The Town of Carrboro is moving forward with its Bolin Creek Greenway Master Plan around 14 years after its initial document was passed, as the town council voted 6-1 Tuesday on a conceptual direction for the final phase of the greenway’s alignment.
Early phases of the master plan are already implemented or are underway. Phase 1a of the 2009 plan was to create the multi-use path near Wilson Park, with Phase 1b being the path along Homestead Road near Chapel Hill High School. Phase 2, which will create a greenway near Jones Creek, is set to begin construction in the coming months. But discussion stalled out in 2009 about how to approach Phases 3 and 4 in the master plan, which were to extend the greenway to several Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools through the Carolina North Forest and near Bolin Creek. While the takeaway in 2009 was to gather more input from town stakeholders, the latter phases were not prioritized until the current town council requested staff to establish a new public engagement strategy in March.
To gather feedback from the public, the Town of Carrboro conducted a survey for three months – both online and through several in-person methods – describing the options available for the greenway’s alignment. The questions were the same ones used by Carrboro in 2009, when the initial discussions around this later phase for the Bolin Creek Greenway were held. Compared to 14 years ago, though, this year’s survey gathered 25 times more responses.
Like during the 2009 public engagement, the majority of respondents with the town’s public input process said they preferred the Creekside Trail Alignment – an option that will eventually run from Estes Drive near the railroad crossing through the Carolina North Forest and run alongside Bolin Creek until reaching the trio of schools off Seawell School Road. Two thirds of those community members that participated said that was their preference, with the Carrboro-specific respondents agreeing at that same rate. Citing that data and discussions with town staff, the council approved a resolution moving forward with the creek-running alignment.
The three proposed options for extending the Bolin Creek Greenway in Carrboro, overlaid through part of the Carolina North Forest. The Carrboro Town Council voted for the Creekside Trail Alignment, which is in green. (Photo via Town of Carrboro.)
A bar graph of the responses to Carrboro’s question on which trail alignment concept for Phases 3 and 4 of the Bolin Creek Greenway extension they preferred. (Photo via the Town of Carrboro.)
Council Member Sammy Slade said he was thankful to reach this point, as finding a solution and path forward for Bolin Creek Greenway was a key topic when he first joined the town council. He said he felt it “disingenuous” to look at options outside of the 2009 plan, since those options already had such deliberation at that time – saying he believed it’s time for action on any alignment. But Slade said he supports the Creekside Trail Alignment because of how it overlaps with the OWASA easement and established foot trails in the area.
“It’s already compromised: it’s impervious,” he said. “It’s eroding. The life that people claim should be there is not there. I mean, you can walk on it, you can see [it] – I’m talking about specifically the compacted path. And I do believe that this alignment will actually improve the situation there.”
Council Member Susan Romaine’s comments largely fit with Slade’s. She added that she believes her stance on the alignment options has evolved as she’s read about the environmental impacts, walked the trail, and discussed the project with staff or residents. In an endorsement of the Creekside Trail Alignment, she pointed to it being the most accessible for all ages or transportation methods and best fitting with the town’s latest comprehensive plan.
“It can offer community members of every age and physical ability and socioeconomic background,” Romaine said, “safe and affordable spaces to commute, to recreate, to reflect, socialize, and to really enjoy just the awesome beauty of Bolin Forest.”
The council’s discussion and vote came after more than 90 minutes of public comment on the issue, with several community members further sharing their support for the Creekside Trail Alignment. But, as reflected in the survey, there were some who disagreed with that option and spoke in favor of either different greenway alignments or alternatives not in the 2009 master plan.
Council Member Randee Haven-O’Donnell, who was the lone dissenting vote, said they believe the town could seek further options and that the creek-running alignment had not been demonstrated as substantially more practical than the others. O’Donnell argued that there should have been more town discussion of the environmental impact of adding a paved greenway to the wooded area.
“The significance of a forest – its surface waters, ecosystem, and biodiversity – is the heart of the controversy,” they said. “Their continued preservation, protection, and conservation are a primary responsibility in the midst of climate change and its ecological and impact. When we regard a forest and creek habitat as an infrastructure amenity, we disregard the rights of nature, its stability, and its ability to endure.”
Part of the Bolin Creek Greenway extension conceptually approved by the Carrboro Town Council will include paving areas already used by OWASA to reach sewer facilities and by hikers accessing Carolina North Forest. (Photo via the Town of Carrboro.)
Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils pointed to how at this stage of the project, environmental reviews and compliance with state regulations will be completed before any physical work is done. He voiced his support of the alignment by saying the 2009 plan and results of the 2023 survey demonstrate not only how it will serve the most Carrboro community members, but that was time for elected officials to take a stand.
“If this council had initiated this process six months earlier, 12 months earlier, [or] 24 months earlier,” said the mayor, “I can guarantee you that we would be getting the same heat about ‘rushing the process.’ In reality, it has now been nearly 14 years since the adoption of this plan and the first direction by the council to obtain more input. Here we are just needing to finally make a decision and approve a conceptual alignment for this last remaining piece of an otherwise fully approved greenway concept plan.”
Council Member Danny Nowell later said he believes no other project the council has considered combines the potential for transit improvement, access to nature, and pedestrian safety. Before that, his questions for the town’s planning director and communications director also highlighted why he said he supports the creek-running alignment. He confirmed that Tuesday’s vote was necessary for moving the town staff’s various analyses necessary to create the best formal design for a future greenway connection.
“In addition to being really exciting, this is not a tremendously unusual process,” said Nowell. “I think we often have to design a project before we can quote a project. We often have to pursue a project before we can identify funding sources for a project. And so, I think it is not at all a reflection on our staff – or on the long discussion here – that we don’t have that information. This is the step that we’re taking to give town [staff] the clarity that town deserves on this important project. So, I’m really eager to move forward with this in part because it will help us get a clear understanding of the financials. It will help us get a clear understanding of the engineering concerns that will keep us in compliance with the important environmental regulations.”
Barbara Foushee, a council member and a candidate running unopposed for Carrboro Mayor, said she wished this decision would not create more divisiveness and that it does not feel good to her when the town doesn’t “move forward together.” But she pointed to the survey’s results being clear on how the majority of residents feel and echoed how the lack of discussion about these later project phases likely affected how people interpreted the town’s latest move for action.
“Not discussing Bolin Creek for 14 years has not been beneficial to the process,” said Foushee. “It just hasn’t. And we may have found ourselves in a different position tonight if we had, you know, we wouldn’t be saying, oh, information is 14 years old because we may have been having some key conversation, you know, within this 14-year [period.] That is what I truly believe.”
Council Member Eliazar Posada, who is also running in the ongoing election cycle for another town council term, used his commentary to again praise the town’s efforts to expand its outreach and communications efforts to gather public input — which led to a more fair assessment of the community’s wishes.
“We had surveys in multiple languages, we had folks going into the community, we had folks knocking on doors when we hadn’t seen that in the past,” said Posada. “We had engagement with diverse nonprofits and community groups and consistent engagement folks who do not have the same access as many of us on this table.”
With the approved resolution, Carrboro town staff will return to council in the spring to share next steps needed to move forward with the Creekside Trail Alignment. That would eventually include a draft “request for proposal” document and design – and, as requested by Slade, coordination with the Town of Chapel Hill on a design to best connect with its potential greenway extensions.
To watch the full Carrboro Town Council meeting from October 17, click here. More information on the Bolin Creek Greenway project can be found on the town’s webpage dedicated to the effort.
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