Yes, this intersection is awful. As a pedestrian, I've almost been hit by cars running the light a few times. I've also seen the confusion around turning onto Western from Boylan during a red light and agree that either the light or the crosswalk should probably be moved.

Trees need cutting back as well so drivers can see

All that trimming won't be so necessary, if they just made a big, very slow, 2-lane roundabout. You wouldn't have to see as far to pull out or cross.

We are sending this to Public Works.

great. Personally, I do not think a rotary will be good for pedestrians, and if Dix is going to become a park, there will be more pedestrians. maybe I am wrong as I am not a traffic scientist.
in addition, the ongoing problem of illegal left turns from Boylan onto Western needs to be addressed. Everytime I see this happen I am terrified that there will be a horrifying accident.

I also think a roundabout would be the best solution here. It would slow traffic and make people pay more attention, which would be an improvement for pedestrians, I think. Clearly a current set up as a regular intersection is still a problem for pedestrians, and the crazy things I've seen people doing in the left turn lanes make me never want to go through this intersection. I saw a guy on a moped in the westbound left turn lane trying to turn onto either WB Western or NB Boylan (couldn't really figure out where he came from). I was trying to turn left onto Boylan from EB Western like a normal person, and I wasn't quite sure what he was trying to do, which confused everyone. And don't get me started on trying to make a right onto WB Western from Boylan. It's like Russian roulette every time you take the leap of faith to pull out into traffic. Inevitably there is someone just beyond the bushes at the curve going 50+ mph ready to run you over. I hate this intersection and am thankful that I can cycle to work using the greenway to avoid it!

The pedestrian crossing could stay about where it is, maybe a little closer. The main thing is that it must be outside the roundabout. That way everyone knows where to look and the traffic is very slow and can stop easily. Pedestrian crossings into a roundabout center circle are a very bad idea and force people entering the roundabout to look to the left and right simultaneously.

Agree, this definitely needs constructive tangible measures for safety to pedestrians and motorists. I have personally witnessed so many close calls. We in the neighborhood have brought up this issue over and over, and always it will "be relayed" to officials and "working on it" ...what does it take? A roundabout would be one way to slow traffic as it comes whipping around the corner on Western and flying towards NCSU etc. A pedestrian bridge would be another solution. The greenway and the new bike trail come through the area. Often the crossing light button is out of order and is only a partial solution because it is frequently disobeyed. Please do something!!!

This intersection is still a major issue for motorists and pedestrians. This evening I witnessed to vehicles run the traffic light while I was crossing on a walk sign. People who are turning right onto Western from Boylan seem to think they can just blow right through the light, which is very dangerous. Also, I've witnessed a few very close calls with cars nearly getting rear-ended while turning right onto Western from Boylan because the sight distance is not adequate for the speed that vehicles on westbound Western are traveling around the corner approaching Boylan.

A big, beautiful roundabout with a lovely fountain! Yes! Gateway to the city. Like Logan Circle in Philly, or dead guy on horse like any of DC's. It's a nightmare trying to get onto Western from Boylan at rush hour, nobody lets you in. A circulation would stop the crotch rocket crew from using it as a raceway, too. While we're at it, do one at Ashe Ave, too.

A roundabout would be good for cars (and look nice), but not ideal at all for pedestrians and cyclists, especially the many kids on bikes who will use the park. Thanks, City of Raleigh, for addressing this crossing. It is dangerous as is.

W.r.t. pedestrians and cyclists, a well-designed roundabout ***will guarantee*** no one speeds through that intersection. Just keep the crossing outside of it, and all will be well.

I agree, what might also help, in the meantime, is an increased police presence on this section of Western Blvd to enforce the speed limit. As many of us know, motorists go above and beyond the limit quite often.

This is absolutely a problem. Like others have mentioned I have almost been hit while trying to cross Western at the crosswalk. Cars turning left onto Boylan completely disregard the red light and run right through it. Also a problem that people turning right onto Western from Boylan aren't expecting the light to be red (as it only changes when there are pedestrians) and they turn right into the crosswalk. It would be great to see better street markings at this crossing and possibly an elevated walkway.

