With a grant from the Greater Hickory Metropolitan Planning Organization and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) (TAP and BGDA funds), the City of Hickory moved forward with a plan to construct a multi-use trail and make streetscape improvements along Old Lenoir Road, also known as OLLE Art Walk. This project included NEPA clearance and PS&E Plan sets as a locally administered federal project.
This project included a road diet (4-lanes to 3-lanes conversion) which will allow for the trail to be constructed partially within the current roadway to minimize impacts to homes and businesses. The project also included railroad considerations and complex street crossings.
TPD was responsible for the following project tasks:
- Community and Stakeholder Engagement
- Graphics
- Traffic Analyses
- Corridor Simulations – SimTraffic
- Intersection and Safety Analyses
- Pedestrian Crossing Evaluations and Design
- Landscape Architecture Design Elements
- Accessibility (ADA) and Trail Design Assistance
- Trail Signage and Wayfinding
- Signal Design
- Cost Estimate
- Construction Documents for Signal and RLA Elements
In addition to design and traffic engineering services, TPD designed the public engagement plan and website materials. This included adjustments to public engagement to account for social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. TPD also designed several small parks that will be built along the trail to serve as rest stops and trailheads.
The traffic analysis and simulations were key to obtaining concurrence on the road diet since some local businesses were concerned about congestion and impacts to their business.