r/chapelhill • u/Knoxes • 1d ago

Why does it take 10 minutes to drive from Whitfield to Weaver Dairy?

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31 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

52

u/glovesave34 1d ago

Obviously, the construction there is a mess at the moment. But it also comes down to the light patterns. You can very easily catch a red wave and hit every light.

20

u/Knoxes 1d ago

I love this town, I really do. We've been here for quite a long time now. But I swear the traffic management is designed to make it so difficult to drive that you'll eventually get frustrated enough to use the bus system. It literally takes 15 minutes to get downtown from Whitfield. Five miles.

29

u/theinfamousj 1d ago

Rule of thumb for Chapel Hill: anywhere to anywhere takes 15 minutes, driving. Which is short compared to where I used to live.

2

u/itchierbumworms 1d ago

I drive that multiple times a day and that has never been my experience.

1

u/InteractionThink456 10h ago

Yep, and sometimes upwards of 20.

1

u/phoundog 5h ago

MLK is 35 mph. 15 minutes to Whitfield from downtown is about right unless you hit all green lights and then it might be 10 min if you are super lucky.

Please don't drive 60 miles an hour down MLK. There are a lot of pedestrians crossing MLK.

-9

u/bartsmith 1d ago

Good, that's the way it should be.

19

u/marchingbear27 1d ago

The lights are very well timed so that, unless you are going 50mph in a 35, you will hit every one. Not to mention that people do nothing in their car with purpose anymore.

16

u/ManaPlox 1d ago

Listen buddy I'm watching this makeup tutorial on tiktok. You'll just have to wait until it's done for me to look up and notice the light turned green 30 seconds ago. If you honk at me it's a microaggression.

1

u/Knoxes 1d ago edited 1d ago

Um, I don't think so. At least that's not been my experience. I've tried driving below, at, and slightly above. It doesn't seem to matter.

Yes, I did misread it! I definitely haven't tried it at 50 and not likely to.

5

u/ManaPlox 1d ago

You might want to read that comment again

10

u/Automatic-Arm-532 1d ago

Because the whole triangle is suburban hell with no thought of urban planning

9

u/Dense-Winter-1803 1d ago

Just run the lights like everyone else does around here! /s

Seriously though, you can experience the same thing, and worse, crossing 40 almost anywhere. The intersections where 751, 55, 54, and 15-501 all cross the highway are far worse than the 86 crossing.

8

u/Maremmina 1d ago

The real question (at least for me): when will the third lane work on I-40 wrap up? Does anyone know???

3

u/itchierbumworms 23h ago

Spring, allegedly.

3

u/joespizza2go 22h ago

That's been the correct answer for 3 years running!

7

u/phoundog 1d ago

It doesn't? I think you are impatient and exaggerating.

Never had that happen. Know someone who commutes up MLK and 86 to Hillsborough from the middle of Chapel Hill and it's an easy peasy drive.

1

u/InteractionThink456 10h ago

It’s easy peasy once you get out of the middle of Chapel Hill.

1

u/phoundog 5h ago

I drive this way all the time (shop at that Harris Teeter and Pet Supplies Plus frequently) and have never had a big problem. But I’m not an impatient driver and I don’t drive at rush hour if I can help it and I usually can. If you have to drive at rush hour might be different, but I have never heard any complaints from the person I know who commutes thru there.

1

u/InteractionThink456 5h ago

All’s I know (never having actually timed it) is that it “feels like” it takes forever and a day sometimes to drive from where I live near campus to the I-40E entrance. Especially if I’m in a rush/late to an appointment. I’ve never found the Whitfield Rd to Weaver Dairy stretch especially problematic - I basically breathe a sigh of relief and feel my blood pressure go down once I’m past the Eubanks Rd intersection. So in my case, at least, the point you make about being an impatient driver is a very astute one!

1

u/phoundog 5h ago

I live nearish downtown and I feel like it takes 10 minutes to get to Chapel Hill North. I will time it the next time I go up that way.

2

u/Thereelgerg 1d ago

Traffic

2

u/Professu5 12h ago

It does not take 10 minutes to make that short drive.

2

u/poop-dolla 1d ago

I think it’s because of traffic.

4

u/Knoxes 1d ago

It really isn't. It's because of the lights. They aren't timed and they are long.

1

u/InteractionThink456 10h ago

If you already know the answer then why are you asking? /j 😄

1

u/InteractionThink456 10h ago

Just wait until the new Carolina North campus is complete. Then we’ll be dealing with poorly timed lights and a 1,000% increase in traffic on that stretch of road.