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Triangle Greenways Council Newsletter |
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January-February 2004 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT After a strong track record of trail advocacy in the region, the Triangle Greenways Council (TGC) is facing the question: “How can we best serve the trails, greenways, and thousands of Triangle residents that use them, for the next 20 years?” TGC Board members spent much effort trying to answer that question during 2003. In January, we welcomed the new talents and skills brought to us from new Board members Judy Weseman, Norman Camp, Don Belk, Paul Embler, and Bill Hamilton. In March, we held a planning retreat facilitated by the non-profit Executive Service Corps. That effort identified several key areas for the TGC to work on, and it became evident that to best serve the community, we need to better define ourselves as an organization. A strategic plan and a better description of the roles Board members need to fulfill are needed to help guide the organization. A small but focused Strategic Plan committee, consisting of current and past TGC Board members, has been created and they are well under way to developing a strategic plan that will focus TGC in the coming years. Our Land Trust committee continues to be very active, and continues to acquire land along the Walnut Creek corridor in Southeast Raleigh. Other potential opportunities may present themselves in the Eno River and Ellerbee Creek watersheds, near Durham, and with NCDOT wetland restoration programs. We also continue to maintain memberships in Land Trust Council of North America and the Conservation Trust for North Carolina. TGC Board members continue to actively participate in newly-formed organizations, who are working with all land managers and stakeholders to develop and manage trails on Jordan Lake land. Other TGC members are heavily involved in the Mountains to Sea trail, American Tobacco Trail efforts, and several other local trail initiatives. Our e-newsletter continues to grow in circulation and content. Our languishing web-site was also brought back to life with a new host and registered domain name, and we hope to have its content grow over the next year. TGC continues to work out the answers to the question posed above, and to continue serving the diverse trail needs in the sprawling Triangle. TGC has members from early every County and major community in the Triangle, who are hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians, and all are lovers of nature and the outdoors. We will continue to work hard to meet the challenges of the coming years. Barbara L. Oslund President, Triangle Greenways Council December 8, 2003 Triangle voters were part of a nationwide victory for open space initiatives. “Despite a weak economy, American voters have shown overwhelming support for conservation-related ballot measures in 2003”, reports the Trust for Public Land on their “LandVote 2003” website. “ Overall, 99 measures in 23 states were approved by voters, creating $1.8 billion in new conservation-related funding. This includes more than $1.3 billion specifically dedicated for land conservation. The passage rate for these measures is 77 percent, an improvement upon the historical 70 percent passage rate from 1998 - 2002. The approval rate was particularly high on November 4, 2003, when 64 of 77 state and local ballot measures were successful--a success rate of 83 percent.” For more information on LandVote 2003, see the Trust for Public Land website at http://www.tpl.org.
CARRBORO, CHAPEL HILL CITIZENS SAY YES TO GREENWAYS AND SIDEWALKS Carrboro voters approved a bond referendum to build sidewalks and greenway trails in Carrboro, authorizing the Town to borrow up to $4.6 million for sidewalks and greenway trails construction. In Chapel Hill, voters approved bonds of $5.6 million for sidewalks and related projects, $5 million for greenways, and $2 million for open space. These were part of a $29.4 million bond referendum, the largest in the Town’s history. Along with the City of Raleigh's $47 million Parks and Greenways Bond on October 7, Triangle voters overall approved bonds of $44.6 million for greenways, sidewalks, parks, and open space.
The Conservation Trust for North Carolina (CTNC) and the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have announced a landmark agreement that represents the “biggest boost to land conservation in North Carolina since the Clean Water Management Trust Fund”, according to Reid Wilson, CTNC executive director. The three-year agreement results from DENR’s creation of the Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP), a multi-agency initiative that includes DENR, NCDOT, and the Army Corps of Engineers. Central to the EEP is the restoration and preservation of wetlands, streams, and riparian areas from ‘mitigation credits’ for loss and damage from road construction. As much as $100 million could be available from the state for land purchases. CTNC will administer the program in conjunction with the state’s local and regional land trusts, including the Triangle Greenways Council.
Mountains-to-Sea Trail Eno River State Park in Durham, NC will start construction of the MST / Laurel Bluff Trail extension from Cole Mill Road to Guess Road this winter. The state park set February 5 as a workday to clean the brush out and make the flag line more visible for this You are welcome to attend this effort; for more information please contact Dave Cook at 919-383-1686. Neusiok Trail Days will take All of the 2004 statewide workdays are on NCMST website at http://www.ncmst.org/. (Submitted by Jeff Brewer) American Tobacco Trail Among the many accomplishments cited by the Triangle Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (TRTC) for 2003, foremost was the opening of several miles of ATT in Durham and Wake County. More than 3,000 folks per month now use the 3.5 mile segment of the ATT in Wake County alone.
