to achieve in this section of College.

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I also have a question about the section of College from Rock to Maple. I read the short description in the paper but still didn't really get the gist of it. They're going to close as many of the curb cuts as they can, replace the sidewalk and redo the street overlay. Maybe I'm just being ignorant but I'm just not catching on to what they're mainly trying to achieve in this section of College.

I think the intent is to not only improve the aesthetics of College Ave but also improve safety (for vehicles and pedestrians). My guess is that an emphasis is put on improving safety and aesthetics to encourage more pedestrian use, and encourage more pedestrian oriented development/re-development consistent with their vision for College Ave.

My understanding as well was that trees were to be planted throughout there as well, but I don't think the article mentioned that.

Also, Petrie was mistaken on some of the state related projects. Like Crossover Rd-- design has already started (I think he thinks that design can't start until the funds are set per their agreement, but I know for state projects that's not the case)-- and a design final hearing will be held sometime this fall. But as far as the list is concerned, it's no big deal.

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I think the intent is to not only improve the aesthetics of College Ave but also improve safety (for vehicles and pedestrians). My guess is that an emphasis is put on improving safety and aesthetics to encourage more pedestrian use, and encourage more pedestrian oriented development/re-development consistent with their vision for College Ave.

My understanding as well was that trees were to be planted throughout there as well, but I don't think the article mentioned that.

Also, Petrie was mistaken on some of the state related projects. Like Crossover Rd-- design has already started (I think he thinks that design can't start until the funds are set per their agreement, but I know for state projects that's not the case)-- and a design final hearing will be held sometime this fall. But as far as the list is concerned, it's no big deal.

Ah, thanks for the info. Certainly nice to have you around itk to explain all of this to us. :D It would be nice to see some more trees along College. I'm hoping this is just a first step in improving College. Not just for vehicle and pedestrian traffic, but also improving it and making a better place. Unlike some other areas of the city I've noticed some properties sit empty waiting for someone to rent them out. There's certainly more that could be done to make College more aesthically pleasing.

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Ah, thanks for the info. Certainly nice to have you around itk to explain all of this to us. :D It would be nice to see some more trees along College. I'm hoping this is just a first step in improving College. Not just for vehicle and pedestrian traffic, but also improving it and making a better place. Unlike some other areas of the city I've noticed some properties sit empty waiting for someone to rent them out. There's certainly more that could be done to make College more aesthically pleasing.

Agreed on all counts, Mith. I would add that I hope that once people see how nice this looks we can go from Maple to North St. with these kinds of improvements That would really be helpful to our city.

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Regarding the Expressway:

The four lane could be converted into a boulevard or parkway, much like they are in cities like Plano, Texas, for example, and provide access at various points to the CMN area, as well as pedestrian crossings.

Crossing a four-lane divided parkway on foot might sound daunting, but with proper speed controls and signalization, this could be done.

I believe most of Plano's parkways are 6 lanes at least, but with landscaped medians and design attention to pedestrians, they allow for efficient traffic flow and some trail crossings.

A signal cut into Mall Ave or the other north/south street in CMN would help a lot of mall-bound traffic avoid the Joyce/College intersection.

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Regarding the Expressway:

The four lane could be converted into a boulevard or parkway, much like they are in cities like Plano, Texas, for example, and provide access at various points to the CMN area, as well as pedestrian crossings.

Crossing a four-lane divided parkway on foot might sound daunting, but with proper speed controls and signalization, this could be done.

I believe most of Plano's parkways are 6 lanes at least, but with landscaped medians and design attention to pedestrians, they allow for efficient traffic flow and some trail crossings.

A signal cut into Mall Ave or the other north/south street in CMN would help a lot of mall-bound traffic avoid the Joyce/College intersection.

I agree, it can be done. Breaking the Fulbright Expressway down will also keep it from acting like a wall funneling all the traffic to Joyce and College.

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Regarding the Expressway:

The four lane could be converted into a boulevard or parkway, much like they are in cities like Plano, Texas, for example, and provide access at various points to the CMN area, as well as pedestrian crossings.

Crossing a four-lane divided parkway on foot might sound daunting, but with proper speed controls and signalization, this could be done.

I believe most of Plano's parkways are 6 lanes at least, but with landscaped medians and design attention to pedestrians, they allow for efficient traffic flow and some trail crossings.