I have spoken to DOT as well about this crosswalk and stoplight. Vehicles are not used to stopping at the light and routinely run the red light. The right hand turn from Boylan to Western also does not provide any time to stop before the crosswalk. Dorothea Dix will become more widely used in the near future, and we need to get this safe before a major tragedy happens. In the long run, an elevated walkway may be the best option once Dorothea Dix becomes a destination park.

an elevated walkway AND a roundabout

Yes! An elevated crossing is the ONLY way families are going to be able to use the Dix grounds/new park safely. That, coupled with a roundabout for road traffic management would be the most forward-looking, use-conscious way to go. Please take note, Raleigh.

I have an issue crossing here as well, but i have to say a roundabout isn't the best idea for a couple reasons. I think an elevated walkway is the answer at Boylan and Western. I also think a full, wide sidewalk along S Saunders and Lake Wheeler Rd is needed for access to the park from multiple places.

Roundabouts are not pedestrian friendly at all, as traffic never actually stops.

You also can't control speed in a roundabout. If there is traffic, it will have to slow to allow for entering and exiting of other cars. If it's just a single car with no other cars around it could moce through at a dangerous speed.

Also, Western is a main artery for downtown. The city remodelled all of Hillsborough St with roundabouts such that traffic would be discouraged and diverted to Wade and Western. If we take Western out of the picture for fast traffic flow then downtown is strangled from the West. That cannot happen. We have to deal with Western being a fast moving, busy road.

I agree with an elevated walkway for Boylan and Western, but one is most needed for crossing the Lake Wheeler Rd "canyon" into the new Dix park.

Having lived in England, France and Germany for a while, I know roundabouts can be pedestrian friendly so long as the crossings are outside the roundabout. Roundabouts, by their very nature, control speed down to a level where there is no excuse for not seeing pedestrians in a crosswalk when exiting a roundabout. In London, multi-lane roundabouts, that may have higher exit speeds from drivers crossing lanes just before exiting a roundabout, have pedestrian crossings with button operated stop lights, again, outside the roundabout.

BTW, there's nothing "fast" about Western Blvd once you're east of Dawson. All the red lights are timed to make east-west transit as stop-and-go as possible.

This morning I saw a motorist on a moped turn right from Boylan onto Western and then use the crosswalk to cross over Western. Extremely dangerous.

An elevated walkway is a nice idea, but it doesn't address the traffic problems (like the one I just mentioned and several others). If money is going to be spent to solve any problems here, I think we should think long and hard about how to solve ALL the problems with this intersection. I travel through this area as a pedestrian, a cyclist, and a motorist, so I'd like to see a comprehensive solution if one is possible.

With an elevated walkway, there's no need for a crosswalk that risky drivers can U-turn on.

With a roundabout, there's no need to U-turn anyway.

City of Raleigh, will public works respond on this thread, or do concerned citizens need to seek a plan for resolution through another means?

Meesh, I understand that there isnt anything fast about Western after Dawson, but that's once you're *in* downtown. I'm saying Western is designed to be one of the fastest routes *to* downtown from the West, and it is.

When the city remodeled Hillsborough St several years ago one of the main goals was to reroute a majority of traffic to Western so Hillsborough would be more pedestrian friendly. We cannot then turn around and try to slow traffic on Western as well, or it defeats the purpose.

A slow roundabout isn't the answer. The intersection should probably be modified, but i still think a raised walkway is the best compromise bwtween keeping traffic moving at a good speed and ensuring pedestrian safety.

AndrewF, problem is they're speeding, right now, as it is, especially coming *out* of town. Slowing them down through that intersection (get rid of the stoplight) will improve traffic safety, and noise and air pollution. No stoplight's needed with a pedestrian bridge. Making the roundabout 2 concentric circles, as in the UK, allows plenty of rush hour traffic.

Why not just add a raised pedway and move the light a bit so that it actually includes letting traffic out at Boylan by stopping the westbound traffic? It'd be an easier fix without a need to revamp the whole intersection.

