Delta Avenue Restriping Project

Delta Avenue between Columbia Parkway and Erie Avenue (excluding the Square) is scheduled to be repaved in early 2014. Delta Avenue currently has two lanes in each direction (a 10-foot travel lane and an 18-foot shared travel/parking lane).

The Department of Transportation and Engineering (DOTE) is developing a new lane configuration that would include:

one 10-foot travel lane in each direction;

a center two-way left turn lane;

bicycle lanes; and

on-street parking on both sides of the street.

This configuration is very similar to what was recently installed on Madison Road between Woodburn Avenue and O’Bryonville. DOTE believes that this street design will provide many safety benefits for motorists, pedestrians, and people riding bicycles.

This drawing compares the existing and proposed designs.

Why A Center Turn Lane?

The center two-way left turn lane improves pedestrian safety by making it easier for people to cross the street. Currently, pedestrians must cross four lanes of traffic at once in order to cross the street.

With the proposed design, pedestrians would only need to cross one lane of traffic at a time, and they could pause in the center turn lane when traffic is heavy.

Center turn lanes are also proven to reduce many types of accidents, such as rear-end, side swipe, and angle crashes.

Additionally, the center turn lane decreases traffic delays by allowing turning vehicles to be out of the travel lane.

Other Aspects

The bicycle lanes that would be installed with the project would connect to the bicycle lanes recently installed on Riverside Drive, which are being extended to Downtown this year.

Additionally, the new striping design would allow for a new traffic signal to be installed at Kroger Avenue. The traffic signal has long been requested by the Mt. Lookout neighborhood to help motorists turning off of Kroger onto Delta.

Next steps

DOTE collected community feedback on this project throughout the summer and fall of 2013. Hundreds of comments were received, and the feedback was overwhelmingly supportive of the proposed striping design. Both the Mt. Lookout Community Council and the Columbia Tusculum Community Council have voted to support this project. DOTE expects the resurfacing of the street to begin in the spring of 2014.