A signal cut into Mall Ave or the other north/south street in CMN would help a lot of mall-bound traffic avoid the Joyce/College intersection.

Yes, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. The study for the Expressway area is to improve mobility (i.e., relieve congestion) while obviously considering the City's goals for the area. By installing signals, you dramatically cut down on the mobility of the through traffic (obviously that's why they don't put signals on freeways).

But, on the other hand, you're right that may substantially help out the College/Joyce intersection. However, I can tell you AHTD and FHWA aren't going to like turning a freeway into a parkway with a signal(s), so the burden of proof will be on the City for sure. That's not to say I'm against a parkway (DFW does have a lot of parkways), but they have their place and function. It could work here... or it could not. That'll be sorted through in the near future.

What'll be interesting I think in the coming weeks is how much traffic will get sucked away from the NWA Mall and into the Promenade. It may reduce traffic substantially... or not. It'll be interesting to see.

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Yes, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. The study for the Expressway area is to improve mobility (i.e., relieve congestion) while obviously considering the City's goals for the area. By installing signals, you dramatically cut down on the mobility of the through traffic (obviously that's why they don't put signals on freeways).

The Martha Mitchell Expressway in Pine Bluff has stoplights. :P But then again it's an 'expressway' in name only. :lol:

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Yes, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. The study for the Expressway area is to improve mobility (i.e., relieve congestion) while obviously considering the City's goals for the area. By installing signals, you dramatically cut down on the mobility of the through traffic (obviously that's why they don't put signals on freeways).

But, on the other hand, you're right that may substantially help out the College/Joyce intersection. However, I can tell you AHTD and FHWA aren't going to like turning a freeway into a parkway with a signal(s), so the burden of proof will be on the City for sure. That's not to say I'm against a parkway (DFW does have a lot of parkways), but they have their place and function. It could work here... or it could not. That'll be sorted through in the near future.

What'll be interesting I think in the coming weeks is how much traffic will get sucked away from the NWA Mall and into the Promenade. It may reduce traffic substantially... or not. It'll be interesting to see.

I do see your point though. I'm sure there will be some negative aspects in changing this as well. Although overall I think it's possible to make it more on the positive side. Traffic might die down next week but I still don't think traffic is going to die in that area from now on. I think there will still be a lot of people going to the NWA Mall area. If anything it might affect the number of people from Benton County coming down. I don't know if Benton County people have as much effect on the Joyce/College intersection as people from Fayetteville and Washington County.

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Yes, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. The study for the Expressway area is to improve mobility (i.e., relieve congestion) while obviously considering the City's goals for the area. By installing signals, you dramatically cut down on the mobility of the through traffic (obviously that's why they don't put signals on freeways).

But, on the other hand, you're right that may substantially help out the College/Joyce intersection. However, I can tell you AHTD and FHWA aren't going to like turning a freeway into a parkway with a signal(s), so the burden of proof will be on the City for sure. That's not to say I'm against a parkway (DFW does have a lot of parkways), but they have their place and function. It could work here... or it could not. That'll be sorted through in the near future.

What'll be interesting I think in the coming weeks is how much traffic will get sucked away from the NWA Mall and into the Promenade. It may reduce traffic substantially... or not. It'll be interesting to see.

I don't think improving mobility and signalizing the expressway are mutually exclusive.

If the city can determine a route from the south to intersect the expressway and enter the mall area via CMN, e.g. an extended Mall Ave or Steele Blvd connecting with North Hills or Prairie View then the signalization of the expressway could improve mobility throughout the area by providing an alternate route from the south to the retail and an alternate method of entering the expressway instead of the current U-turn option.

That said, I didn't know that the study was exclusively geared towards improving mobility. I thought the city was seeking was to connect the expressway and the mall area more to the rest of the city and make it less of a "wall" as mith stated above.

Aside from expanding the expressway or doing the flyover (which I thought was a dead idea) I am having a hard time imagining any other approaches to the situation than increasing points of access via signalization.

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I don't think improving mobility and signalizing the expressway are mutually exclusive.

If the city can determine a route from the south to intersect the expressway and enter the mall area via CMN, e.g. an extended Mall Ave or Steele Blvd connecting with North Hills or Prairie View then the signalization of the expressway could improve mobility throughout the area by providing an alternate route from the south to the retail and an alternate method of entering the expressway instead of the current U-turn option.

That said, I didn't know that the study was exclusively geared towards improving mobility. I thought the city was seeking was to connect the expressway and the mall area more to the rest of the city and make it less of a "wall" as mith stated above.

