After all these years, there is this report that something is actually going to be built soon on the Horace Williams grounds. It would be the first building in the Carolina North project.
Will it be a good start in terms of the principle that CN should be a transit, biking and pedestrian oriented development? This is what was called for in the Horace Williams Citizens' Committee report.
Transit-oriented development and the like does not mean that there is a mention of bus stops and bike racks. It means that it includes something like this. Will these new plans indicate anything of this nature? I am hopeful but not optimistic.
James Coley
Issues:
Comments
Sept 13 public meeting @ Town Hall 5:15pm
from the Carolina North Forest Facebook page: "Ductbank, future greenway at Carolina North to begin next month. In early October, crews will begin to remove trees, brush and other vegetation in a narrow corridor from the Horace Williams Airport to Homestead Road. Staff members of the UNC at Chapel Hill will be available to answer questions Sept. 13 public information meeting for the Carolina North Annual Report at the Town Hall at 5:15 p.m." ("narrow corridor" might be a bit misleading)
From: McGovern, Joseph
From: McGovern, Joseph (Grounds Services) <Joseph.McGovern@facilities.unc.edu> Hello Forest Users, Preparation for ductbank, future greenway at Carolina North to begin next month In early October, work crews will begin to remove trees, brush and other vegetation in a narrow corridor from the Horace Williams Airport to Homestead Road. Staff members of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will be available to answer questions about the project at a Sept. 13 public information meeting for the Carolina North Annual Report at the Town Hall at 5:15 p.m. The corridor is being cleared for the construction of an underground ductbank for electrical and telecommunication cables to provide greater service reliability for UNC buildings along Airport Drive, including the Administrative Office Building and the Giles Horney complex. Some of these buildings house critical University financial and accounting systems, but currently have less reliable power compared to the main campus. This also provides a route for utilities that, in time, will serve the Carolina North campus. The ductbank will be constructed along the corridor designated for a utility ductbank in the Development Agreement's utility siting exhibit.When the project is complete, the area will be re-planted except for a 10-foot-wide access path for maintenance along the ductbank corridor. This access path will become a public greenway route through the Carolina North campus, a requirement of the Carolina North Development Agreement. Both the ductbank and future greenway are part of the Carolina North Development Agreement approved by the Town of Chapel Hill and the University's Board of Trustees in 2009 and have been described in the 2010 and 2011 Carolina North Development Agreement Annual Reports (http://research.unc.edu/ccm/groups/public/@research/@cn/documents/content/ccm3_021256.pdf) as well as at several public meetings. As part of the preparation for the project, UNC staff members will walk the ductbank/greenway route to assess what vegetation will be removed, with the goal of making adjustments that would preserve mature trees along the outer edges of the corridor whenever possible. Staging for the project will take place in a parking lot and an existing field, requiring no additional clearing. The clearing of the corridor and the ductbank construction will affect access to some of the walking and biking trails in the Carolina North Forest and will cause some of the trails to be rerouted temporarily. The clearing is expected to be completed in about six weeks, while the installation of the ductbank is scheduled to start in early 2012 and to be completed within about six months. Trail users should check the Carolina North Forest Management Facebook page (http://tinyurl.com/4484tgz) for the latest information about the status of trails during the project. Updates will also be posted on-site at Carolina North Forest information kiosks.The future greenway will replace portions of the Pumpkin Loop, an existing trail maintenance access road. Some sections of the Pumpkin Loop will be converted to narrower, single-track trails or replanted. Carolina North Forest Management staff members are working with community groups to accommodate events scheduled for the Pumpkin Loop this fall.The work on the ductbank will be done in compliance with a Nationwide Permit approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on July 21, 2011. The University's Grounds Department will convert all the cleared vegetation into mulch on-site by for use at various University properties.Facilities Planning and Construction contact: Diane Gillis, (919) 962-9047, Diane.Gillis@facilities.unc.edu.News Services contact: Susan Houston, (919) 962-8415, susan_houston@unc.edu http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4729/68/
I have a few concerns with
I have a few concerns with Carolina North. The first is that the Chapel Hill transit system will become a little bit overwhelmed with all the extra traffic that will occur between the two campuses. The routes (N, NS, T, etc.) are already seriously congested. Second, I think the environmental impact mght be devasting. Our town is already developing rapidly and we should cherish every piece of nautral land we have left.