"It's a hazard for us to be pedestrians," Raleigh City Council rules no more right on red in downtown Raleigh

Raleigh City Council on Tuesday agreed to change the traffic pattern in the downtown core, ending the practice of allowing drivers to turn right at red lights.

Posted 7:09 p.m. Mar 9, 2023 — Updated 4:47 a.m. Mar 10, 2023

Aaron Thomas

, WRAL reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — Raleigh City Council on Tuesday agreed to change the traffic pattern in the downtown core, ending the practice of allowing drivers to turn right at red lights.

For people who work downtown, like Yolanda Cunningham and others, the change is needed.

"I have lunch and meet my clients out and about," Cunningham said. "We're walking to several locations throughout the day after 5 o'clock, so I think its a safety hazard for us to be pedestrians."

The city will hang new "No turn on red" signs on affected intersections extending from Peace Street in the north as far as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard at the south and between Glenwood Avenue and East Street.

For some pedestrians, it's needed after too many close calls.

"On our way over from the convention center, we saw somebody turn right on red and the went right into the crosswalk where we were walking through with the stroller," said Matthew Kohler, a downtown resident who was almost hit, along with his wife and child, at a crosswalk.

In January 2019, after the death of a state employee crossing at McDowell and Lane streets, Gov. Roy Cooper asked the state for suggestions to improve safety for pedestrians. Making right turns on red illegal was one of them.

The Mayor of Raleigh, Mary-Ann Baldwin, said the change comes after numerous accidents in the downtown area involving pedestrians.

"There have been a number of incidents in downtown where people have been hit by cars," Baldwin said.

WRAL News obtained data dating back to March 2018 and found that 114 pedestrians have been hit by cars in the downtown area, with 62 happening at intersections with stoplights involving pedestrians.

There were seven pedestrian crashes in 2021, eight in 2022 and, so far, three this year. Baldwin is hoping to see a down trend of these accidents going forward.

"We all have to be committed to making our community safe," Baldwin said. "It's as simple as that."

The sign work should be complete and police will begin enforcing the "no right on red" as soon as the end of April 2023. For Kohler, it can't come soon enough.

"It's a good move," Kohler said. "Being able to walk across the crosswalk without having to look over your should is a good thing."

While Baldwin said city leaders haven't made a decision regarding enforcement or penalties, they hope to add redlight cameras to help monitor driver behavior.

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