Aside from expanding the expressway or doing the flyover (which I thought was a dead idea) I am having a hard time imagining any other approaches to the situation than increasing points of access via signalization.

I agree with you. Anyway the Fulbright Expressway isn't really that particularly long. I don't think slowing down mobility on it somewhat would be that big of a loss. I think more connectivity to the mall area would be a bigger positive. It would also help cut down traffic at the Joyce/College intersection which I think for many is a big mobility hinderance.

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I agree with you. Anyway the Fulbright Expressway isn't really that particularly long. I don't think slowing down mobility on it somewhat would be that big of a loss. I think more connectivity to the mall area would be a bigger positive. It would also help cut down traffic at the Joyce/College intersection which I think for many is a big mobility hinderance.

I thought that one of the plans was to put a bridge over the expressway from the North Hills 4-way stop over to Steele blvd (near O'Charleys). That would allow traffic to get over "the wall" and also connect to it. This would be expensive but something has to be done.

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I thought that one of the plans was to put a bridge over the expressway from the North Hills 4-way stop over to Steele blvd (near O'Charleys). That would allow traffic to get over "the wall" and also connect to it. This would be expensive but something has to be done.

That would help with entry to the mall area.

I wonder if there is enough room for the same proposed overpass to offer access to the expressway, i.e. on ramps for northbound I-540 traffic.

It seems like the unconventional on-ramps from Gregg Ave which are pushed far to the east due to the railroad tracks might preclude another on-ramp being installed there.

If there is no ability to turn onto the expressway at the intersection, it only solves part of the problem. It doesn't address the issue of northbound College Ave traffic attempting to make it to I-540. The U-turn effect currently

If this option is combined with a Joyce Blvd extension which eventually connects with I-540 north, this option sounds better.

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I don't know if this option has been considered.

On the south side of the Dodge dealership on College Ave, there is a small side street called Longview. It connects with Plainview St.

Plainview St. intersects Milsap almost directly across the expressway from Mall Avenue.

I think this route should be considered as an additional access point to the mall area.

There is only one small building on Milsap of which a portion perhaps would be disturbed by making this connection.

plainviewlongivew.jpg

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That would help with entry to the mall area.

I wonder if there is enough room for the same proposed overpass to offer access to the expressway, i.e. on ramps for northbound I-540 traffic.

It seems like the unconventional on-ramps from Gregg Ave which are pushed far to the east due to the railroad tracks might preclude another on-ramp being installed there.

If there is no ability to turn onto the expressway at the intersection, it only solves part of the problem. It doesn't address the issue of northbound College Ave traffic attempting to make it to I-540. The U-turn effect currently

If this option is combined with a Joyce Blvd extension which eventually connects with I-540 north, this option sounds better.

Yeah, the bridge over the expressway does not help the traffic U-turning on Joyce/College but at least it breaks up "the wall" so that traffic is not funneled into one area as much. I do think that extending Joyce to connect to 540 is a good idea but probably way too expensive and I don't know how close the Joyce extension would be to the current fullbright exit off of 540. It seems like it would have to connect about 1/4 to 1/2 mile north of that exit. So much needs to be done soon....so little money.

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Putting a bridge over it does make sense but I've gotten the impression the city is still mainly looking at turning the Fulbright Expressway into a boulevard and connect a number of streets over there. I suppose it's still open but I haven't heard the city looking much into just a bridge. What's sad is that a bridge and a flyover on College would probably cost more than the other option Fayetteville seems to be looking at.

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The Martha Mitchell Expressway in Pine Bluff has stoplights. :P But then again it's an 'expressway' in name only. :lol:

I guess I should have been clear in my terminology. Expressways are typically meant as high speed divided roadways with intersections (while freeways have grade-seperated interchanges). The expressway in Pine Bluff has about 1/3 of the traffic Fulbright has. Also, they have major problems with speeders, as drivers have a tendancy to drive fast like on a freeway, but it's signed much lower to reduce the chance of crashes near the signals. That, despite the fact they seem to enforce it pretty well (at least when I've driven through there).

As a rule of thumb so to speak, drivers will typically drive what the roadway design "tells them" to drive, regardless of the posted speed limit. The general exception is in areas of heavy enforcement. So if you stick a signal on a freeway, and post it say 40 mph, the majority of drivers will still drive it like a freeway, unless it is redesigned to give drivers "cues" to slow down.

