Public Health & Safety

National Trails Day: Fan Branch & Morgan Creek Trail Connector Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

The public is invited to a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of the trail project that connects the Fan Branch and Morgan Creek trails at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 7. The Town of Chapel Hill event coincides with National Trails Day.

The ceremony will take place at the new tunnel under Culbreth Road. The event will be led by Jim Orr, director of the Parks and Recreation Department, with Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, Peter Calingaert, chair of the Morgan Creek Trail Concept Plan Committee, and Chris Berndt, chair of the Greenways Commission. A hike to Merritt's Pasture will follow the ceremony.

About the Trail Project

The Morgan Creek Trail Phase 2 project connects the existing Morgan Creek Trail on the north side of Morgan Creek to the existing 1.6 mile long Fan Branch Trail on the south side of Culbreth Road. The $1.5 million project creates the longest paved trail in Orange County at 2.4 miles.

The relatively short section of new trail has big impacts. It includes about 1,000 feet of trail, two bridges, and a pedestrian underpass of Culbreth Road. The southern end is located at the Dogwood Acres Drive parking lot in Southern Community Park, while the northern end is at a parking lot just east of Kingswood Apartments off of highway NC 54. A side trail provides access to the Merritt Pasture open space.

The total land area of Chapel Hill is 21.3 square miles, and about 11 percent is dedicated to parks and open space. The Town is working to complete more than 28 miles of greenways and trails that will allow pedestrians and bicyclists to access every part of town. The Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department provides numerous opportunities for self-enrichment, adventure, fellowship and quiet reflection.

View the Trail Map at tinyurl.com/oywsc2v.

To Attend the Ribbon Cutting

Join the group at the Morgan Creek Trail parking lot off NC 54/Fordham Blvd. at 9:40 a.m. Saturday. The group will walk or bike about a half mile from the parking lot to the site of the ribbon cutting off Culbreth Road. Plan on a 15-minute walk to the ceremony site.

If the Morgan Creek Trail Parking Lot is filled, check for alternative parking in the gravel parking lot across the street from Merritt's Store on South Columbia Street (but please leave by 11:45 a.m. to accommodate their lunch rush) or use the street parking in Southern Village or park at Southern Community Park. If you are walking from the Southern Community Park, allow for about 25 minutes of travel time.

For more information or to receive special assistance, contact Bill Webster, assistant parks and recreation director, at 919-968-2819 or bwebster@townofchapelhill.org.

Date: 

Saturday, June 7, 2014 - 9:40am

Location: 

Morgan Creek Trail parking lot off NC 54/Fordham Blvd

Checkpoints & Racial Bias

The INDY also asked about roadblocks/checkpoints and potential racial profiling.  Here are my thoughts on the matter:

If checkpoints are being manipulated to racially profile drivers, then that is a gross misuse of a tool which is a public good and such actions have no place in my administration.  Checkpoints are instituted to keep people from hurting themselves and others, not as an instrument of racial oppression or intimidation.  I would welcome review of the department’s documentation for checkpoints by organizations such as the ACLU because I am committed to justice and transparency. 

Tell Governor McCrory to Hold Duke Energy Responsible for the Spill They Caused

It has been over a month since the Duke Energy coal ash spill and we are still finding new leaks. The cost of cleaning up this ecological disaster will be in the millions and North Carolina taxpayers should not have to shoulder the burden. 

New polling from PPP shows that 79% of Democrats and Republicans agree, Duke Energy shareholders, not taxpayers or customers, should pay to clean up the coal ash spill. 

Community Meeting: S. Greensboro St. Sidewalk in Carrboro

This meeting will be an opportunity to learn more about the current outlook for improving pedestrian safety and comfort on S. Greensboro St., including the construction of a sidewalk. Community members are invited to learn about the cost, funding, design opportunities and challenges, and benefits; discuss the project with Town staff, and provide comments.

  • 7:00pm - Informal drop-in session
  • 7:30pm - Presentation and Q&A
  • 8:00pm - Informal discussions
  • 9:00pm - Adjourn
To RSVP, provide a comment via phone or email, or ask for more information, contact Jeff Brubaker, Carrboro transportation planner, at jbrubaker@townofcarrboro.org or 919-918-7329. 

 

Date: 

Wednesday, March 19, 2014 - 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Location: 

Carrboro Town Hall, Room 110

Power Politics

A few days of no electricity restores the ability to think in complete sentences ... dare I suggest - even paragraphs?

My street - a mile-long cut-in near Camp New Hope- suffered a downed power line across the road. Very dangerous. Not only was the line down, the pole from whence it came was jutting out at about 45 degrees, as though it wanted to fall but lacked the nerve. It was falling not from ice, but from mud. The ground it sits on just off the road and up a few feet in elevation was giving way. Nerve wracking to drive under and scary to imagine it coming down. From Friday morning until yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, we watched and waited. Though Piedmont trucks were often nearby, we didn't see them in the neighborhood until yesterday afternoon. Not even to evaluate. No cones - nothing.

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