The TRTC continued to encourage and advocate use of the 7.5 miles of ATT and Riddle Rd. Spur. More than 8,000 folks per month use the ATT in Durham. Other 2003 accomplishments include: -With The Nature Conservancy and NatureServe, cleared, edged and cleaned the "forgotten" portion of ATT south of Dunhill Drive and north of Southpoint Crossing SC in Durham. -Successfully completed and coordinated the six-year effort to get ATT lease, Corps License Agreement and MOA approved and signed in Chatham County. -Organized and managed a month’s worth of workdays on future sections of the ATT. -Received and managed major grants from REI, Carolina Tarwheels Bike Club, Durham Open Space and Trails Commission, NC State Adopt-A-Trail Program and National Recreational Trails Fund. -The ATT was the October Trail of the Month in the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy web magazine. -TRTC's efforts to clear the ATT after the December 2002 ice storm were featured in the Winter 2004 Rails to Trails Magazine article "When Bad Things Happen to Good Trails" (PDF article) In 2004 TRTC plans to: -Build and informally open an ATT parking area on Fayetteville Road. -Continue to keep OPEN the 3 miles of ATT in southern Durham County mentioned above. -Open at least 1.2 miles of natural-surface ATT in Chatham County. -Work with Wake County to open another 1.5 miles of ATT to Olive Chapel Road. -Continue to encourage Durham, Chatham, Wake County governments, state officials, Congressman Price, Senator Dole and others to complete the American Tobacco Trail. (Submitted by Bill Bussey) Equestrian Trails Update: The American Tobacco Trail in Wake County (open since August 2003) is fast becoming a popular and much-appreciated place for equestrians to enjoy safe trail riding in the Triangle area. The shared-use, natural-surface trail was designed for a variety of The Wake County park staff does an outstanding job of managing the trail, and they are very willing to address any concerns that any trail user may have. A volunteer organization has been formed to provide manure cleanup three days of the week, and the program has been running successfully. More volunteers are always appreciated, of course, since that means less work for any one person. If you have any questions about the trail or would be willing to help with trail cleanup, please contact the Park Manager at 387-2117 and leave a message. (Submitted by Leslie Kennedy)
TRIANGLE GREENWAYS UPDATE Raleigh The deadline for submission is March 1, 2004. People for Parks is a nonprofit, grass-roots parks support organization working to promote the community’s For more information, click onto their website at http://www.people4parks.org.
The News and Observer will present a series of articles on Triangle Greenways during February and March. The stories will be written by Joe Miller, editor of the N&O’s ‘Take it Outside’ section, a Friday staple of regional outdoor enthusiasts.
Check the News and Observer on the Web at www.newsobserver.com each Friday for the next three weeks to catch these articles online. New Pedestrian Bridge Across I-440 Ground has broken for a Pedestrian Bridge from the NC Museum of Art to Meredith College. The Museum Park Trail will connect to the university district via the 650-foot pedestrian bridge over the I-440 Beltline to the east and to Umstead State Park and Cary’s trails to the west. Slated to open in spring 2005, according to the NC Museum of Art’s website, the trail will “lead visitors to newly commissioned works of art and the Museum, through forested areas, across House Creek and across a tall grass prairie.” The next step: Convince the City of Raleigh to budget $1.2 million to
CAMPO’s Bicycle Pedestrian Stakeholders Group (a citizen’s committee staffed by CAMPO) will be proposing a Greenways Connectivity Conference to The Bicycle Pedestrian Stakeholders Group won’t be going it alone. Across the nation, other organizations are working to achieve “Safe Routes to Chapel Hill On December 17 the Town of Chapel Hill closed on 22.65 acres of open space south of Frank Porter Graham School and north of Culbreth Road. The property is adjacent to Morgan Creek and has frontage on Culbreth Road. This property is essential to the development of the proposed Morgan Creek Trail and compliments the 10 acres the Town purchased this past summer. The Town The Chapel Hill Greenways Commission announces their 4th Annual Greenways and Open Space Awards program to recognize the importance of community involvement in the development of Chapel Hill’s system of greenways, Durham The Bull City is looking for big things in 2004. Phase I of the Eno Greenway, Third Fork Creek Trail, and Downtown Trail will all start construction in late Eno Greenway will go from West Point on the Eno Park to River Forest Park, on the north bank of the river. It will include a bicycle/pedestrian bridge over the Third Fork Creek will be the longest section Durham has built of the North/South Greenway, from Elmira Park to Garrett Road Park. Because the stream Getting the Downtown Trail to construction has been difficult, with lots of decisions and interests in an urban area. Not only the expected utilities and The bicycle/pedestrian bridge over NC 147 will have a design/engineering consultant hired by the end of February, and one of their first jobs will be the (Submitted by Beth Timson) INFORMATION SOURCE The Trails and Greenways Clearinghouse announces the launch of its redesigned Web site. The new site will include a funding database, technical and ABOUT THE TRIANGLE GREENWAYS COUNCIL: WHO WE ARE *A land trust: accepting donations of important greenway corridors; building a fund to purchase critical open space; maintaining and constructing trails within the region. *An advocacy organization: promoting greenways in the Triangle; organizing regional conferences; raising awareness; increasing networking; building a *An informational clearinghouse: a single source of information about every greenway project and program affecting our region; providing 'trail alerts' about QUOTE "To waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in ________________________________________________________________ North Carolina’s Land Trusts: Savings the Places You Love The Triangle Greenways Council E-Newsletter is a bi-monthly publication of the Triangle Greenways Council, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Donald
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