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Armour Road Complete Street

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The ultimate vision for Armour Road between Burlington and Ozark is a corridor that is safe, serves all users, incorporates sustainable measures, is visually appealing, and is economically vibrant.

View the Armour Road Implementation plan here

The 2022 construction project will begin in September and will consist of phases 2-4 and includes installation of

  • Bus stop islands at Gentry and Knox

  • Decorative crosswalks at Howell

  • Pedestrian crossing between Macon and Ozark

  • Concrete bump-out islands

  • Green conflict zone markings

  • Mill and overlay resurfacing of Armour Road

  • Bike lane low concrete walls

  • ADA sidewalk improvements

The 2019 construction project was the first phase of complete street improvements and included installation of 

  • Pedestrian refuge islands along Armour at three location - at Gentry, near the Post Office, and at Knox

  • Bike lanes between Fayette and Ozark

  • New parallel parking between Fayette and Knox

  • Intersection improvements at Iron including decorative crosswalks and landscaped islands

Iron Intersection Improvements
Speed Analysis

The speed limit on Armour Road is 25 MPH. The 25 MPH speed limit is important for the safety of people walking along Armour Road as well as for drivers of motor vehicles; the faster a motor vehicle is traveling before a crash, the more likely a person walking or biking will be injured or killed. More information about speed and the risk of injury or death is available in this report from the AAA Foundation.

Several speed studies were conducted on Armour Road to determine the speed of motor vehicles after the complete street improvements were completed: two by the NKC Police Department (December 2019-January 2020 and March 2020) and one by the city's engineer (July 2020).

The speed studies from the Police Department measured average speeds of 27 MPH near Fayette and 30 MPH near Knox. These studies, which were conducted over a 24-hour period, also recorded a significant number of drivers exceeding 45 MPH on Armour Road. 

 Approach

 Posted (Mph)

 Average (mph)

 85th Percentile (Mph)

 pace speed (mph)

Percent in pace 
 Armour Rd & Knox St
 25
 30
 36
 26-35
 56%
 Armour Rd & Fayette St
 25
 27
 31
 23-32
 77%



The City's engineer conducted a spot speed study between Iron and Knox Streets. The average speed was found to be 29 MPH.

Approach
Posted (Mph)
Minimum (Mph)
Maximum (Mph)
Average (Mph)
 Median (mph)
Mode (mph)
85th Percentile (mph)
Pace Speed (mph)
 
 Percent In Pace
Armour Road (Westbound and Eastbound)
25
 22
 38
 29
 28
 27
 32
 24-34
 94.80%

 

The City's engineer also analyzed traffic citations issued by the NKC Police Department before and after construction, including both citations for speeding and citations for trucks bypassing the truck route and illegally using Armour Road. Citation data is not a complete indication of driver behavior as many factors go into whether or not a ticket is issued if a driver is pulled over. However, the citations issued corroborate anecdotal evidence that there has been a dramatic reduction in trucks illegally using Armour Road and that drivers are more closely complying with the speed limits as seen in the speed study.

Before Construction

Oct 18

Nov 18

Dec 18

Jan 19

Feb 19 

Mar 19

Total 

Truck Route

10

11

11

21

 12

6

 71

Speeding

12

7

8

9

 12

11
 59

 

After Construction

Oct 19

Nov 19

Dec 19

Jan 20

Feb 20

Mar 20

Total

Truck Route

12

5

3

1

1

1

23

Speeding

10

13

3

5

12

2
45
Crash data

The City's engineer conducted a crash analysis to compare before and after construction crash activity to determine the effectiveness of the Armour Road Complete Street project in improving safety. Before construction began on Armour Road, between January 1, 2018 to May 31, 2019 (seventeen months), there were a total of 101 crashes along Armour Road from Fayette Street to Ozark Street including 20 injury crashes and 81 property damage only crashes. After construction ended, between September 15, 2019 and July 15, 2020 (10 months), there were a total of 56 crashes along Armour Road including 9 injury crashes and 47 property damage only crashes. Injury crashes on Armour Road decreased by about 24% and property damage only crashes decreased by about 1%.

After construction was completed, the City made adjustments near The Mop Bucket to add a loading zone, in front of the Post Office to create angled parking, and between Linn and Knox to adjust the right turn lane. Three planned future phases include intersections improvements at Howell, at Gentry and Knox, and a mid-block pedestrian crossing between Macon and Ozark. 

Detail of decorative Crosswalks at Armour & Iron:

Dec Crosswalk

Armour Road Bike Lanes Plan showing new bike lanes, parallel parking, and relocated bus stops, Fayette to Gentry:

Bike Lane Section

Supporting Documents

View the Complete Conceptual Design Here

Armour Road Complete Street Plan Process Chart

Armour Road Technical Memo -- July 23, 2020

Traffic Observations Memo -- July 27, 2020

Survey Results

During the June 2017 Community Workshop and for several days following, stakeholders participated in an online poll which allowed them to select their preferred alternatives for Armour Road. View the survey results.