Category: Transportation

  • The Estes Dr./MLK, Jr. Intersection: Crossroads to Chapel Hill’s Future

    The following letter does an excellent job summing up my reasons for delaying the July’s abbreviated community review process for the ciritical Estes Drive/MLK, Jr. intersection, the two congested transit corridors and the surrounding area which includes UNC’s Carolina North campus. The current CH2020 proposal calls for us to plan in haste and repent in […]

  • Density, 2008

    In forming the new Comprehensive Plan initiating committee, the Mayor studiously avoided recruiting members of the Sustainability Visioning Task Force who challenged the narrow approach foisted upon that effort by staff. The concerns raised by those committee members (Sustainability Task Force: The Whole or The Sum of the Parts? ) are unlikely to be addressed […]

  • A Busier Week: University Square Meeting, Aug. 18th

    In listing the roll of important events this coming week, I accidentally left out one that promises to be quite interesting. Cousins Properties Inc., which is leading the redevelopment of University Square for Chapel Hill Foundation Real Estate Holdings Inc., will host a public meeting Wednesday, Aug. 18, to discuss the long-term vision for the […]

  • Bus Stop #1409

    [UPDATE:] In researching another post I ran into this kudos from 2006 – Bus 734’s Act of Kindness A quick kudos to the N/S Express bus #1409 driver. At 8:32 this evening you waited for a passenger to hustle from roughly Town Hall south down MLK, Jr. 150 yards to catch the bus. The young […]

  • Sustainability Task Force: The Whole or The Sum of the Parts?

    As some readers might recall, I was appointed to serve on Chapel Hill’s Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force early last year. Before we got started there were a few issues to address involving recruitment of a diverse membership to reflect both the concerns of the business community and the community as a whole. After settling […]

  • Chapel Hill 2010: Snow, Snow, Snow

    Chapel Hill has a new tool to track road conditions during adverse conditions, like today’s 3 to 6 inches snowfall. The GIS map showing roads salted, cleared and relevant services is here. Good to see this finally in place. The Tech Board discussed just such an application of the GIS system about 6 years ago. […]

  • Library or Lot #5?

    Here is what I meant to say at this evening’s Council meeting. Like a lot of my remarks, I find myself editing on the fly, so what I managed to get out in less than 3 minutes wasn’t quite what follows but I believe I made the points I needed. The simple summary? We can’t […]

  • Engage Now in the NC54 Planning Process

    Given the time of year and Durham’s recent problems in protecting the Lake Jordan watershed, the fiscal impact of mitigating damage which might well be shared by Chapel Hill’s taxpayers, I was tempted to title this post “Trick or Treat on NC54?” Even if the “development process is broken in Durham”, as LaDawnna Summers, who […]

  • Sustainability Task Force: Ten New Candidates

    I was appointed as one of the “at large” members of the Town’s Sustainability Task Force several months ago. One of the first issues we took up was representation on the task force itself. Essentially, did the task force membership represent the reasonably broadest possible diversity of viewpoints and experience we needed to craft a […]

  • Carolina North: Nov. 18th Meeting Notes

    Tonight’s meeting (background) was well attended . Many of the folks attending were there to send the message “No Airport!”. Chapel Hill News reporter Eric Ferriri did a pretty good job covering that part of the meeting over at OrangeChat. The Chancellor was missing in action. I think that is two of three meetings now. […]

  • Passing Gas

    One problem I’ve had in trying to change the way our Town does business is that the issues I’m trying to address – higher energy costs, revenues drying up, development policy that drives diversity from our community, financial instability – haven’t reached a level of concern for the greater community. I’m a proactive guy, work […]

  • Airport Authority: They Did What?

    Here’s the specific sub-section of Senate Bill 1925 authorizing the creation of the Airport Authority. The heart-rending bit, at least to me, is 116‑274, “General powers.” (a) An authority created under this Article has all powers that a city or county has under Articles 1 through 7 of Chapter 63 of the General Statutes and, […]

  • Airport Conundrum: Southwest Orange County Community Wonders Why

    Sponsored by southwest Orange County residents Tony Blake, Walt Lobotsky, Clifford Leath, Deonna Angelillo, and Susan Lombardo, tonight’s community meeting (WEBSITE) discussing the siting of a new UNC airport, was packed. Roughly 270 folks, from all around the county, attended the meeting to find out the latest on UNC’s (and now, as reported, Orange County’s […]

  • Carolina North: Not So Innovative Location for the Innovation Center?

    As I predicted (“Carolina North: What’s Next?”) last week, the Carrboro Citizen is reporting that UNC is prepared to move the Carolina North Innovation Center north of Estes to sit roughly on the Town’s former municipal services site. Not a hard guess given UNC’s Jack Evans recent comments. …one indication that the university is intent […]

  • Carolina North: What Next?

    I’ve heard from two different sources that the “final” design concept for Carolina North is ready to present to UNC’s Board of Trustees (BOT). The BOT, in years past, have happily rejected the efforts of both UNC’s administration and the local community to create a win-win for what is to replace the Horace-Williams Airport. The […]