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I guess I should have been clear in my terminology. Expressways are typically meant as high speed divided roadways with intersections (while freeways have grade-seperated interchanges). The expressway in Pine Bluff has about 1/3 of the traffic Fulbright has. Also, they have major problems with speeders, as drivers have a tendancy to drive fast like on a freeway, but it's signed much lower to reduce the chance of crashes near the signals. That, despite the fact they seem to enforce it pretty well (at least when I've driven through there).

As a rule of thumb so to speak, drivers will typically drive what the roadway design "tells them" to drive, regardless of the posted speed limit. The general exception is in areas of heavy enforcement. So if you stick a signal on a freeway, and post it say 40 mph, the majority of drivers will still drive it like a freeway, unless it is redesigned to give drivers "cues" to slow down.

Sorry I meant it more as a joke. When it was first built it didn't have stoplights but there were so many accidents they had to go back and put them in.

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I don't think improving mobility and signalizing the expressway are mutually exclusive.

If the city can determine a route from the south to intersect the expressway and enter the mall area via CMN, e.g. an extended Mall Ave or Steele Blvd connecting with North Hills or Prairie View then the signalization of the expressway could improve mobility throughout the area by providing an alternate route from the south to the retail and an alternate method of entering the expressway instead of the current U-turn option.

That said, I didn't know that the study was exclusively geared towards improving mobility. I thought the city was seeking was to connect the expressway and the mall area more to the rest of the city and make it less of a "wall" as mith stated above.

Aside from expanding the expressway or doing the flyover (which I thought was a dead idea) I am having a hard time imagining any other approaches to the situation than increasing points of access via signalization.

To be clear, I meant the mobility of the higher function roadways-- I-540, Fulbright Expressway (technically Hwy 71B), and College Ave (also 71B). Not the mobility of Mall Ave or Steele Blvd. That's the City's concern.

Furthermore, to be clear, I didn't say exclusive. I said it is to improve mobility while accomplishing the City's goals (which is partly to improve access to the commercial areas). Also, I should say that I am referring to, again, mobility of the highway system, not the mobility of, say, Mall Ave in front of Wal-Mart.

The powers-that-be don't shop at that Wal-Mart.

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I don't know if this option has been considered.

On the south side of the Dodge dealership on College Ave, there is a small side street called Longview. It connects with Plainview St.

Plainview St. intersects Milsap almost directly across the expressway from Mall Avenue.

I think this route should be considered as an additional access point to the mall area.

There is only one small building on Milsap of which a portion perhaps would be disturbed by making this connection.

plainviewlongivew.jpg

That idea may have merit. You may want to contact the appropriate person(s) at Fayetteville and submit your idea. You can always try the Mayor. Or the planning/engineering dept. If they think it's worth looking at, they may consider it.

I would say that to anyone else who thinks they have a good idea. I think Fayetteville staffers are pretty open-minded (lol, if you can believe that!). I know for a fact one idea just some regular average-joe submitted for the Fulbright-College interchange, that was considered by the City and the consultants. (by removing the eastbound-to-northbound ramp, adding a lane(s) for westbound traffic, and placing a signal there (basically to allow the "U-turners" to avoid the Joyce intersection).

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I don't know if this option has been considered.

On the south side of the Dodge dealership on College Ave, there is a small side street called Longview. It connects with Plainview St.

Plainview St. intersects Milsap almost directly across the expressway from Mall Avenue.

I think this route should be considered as an additional access point to the mall area.

There is only one small building on Milsap of which a portion perhaps would be disturbed by making this connection.

plainviewlongivew.jpg

The only problem I see with that is traffic on Milsap is pretty heavy at times and there would need to be a traffic light at the intersection which could cause even heavier traffic problems. Being that Milsap is the main road to Washington Regional and all the medical offices I wouldn't want to see it become a mall access road. A flyover from northbound College could split with one ramp merging onto Fulbright Expressway and another ramp merging onto Mall Avenue. It would cost some big bucks, but it's the most viable option.

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  • 2 weeks later...

PLEASE take the time to fill out the "Map Survey" under "Fayetteville Expressway Economic Development Corridor Project" on the City of Fayetteville website. www.accessfayetteville.org

It is structured for everyone in the region to participate and has room for comments and suggestions. If Fayetteville is asking for input let's all give it to them!

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