Safe practices for Linden Oaks intersection

By Amber Avalona-Butler
Paraglide

	Photo by Amber Avalona-Butler/Paraglide Numerous “no crossing” signs are posted at the intersection of North Carolina 87 and the entrance to Linden Oaks military housing community. Pedestrians would have to cross six lanes of traffic, including turn lanes, to reach the shopping complex opposite the community, making it unsuitable to navigate on foot. Aug. 30.

Linden Oaks raises the standard of privatized military housing. Home to more than 1,200 Fort Bragg Families, the community caters to senior noncommissioned officers, company grade officers, field grade officers and a select number of junior enlisted Families who meet the requirements.

The gated, tree-lined entrance sits at a stoplight on North Carolina Highway 87. Across the way, a shopping area features Family-friendly establishments like Food Lion and McDonalds. But at the landscaped entrance to Fort Bragg’s premier off-post community, looks can be deceiving.

“You get a sense of complacency (about safety), but eventually the odds are going to catch up to you,” said Rich Eppler, garrison safety manager with the Installation Safety Office. “When there’s a contest between a vehicle and a pedestrian ? the vehicle will win every time,” he added.

On Monday he talked about pedestrian safety around the installation, more specifically the intersection leading to Linden Oaks where a resident, fifteen-year old Derrick Brown, stepped in front of moving traffic. Struck by a Honda, Brown suffered a host of injuries including broken legs, a dislocated hip and head injuries. Surrounding the intersection, numerous signs warn pedestrians not to cross the highway, but foot traffic continues. And so it raises a question — why not create a crosswalk with official crossing signals?

The solution isn’t that simple, according to Eppler. North Carolina’s general statutes prohibit a controlled pedestrian crosswalk at that intersection because of one factor – speed. NC 87 is a four-lane highway (six lanes counting turn lanes) and the posted speed is 55 miles per hour — not a place to saunter across the street, or sprint for that matter.

“Even if they did put up regular crosswalks I wouldn’t feel safe. Since it’s a standard highway it’s not practical that somebody would try to cross the road. A vehicle may or may not stop,” said Eppler.

It is because of this that Col. Stephen J. Sicinski, Fort Bragg Garrison commander, met with officials from the N.C. Department of Transportation. The result of the meeting is that the NCDOT approved the construction of a “Z” type crosswalk.

However, Sicinski emphasized that parents are primarily responsible for ensuring the safety of their children. He added that residents will begin to see improvements at the intersection within six months. At that time, the entrance to Linden Oaks will transition into a right-hand turn intersection only.

The light currently moves through 32 phases (north-south and east-west crossings, right and left turns), but the right-hand turn feature will eliminate 26 of those phases Sicinski said. The official “Z” crosswalk will also be installed, allowing residents to cross from Linden Oaks to the shopping complex. This temporary measure will disappear when the final solution takes effect.

Eppler pointed out that erecting a pedestrian cross bridge over NC 87 is no easy task, as funding and jurisdiction may become a concern.

“We kind of run into an issue because we’re talking about two separate jurisdictions here. We’ve got the North Carolina Department of Transportation, which owns Highway 87. It happens to pass by Linden Oaks which belongs to the Army,” noted Eppler.

“We’re still in the process of pursuing funding. As far as a timeframe for construction, we’re not at that point,” said Lee Jernigan with the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

The Fort Bragg Directorate of Public Works and NCDOT have forged comfortable professional ties that allow them to find mutually satisfying solutions to issues such as this. So while officials work out the details, residents are encouraged to heed warning signs and play it safe.

“We want to set up an overhead pedestrian crossing that is 100 percent safe from traffic, but that’s at least 15 months away,” Sicinski said.

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