The greenway portion of the ride was great. There was a section of boardwalk that could probably use replacing soon. And there is a gap at the intersection of Crabtree Blvd and Raleigh Blvd where it is not obvious that you are supposed to continue down the sidewalk for a ways until you are back on the trail. There are a number of gaps like this in our greenway system; I think just putting some paint down on the sidewalk sections could really go a long way in terms of wayfinding. Doesnât help that itâs innacurate on Google Maps (the section below doesnât actually exist):
Some stretches of Lassiter Mills between NH and the greenway have a bike lane, but not all. Would be good to have a bike lane along the entire stretch. Would be even better to have a separated bike lane; currently there is just a âbike gutterâ separated only by a line of paint. Would be even better to have a multi-use path or greenway extension that connects from the greenway up to NH along Lassiter Mill. The future Big Branch greenway will connect from Crabtree Creek trail to the eastern side of NH, but youâll still have to cross Six Forks to get to the western side
This is the route I used last time I went up that way. (Ladyfingers is pretty close to North Hills and mileage is round trip.)
The underpass at Wade Avenue and Capital Boulevard is extremely handy but it dumps you out at an unprotected railroad crossing, which isnât great and since itâs while theyâre entering the yard, long trains take even longer to clear the crossing. It also doesnât have a clear connection on either side, one of the reasons Iâm so excited for Smoky Hollow Park and cars donât really realize itâs there, so are startled by someone looking to cross.
Iâm not sure how helpful the stickers would have been on my trip, as they are only a foot wide and will only be applied every 100 feet. Hereâs the view from the bike lane as you approach the greenway:
The greenway theoretically exists here, but really for about 500 feet it is just a sidewalk with no indication that it is anything else. You can see about 150ft of the path here (its really just the crosswalks), so one or two stickers would be within my sight lines.
If the crosswalks and sidewalks were painted green here or something it would be obvious, although Iâm sure that would be much more expensive. Apparently the whole sticker project only cost $17k. I am not one to let the perfect be the enemy of the good; it seems like a good start. But Iâm hoping in the long-term that the greenway connections are made more obvious. Iâd like it to be dead simple whether I am still on the greenway or not. I also think that would help get more people using the greenway. You could drive through this intersection on your commute every day and not realize the Crabtree Creek greenway is right there waiting for you!
Oaks and Spokes just sent out a call to action in support of the Big Branch Greenway Connector. A small group of NIMBY homeowners have been coming to meetings to try to stop construction of the connector.
âSo we need people to show up and speak at City Councilâs public comment session on Tuesday, October 14 at 7:00 PM AND the Raleigh Parks Board monthly meeting on Thursday, October 16th at 6:00 PM.â
You can sign up to comment here. Letâs not let a few nimbys block a major project that will serve as an essential connection in our greenway network.
For anyone not following this, hereâs an overview of the planned route and why itâs got big potential
The Big Branch Greenway Connector (info page, map) will link up a part of the city currently without greenway connections from Crabtree Creek trail â North Hills â up to Sandy Forks Rd
Thanks for the heads up on this! I just signed up to speak. I live/work in this area, so this is super relevant to me. It will be my first time speaking at a council meeting, so hopefully Iâm coherent
We wonât be in town but I hope we get a good showing in GREEN shirts for this city council meeting as well! Please mark your calendars and show up to support this very important city amenity!
There were ~8 people who spoke in favor and ~2 who spoke against.
I just watched the parks board meeting from last night and they approved of segments 1A and 4. They went back and forth on segment 1B, but decided not to endorse any particular route.
I believe city council votes on Tuesday?
Edit: It looks like the presentation to the city council is on Nov 4.
Pictures from my ride on sunday morning. Crabtree and walnut trails, and some through umstead. Wet from the rain the night before. A bit muddy in places. But a fun ride. I love the fall colors on the greenway.
The Anderson Heights folks were out NIMBYing today against expansion in their neighborhood. I watched a bit of that in the public comment section of the meeting. Does this include or exclude them?
Interesting discussion. REALLY hope all things align here over the next - checks timeline of planning / construction - GULP, ten years to bring this whole thing togetherâŚ.Iâm not holding my breath - too many hands involved, trade offs and the ever-so-common pitfalls of escalating budgets around negotiating access / easements in this one. âA Greenway to Nowhereâ someone called it - hmmmâŚ.I say Kane gets everything zoned to 40 at North Hills forever if they pony up for the bridge across 440.
Because that bridge is the $$$ that concerns me the most as an impediment to completion.
