Time to change the clocks soon and when doing so it is important to remember that the days are shorter now. This will make people (and pets) less visible when walking, waiting for the bus, rolling or cycling .

On November 2, from 4 – 6 p.m. Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC will all have events, information and lights available at no charge to provide more visibility. Be sure to check Carrboro’s Lighten Up Bicycle Ride and UNC’s Light Distribution event at https://move.unc.edu/news/2022/10/28/lighten-chapel-hill-carrboro-2022/.

Go Chapel Hill will be distributing information on the Libba Cotten Trail at Merritt Mill Road starting at 4 p.m.

The Chapel Hill Police Department is planning pedestrian safety enforcement operations in November, in addition to normal patrols.

The Chapel Hill Police Department is planning pedestrian safety enforcement operations in November, in addition to normal patrols. Scheduled special operations include – but are not limited to – the following dates:

• Tuesday, November 1, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturday, November 5, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Monday, November 7, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Friday, November 11, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Tuesday, November 15, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Saturday, November 19, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 22, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Saturday, November 26, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 29, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Wednesday, November 30, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.

*Dates and times are subject to change

Each effort will focus on areas with heavy pedestrian and bicycle traffic, including downtown, and mid-block crosswalks (ex. along the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Estes Drive corridors). We encourage everyone traveling, regardless of your mode of transportation, to remember that community safety is a shared responsibility.

The Chapel Hill Police Department is also planning at least five speed enforcement operations in November – in addition to normal patrols – with the main goal of improving safety for everyone who shares roads.

• Tuesday, November 1, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
• Tuesday, November 8, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
• Tuesday, November 15, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 22, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Tuesday, November 29, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

*Dates and times are subject to change

Please use the following tips to improve safety for everyone on and near the roads:

• Limit distractions
• Phones down; eyes up (this is true for people driving, walking, riding a bike, and rolling)
• Keep your music at an appropriate level to hear what’s happening outside your car or around you
• Yield to pedestrians in crosswalks 
• State law says all vehicles must yield to pedestrians once they have safely entered a crosswalk
• Please use designated crosswalks to cross roads
• Walk against traffic; ride with traffic 
• People walking who don’t have access to sidewalks should walk in the opposite direction as traffic
• People riding bicycles should ride in a bike lane or in the same direction as traffic if there isn’t a designated path
• Bicycles are permitted to ride on the sidewalk except downtown (Franklin and Rosemary streets). Bicycles are permitted on sidewalks along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard outside the Chapel Hill Police Department as long as they are going in the same direction as traffic.

The Town will utilize its variable message sign (VMS) boards throughout Town to alert people driving of the events as well as encouraging them to limit distractions and watch out for people walking and people riding their bikes.

Vision Zero

On October 13, 2021, Chapel Hill’s Town Council adopted a Vision Zero Resolution, which states that traffic injuries and deaths are not inevitable “accidents” but preventable crashes and commits to eliminating them on Chapel Hill streets. To view the resolution, click here. 

Road closures end D, NS, RU, and NU routes early

Some Transit routes will be adjusted due to road closures downtown on Monday, Oct. 31.

Due to road closures in downtown, Chapel Hill Transit will make the following changes on Monday, October 31:

• D route (eastbound): last trip will leave Manning Drive at 7:17 p.m.
• D route (westbound): last trip will leave Old Chapel Hill Road at Pope Road at 6:48 p.m.
• NS route (southbound): last trip with service to Southern Village Park and Ride leaves Eubanks Park and Ride at 7:35 p.m.
• NS route (northbound): last trip with service to Eubanks Park and Ride leaves Southern Village Park and Ride at 7:21 p.m.
• RU route: last trip leaves Aycock Family Medicine at 7:45 p.m.
• NU route (southbound): last trip leaves the RR lot at 7 p.m.

We will offer a special NS bus from UNC Hospital to Southern Village Park and Ride starting at 8 p.m. The NS will loop from the hospital to the park and ride lot with service every 20 minutes. The final departure from the hospital will be at 9:20 p.m.

Safe Ride buses will not operate and there will be no bus shuttles operating from park and ride lots to Halloween on Franklin Street.

For information about Halloween in Chapel Hill, please see: townofchapelhill.org/Home/Components/News/News/18211/4048

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