Parks
Improvements and extensions to Bolin Creek Greenway have been in the works for years, and as Phase III of the project gets underway, the Town of Chapel Hill has released an interactive story map that will allow folks to track the project's progress.
I've embedded the map below, and you can check out a larger version of it on the town's website.
[Update: This event will begin at 10:00 am. -- Eds.]
Members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners have been invited to attend an informal tour of park space at Twin Creeks and Millhouse Road on Wednesday, December 31, 2014. The tour will start at 2:00 p.m. at the former Julia Blackwood house, 6823 Millhouse Road in Chapel Hill. A majority of the Orange County Board of Commissioners may attend this event.
Date:
Wednesday, December 31, 2014 - 10:00am
The Town of Chapel Hill's Parks and Recreation Department is starting the process of updating their master plan. The current plan is almost 9 years old, and is considered out-of-date. The Town is partnering with Site Solutions (a Charlotte-based firm) to develop the new plan, which will take into account the Town's changing needs and current economic situation.
On the surface, it is perfectly reasonable to agree with the IFC’s decision to take the University up on its offer to lease the land at a rate of $1 per year. However, there continue to be many unanswered questions that when addressed will shed an entirely different light onto the issue. I’ve listed some, but not all of those questions below.
1. Why is UNC being so generous?
2. What is UNC getting out of this extremely philanthropic act?
3. What are the criteria Chris Moran states the IFC used to select this area?
4. What criteria were used to select the previous sites that were ultimately rejected and where is the evidence the criteria were used before the previous sites were rejected?
5. What is to happen to the men who are turned away from using one of the planned 20 emergency beds?
I watched Monday night's public hearing on the IFC's proposed new shelter on Homestead Road with dismay. Every time the IFC identifies an affordable parcel of land appropriate for a new Homestart shelter, the neighbors object. Although the Town Council does a good job of responding to the concerns of neighborhoods, this time we have a pickle. The shelter has to move. It cannot stay downtown and achieve the type of service the town and the IFC want to provide to our homeless male population. To help promote a more positive dialogue, I'd like to propose that we stop talking about "the shelter" and begin discussing the various services currently offered by the IFC and the new proposed services.
The current shelter offers three primary services: overnight beds, job and life counseling, and meals. Those who wish to spend the night at the shelter must be clean and sober, and they have to be inside by 8:00 pm and gone by early morning. Counseling is obviously used by those who desire the service. Meals are available to men, women, and children, whether they stay in the shelter or not. Many of those who use the meal service are the underemployed.
Homestead Park is in the news, especially since the new Aquatic Center opened to the public. However, what people may not know, and it is certainly newsworthy, is that other facilities in Homestead Park are firmly padlocked, and the public do not have access. Namely, the football fields (of which there are two), and the baseball fields (of which there are also two). "It must be maintenance", I hear you say -- but no. There are two of each kind of facility, so while one is padlocked for maintenance, the other could be available. No again -- they are ALL padlocked. I am sure this is not what people had in mind when the funds were approved for this important development. Nowadays it is quite common to see parents hoisting their children over the five-foot fences so they can have a game. When questioned about this, a representative from the Parks Dept responded, "... the fewer people we allow on the turf, the less work we have to do". Our tax dollars at work! Is this what we had in mind?
Next week a group of Orange County residents will be organizing
Citizens for Schools and Parks to advocate for passing the real estate transfer tax in Orange County. This group will be ad-hoc and will dissolve after this May's vote on the issue.
If you are concerned about school, park and open space funding in Orange County and want to help pass this referendum, then please come to this meeting. If you cannot come, then please email
[email protected] to let us know how you can help.
BE THERE: Wednesday March 26, 2008 at 7:30 pm at Carrboro Town Hall in Room 100.
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