Campbell Avenue | Odd Fellows Road Land Use and Corridor Study Master Plan
The Campbell Avenue | Odd Fellows Road Land Use & Corridor Master Plan Study was prepared by the City of Lynchburg and the planning consultant firm, Sympoetica. The Lynchburg Planning Commission voted to approve this study for incorporation into the Comprehensive Plan on May 22, 2013 after a Public Hearing on April 24, 2013; the Lynchburg City Council voted to approve this study for incorporation into the Comprehensive Plan on October 8, 2013 after a Public Hearing on June 11, 2013.
The City initiated this study to develop a vision and blueprint for future growth for the area in response to the combination of VDOT’s plans for a new interchange at Odd Fellows Road and US 460/29, and the Office of Economic Development and Parks & Recreation’s 2010 and 2011 meetings with Campbell Avenue area business owners. The interchange project will extend Odd Fellows Road and create a direct access point between trucks serving area businesses and this major route in and out of the city. The interchange also affects Campbell Avenue by removing much of the truck traffic that currently travels along it and Mayflower Drive en route to Odd Fellows Road. This major shift in the way the corridors function was the perfect opportunity to reassess the appropriate street design for how the corridors will act going forward. Designs for both corridors serve existing businesses and residents while setting the stage for new investment.
Odd Fellows Road
The Odd Fellows Road side of the plan illustrates how the street should be built or rebuilt so that it best accommodates new volumes of truck traffic as well as the area’s new population of students who in the future will be traveling to the Liberty University campus growth area on the east side of US 460/29. The design contains a shared-use path for pedestrians and bicyclists, and two travel lanes with a center median and left turn lanes where needed. The design is a rare opportunity to give Lynchburg’s largest employment area a facelift and brand.
Campbell Avenue
Once the Odd Fellows Road project is completed, a “road diet” on Campbell Avenue could revitalize this traditional neighborhood by reducing the number of vehicular travel lanes from four to two and reallocating the space for bike lanes and better sidewalks as shown in the plan. While Odd Fellows Road serves large scale employment centers, Campbell Avenue should serve the surrounding fine-grained neighborhood.
Roundabouts
The plan proposes roundabouts at key locations on both corridors to reduce crashes, traffic delays, fuel consumption, air pollution, as well as construction and maintenance costs. Roundabouts can handle higher volumes of traffic than traditional stop lights and modern roundabouts like these contain a “truck apron” that surrounds the center island with slightly higher elevation and distinctively colored surface. Cars use the defined asphalt space outside of the apron while trucks use both the asphalt and the apron to easily navigate the roundabout. See our page on roundabouts or the plan’s appendix for more information.
If you have any questions regarding the plan, contact the Department of Community Development at 434-455-3900.
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