Little Blue Bakehouse is a haven for Enloe students during lunch and after school—mouth watering pastries, great coffee, indoor seating with a cute vibe, and even a 10% drink discount for Enloe staff and students. All those with an off-campus lunch pass and a car (or a friend who has one) adore this local bakery. I, for one, have become a frequent patron of Little Blue, and I see friends and peers each time I walk in. But how do other Enloe Eagles who don’t have cars get to Little Blue? How do they partake in the sweet treats and caffeine? Let’s take a look:

According to Google Maps, Little Blue Bakehouse is only an eight-minute walk from Enloe’s East Building. If I were to take a conservative guess, I’d say that it would take 12 minutes to walk to Little Blue from the West Building. With our 35-minute lunch period and a 16-24 minute round trip, walking to Little Blue is totally doable. You’re left with around 10-20 minutes to order and eat your pastry at a table or on the go while walking back to school. However, there is one major barrier that prevents students from walking to Little Blue Bakehouse: where is the sidewalk?

As you can see, there isn’t one. After the intersection of Clarendon Crescent and New Bern Avenue, there is no sidewalk that leads towards Little Blue Bakehouse on either side of New Bern. To add insult to injury, Google Maps asks pedestrians to cross several lanes of New Bern in the middle of the road and without a crosswalk, where cars are passing by at a bit more than the supposed 35 mph. Even if you choose to cross the road at the intersection of Clarendon and New Bern, the path is long and unprotected, and you have to walk on grass. The lack of sidewalk and the huge intersection are enough to deter even the bravest Eagle scholars from walking to Little Blue Bakehouse. This isn’t a niche problem for Enloe students either; it is a part of a larger issue—the city of Raleigh is not walkable. According to walkscore.com, downtown Raleigh has a walkability rating of 82/100, but the city as a whole has a walkability rating of 31/100, lower than the national average of 49/100. This means that most daily errands require a car. 

Despite the fact that Raleigh may not currently be a walkable city, there are plans for improving sidewalk infrastructure and public transport. The city has allotted $7M for transportation and $80M for the Bus Rapid Transit plan, an efficient, high-capacity transit plan which will include dedicated bus lanes and revamped bus stations. Yet, there is still much to be done. It’s easy to say that we don’t really need a sidewalk along New Bern because most upperclassmen have access to a car, but there are still plenty of people who don’t, at Enloe and in the broader community that surrounds us. According to the US Department of Transportation, about 30% of Americans do not drive, whether it’s because of age, a disability, or socioeconomic status. Moreover, there are students who cross that intersection every day to get to school, and anyone who gets off at either of the bus stops near the intersection is left stranded if they’re walking down that portion of New Bern. It could be so easy to walk to Little Blue, but it’s not. Adding a sidewalk here would enrich the whole Enloe community, not just those seeking a pick-me-up from the Bakehouse. 

If you’d like to help remedy this problem, the City of Raleigh accepts sidewalk requests here. All you need to do is select the area of concern, search for “Request New Sidewalk” or “Crosswalk Request,” add a photo (optional), and add a description including why you’re requesting a new sidewalk. 

Along with improving the sidewalks on New Bern Avenue, transforming the current intersection of Clarendon and New Bern into a protected intersection is a relatively cheap and effective way to improve pedestrian safety. By adding protective barriers to the road, protected intersections increase visibility, shorten the distance that pedestrians have to travel, and encourage drivers to turn more slowly, helping Enloe students and community members feel safer when walking on New Bern. 

This is an example of what a protected intersection can look like. If you would like to ask for a protected intersection to be installed, you can use the following template to send an email to Transportation Director Paul Kallam at [email protected], or mail in a letter to the Raleigh Municipal Building, Suite 400, 222 West Hargett Street, Raleigh, NC 27601. 

Paul Kallam

Transportation Director

222 West Hargett Street, Suite 400

Raleigh, NC

Dear Transportation Director Kallam, 

I am writing on behalf of the Enloe High School student body and the surrounding community. I understand that the City of Raleigh is committed to improving the walkability of our urban areas, therefore I would like to request that the intersection of New Bern Avenue and Clarendon Crescent be converted into a protected intersection for the safety of all students and community members. 

Having a safe and walkable community is very important to me, and the intersection ofon Clarendon Crescent and New Bern Avenue does not feel safe. New Bern Avenue only has a sidewalk on one side of the intersection, and pedestrians have to walk long stretches of road unprotected. (Here, write a bit about why you care—include personal anecdotes or concerns).

Protected intersections are one of the most cost-efficient ways to increase pedestrian and bike safety for a few reasons. First, a smaller turn radius for cars causes drivers to turn slower, giving more time for pedestrians to cross. Also, the distance that pedestrians have to travel is shorter because of curb extensions. Lastly, protected intersections make pedestrians and cyclists more visible to drivers. Installing a protected intersection on Clarendon Crescent and New Bern Avenue will greatly improve the safety of the Enloe community!

I appreciate all that you do for our city, and I’m looking forward to seeing change in my community. Thank you for your consideration. 

Sincerely, 

(your name)

Enloe High School Student

As students, the majority of us aren’t old enough to vote—myself included. Oftentimes, it can feel like we don’t have enough influence to make an impact. However, even though we can’t vote yet, there are still other ways to use our voices to improve our community. Let’s walk to Little Blue!

Sources:

https://www.walkscore.com/score/Raleigh-North-Carolina/lat=35.7855110168457/lng=-78.6426696777344/?utm_source=searchpoint.net&utm_medium=ws_api&utm_campaign=ws_api

https://www.walkscore.com/NC/Raleigh#:~:text=Walk%20Score%20Map&text=Most%20errands%20require%20a%20car%20in%20Raleigh.,a%20Walk%20Score%20of%2031.

https://cityofraleigh0drupal.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/drupal-prod/COR28/NewBernAveTransitCorridorProject.pdf

https://raleighnc.gov/fix-it-report-it-request-it/services/citizen-service-request-seeclickfix

https://www.kittelson.com/ideas/the-case-for-protected-intersections/

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/01/american-transportation-revolves-around-cars-many-americans-dont-drive/