Meesh, Raleigh residents can't handle a double roundabout like in Europe. We had one on Hillsborough St and it only lasted about 6 months before they redesigned it as a single circle because residents didn't understand it and there were an unprecedented amount of accidents. The speed limit at Boylan and Western is 45 mph, and I don't see two lanes of traffic being able to keep that speed through a traffic circle. Something can be done about speeding by changing it to a 4 way light, which would also improve access to the park entrance from both directions, while alleviating the confusion about where people should stop and when they allowed to turn. I lived up north for a long time, and people there understood how ro drive through traffic circles. People here don't.

Supporting better mass transit will improve noise and air polution. Otherwise you still have the same number of cars driving by making noise burning fuel.

I don't know if this is still monitored by the city, but once again today my dog and I were nearly run over by a car speeding to turn onto Boylan from Western when the light was red. Whatever long term solution might be, there should be better signage to clarify to drivers the conditions at this intersection. Turning cars do not have a traffic light indicating whether or where they should stop and so they treat the red light for continuing traffic like a green light to turn - which is dangerous to pedestrians. Additionally, cars turning onto Western from Boylan have to accelerate so rapidly that they often run the red light as well. please consider improving the signage if there is no more permanent solution forthcoming.

AndrewF, I was involved in the redesign of that Hillsborough St roundabout, after being nearby T-boned there twice and having my son's GF sent to the hospital from there. As one retired DMV engineer in BH said, the problem was lane designation (not, as you say, lane number). Channelizing an apparent pass through the roundabout from Hillsbro. towards the east was the problem. It created the false impression of having right-of-way and induced drivers headed east to ignore the Yield sign. The fix got rid of the special lane paint and painted borders that those going east had to cross to enter the roundabout. Reducing to one lane was totally unnecessary. They just did for good measure. Raleigh residents don't have some peculiar nature so that they can't handle a double roundabout like in Europe. Design them as in Europe as concentric circles and all will be well.

wow

I almost got run over again yesterday by a turning driver running the light. The signage is there, but drivers don't understand. A 4 way light or re-painting of the signage (make sure cars don't stop before the intersection, make them stop before the crosswalk) could work.

My vag burns for a roundabout so Meesh can ride his bike in the circle before he brings it home.

I almost got hit today while crossing from Dix to Boylan Heights with my infant in his stroller. The person was traveling so fast that I'm not sure that they could have stopped in time for the light! So scary! I'm all about the roundabouts or any other solutions that the city has. Unfortunately, I don't think that anything will be done, about this intersection, until the Dix master plan starts to go into effect.

I have simple solution: Move the crosswalk further west on Western Blvd, say 50 yards.

When I turn onto westbound Western, I'm more focused on the cars speeding westward than the light. If crosswalk was further west, it would allow for motorist to react to both of these. I also keep seeing people turn from Boylan Ave. onto westbound Western and just run the light. It's scary when crossing with children.

a couple days ago I saw a porsche SUV coming south on Boylan turn left onto Western by driving the wrong way through the turn lane and taking a uturn.
additionally, as thom_tru points out, people turning right onto Western have to accelerate so fast they often do not notice the light. At the very least a warning light could be present to alert people when the light has changed just around the corner.
the signage remains unclear, particularly for those turning from eastbound western onto Boylan. they do not know where to stop or if they should remain stopped for the left turn when the light is red. many see this as their opportunity to turn when the westbound traffic is stopped so they fly up the lane to turn. but they can't tell how long the light will keep the traffic stopped - super dangerous.
people continue to run this light every day. install a camera. issue some tickets.

This intersection is extremely DANGEROUS. Every time we bring it up we hear 'we are working on it'. Somehow I doubt it because this thread is at least four years old and the problem predates the thread. Are we waiting for someone to get killed? Trying to turn right in a car from Boylan Avenue is almost as frightening as trying to cross Western Boulevard on foot. I invite ALL City Council members to personally walk themselves (not a 'staff member') from Boylan Heights to Dix Park and to drive from the top of Boylan Avenue to Pullen Park during rush hour. If you turn right into this traffic you risk getting rear ended. Even crossing by foot up at the prison is dangerous. There is no way to cross Western Boulevard safely. It makes no sense and is the worst planned intersection in town. That is a fact.

It does seem that this issue has been around but dormant for a long time.

I recommend that everyone who posted on this, send a message to the Raleigh City Council.