Some of Chapel Hill’s community resources will be briefly off-limits this week due to temporary closures, according to the town.
The local government shared alerts to residents saying the Chapel Hill Community Center’s gymnasium and pool, the Hargraves Community Center’s gymnasium and Tanyard Branch Trail will all experience limited-to-no access at points the week of September 19.
The gym and pool at the facility off South Estes Drive will be closed Wednesday, September 21 through Sunday, September 25 for annual, routine maintenance. Chapel Hill said it aims to reopen both by 10 a.m. on Monday, September 26. The Northside gym at the Hargraves Center, which was recently renamed to the Nate Davis Gymnasium, will undergo its own annual maintenance from Thursday, September 22 through Monday. The town government said the plan is for the gym to reopen in time for after-school activities on Tuesday, September 27.
An emergency shutdown at the Homestead Aquatic Center on Sunday led to the pool being closed through Wednesday this week, but after it reopens, pass holders are encouraged to use that facility instead of the Chapel Hill Community Center. Gym pass holders can use the Rashkis Elementary School gymnasium during the other closures. Pool and gym schedules can be found on the Town of Chapel Hill website.
Meanwhile, the closure along Tanyard Branch Trail is expected to be much shorter and for a different reason. The town government alerted residents that the trail will be closed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21, as a new memorial bench will be constructed. Chapel Hill’s Parks and Recreation Department and Community Arts & Culture received private donations to create a bench for long-time Chapel Hill greenway and trail advocate Eva Metzger.
The bench, which will be along the trail near Umstead Park, was designed by artists Michael Waller and Leah Foushee Waller to mimic a bending tree in bloom. A plaque near the bench will also read: “Eva mapped existing trails in the 1970’s and advocated for the Town to formally maintain them. She served on the Sidewalk Commission, the Greenway Commission, the Bike & Pedestrian Board, and the OWASA Board. Thank you, Eva, for your perseverance towards a more walkable community.”
Chapel Hill encouraged trail users to look out for signs and traffic cones marking the area closed on Thursday.
For more on the Town of Chapel Hill’s release about gymnasium and pool maintenance, click here. For further details on the Eva Metzger memorial bench and Tanyard Branch Trail closing, click here.
Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.
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