Huntersville wants to know how the shared center lane and walking shoulders on Central Avenue are working. The survey closes Oct. 28; answers go to the board.

The Town of Huntersville is asking people who live in and around Pottstown how the new lane markings on Central Avenue are working. Its online survey closes Wednesday, Oct. 28.

The changes cover Central Avenue between Dellwood Drive and Holbrooks Road. Since early August the street has had one center lane for drivers, dashed “advisory shoulders” on each side for people walking and biking, and speed humps.

The town posted the survey Oct. 6. It said the answers will be shared with the Huntersville Board of Commissioners. Staff will use them to judge how the project is working and to plan future transportation work. Town staff will also go door to door along Central Avenue to help people fill it in.

How the street now works

The town set out the rules when the markings went down, in an Aug. 5 notice:

Diagram of Central Avenue between Dellwood Drive and Holbrooks Road: a single center lane shared by drivers going both ways, with a dashed advisory shoulder on each side for people walking and biking, and speed humps. The rules: people walking or biking have the right of way; drivers stay in the center lane and slow down; to pass an oncoming car, yield to anyone in the shoulder, then move over; return to the center lane once the car has passed.
How the advisory shoulders on Central Avenue work. Graphic by Huntersville Today; source Town of Huntersville.
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  • People walking or biking have the right of way.
  • Drivers going both ways share the center lane.
  • Drivers move into a shoulder only to pass an oncoming vehicle.
  • Before moving over, drivers must yield to anyone walking or biking in the shoulder.
  • Once the other vehicle has passed, drivers return to the center lane when it is safe.

The town called Central Avenue “a narrow street with low-speed.” It said the markings formalize “what drivers, pedestrians and cyclists have been doing for one another.”

What the survey asks

The survey on the town’s PublicInput page takes a few minutes. It asks:

  • whether you live in Pottstown, live next to it or visit often
  • which street you live on
  • whether you walked or biked on Central Avenue before the change, and since
  • whether the shoulders give people on foot and on bikes enough space
  • how clear it is to drivers when and how to yield
  • whether drivers, walkers and cyclists are using the shoulders as intended
  • whether more education on the layout would help
  • whether you would prefer advisory shoulders or sidewalks for future walking improvements in Pottstown

The last question matters beyond this one street. The town says the answers will feed into its future transportation planning.

What it means for you

  • If you live on or use Central Avenue, fill in the survey by Wednesday, Oct. 28. Contact details are optional.
  • If you drive it, stay in the center lane and slow down. Yield to anyone in the shoulder before you move over for an oncoming car.
  • If you walk or bike it, the town asks you to stay visible and predictable and to keep moving forward and avoid sudden changes in direction.
  • For other street work around town, see our road construction and closures page, and for the neighborhood itself, our Pottstown guide.