Rickie White's blog

An Opportunity to Advocate for Better Regional Transit

I just received an email announcing the organizational meeting for the Durham Orange Friends of Transit and it got me to thinking... As a resident of Carrboro, I continue to hear a lot of excitement at the neighborhood and town level about the idea of some type of fixed rail service with a stop in downtown that takes folks to the university and beyond to Durham. Despite this, everyone that I've heard that is "in the know" about transit issues seems to be dismissive of the idea that a station in Carrboro is a viable idea. I believe this is partially due to the perception that the Carrboro population is not large enough to sustain such a station. The types of statistics I've seen that justify transit and transit stops tend to only use population and density numbers, but don't take into account the percentage of the population likely to use such a service.

The Weaver Street Market Board: The OTHER important election this fall

We thought turnout for the municipal elections in Carrboro was low, but word on the street is that the turnout for the board elections at Weaver Street Market is abyssmal. Apparently even though many folks in Carrboro are members of the Weaver Street Market cooperative, only a couple of hundred members actually vote in a given election for the board. Considering there are probably 10,000+ members (educated guess based on the membership numbers i'm hearing people give at the register these days), that's a 1-2% turnout rate. Considering that the market is arguably the soul and conscience of Carrboro, it's surprising that so few people take a moment to learn about the candidates and take the important step of voting.

This year we're hoping that changes. So in an effort to promote voting of "consumer-owners", both candidates for the board have written this piece to get the word out about the voting, to tell you a little about ourselves, and to encourage each of you to reach out to your friends and neighbors and encourage them to vote as well.

Downtown Carrboro Ped/Bike Connections

For years now I've used the informal trails linking my neighborhood around Lloyd Street/Broad Street near downtown Carrboro, Northside, Bolin Creek, and the rest of Carrboro to navigate as a pedestrian and a biker. Every time I cross the ditch on an old railroad tie and then straddle the railroad tracks to get to Harris Teeter or the Pleasant Street neighborhood, I marvel at the fact that the geographic center of Carrboro/Chapel Hill is still so isolated from the surrounding neighborhoods. At night as I see folks wandering through the informal dirt paths that connect Pleasant Street to Lloyd Street, I worry about the safety of the dark trail and wish that there was a way to put some resources into making these vital links for those of us who can't or choose not to drive much more user friendly and safe.

What to do with all the deer?

A blog post over at the News and Observer site highlights the requests made by citizens in Carrboro and Pittsboro to allow bow hunting in the city limits to help control the deer population. Having lived for a bit in the Chicago area where deer started depleting the forest preserves of all sensitive plant species in the 1980's, I'm particularly sensitive to the effects of deer on sensitive ecosystems. I also know that the deer population, without natural predators, continues to put more and more pressure on plants as time goes by in our area. Bolin Creek spring wildflowers are particularly sensitive to deer overpopulation since they green up before other plants leaf on and they provide sustenance for the herds at their hungriest time. If the population was at a normal rate of 15-20 per square mile instead of ~80 per square mile then this would not be a problem.

A new vision for downtown Carrboro jumpstarted

Last night about 80 folks met up with representatives from Main Street Partners, the company that hopes to redevelop the lot that currently is home to the Cat's Cradle, Performance Bikes, the Artscenter, Visart, and numerous other smaller shops and stores. I was actually quite impressed with the understanding the reps showed of the community. I think they realize that this project won't fly without early community buy-in. They also seem to be committed to finding ways to keep the current mix of tenants while attracting new businesses to town related to the music and publishing industries. I'm wondering if other folks have thoughts on this development? I'll reserve my comments for now so others can express themselves...

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