Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Department Greenway Committee
MEETING MINUTES

Thursday, March 20, 2008

 

 

Call to Order/Roll Call


Robert Bush called the meeting to order at 6:05pm

 

Members Present – Robert Bush, Bob Morris, Toby Kennedy, Leta Huntsinger, Cameron Sweeney, Dana Stockwell, Kat Williams, Venki Loganathan, Steve Rembrandt, Greg Lytle

 

Absent – Kerry Mead, Laurie Ringaert

 

Staff - Doug McRainey, Joe Godfrey

Adoption of Agenda
The March agenda was reviewed by the Committee. 

 

The following items were removed from the agenda.

Greenway Gate Design
Greenways Web Page

 

The following additions were made to the agenda.

 

East Coast Greenway Project

NC 55 White Oak Extension

KTP Family Fun Walk

National Trails Day (White Oak Creek Greenway Dedication)


Action: Leta Huntsinger made a motion to accept the agenda with noted deletions and additions; motion was seconded by Cameron Sweeney. The motion carried by a unanimous vote.

Adoption of Minutes
The minutes of the February meeting were reviewed by the Committee. 

Robert Bush requested the following changes to the minutes under the greenway gate design discussion.

 

Overall, the Committee prefers bollards since they permit two-way travel and do not require any more width than the trail itself.  The Committee understands, though, that each greenway segment requires one gate access for maintenance vehicles.  Rather than selecting a specific design, the Committee and staff came up with criteria for gate design and noted that gates do not have to be placed on the main greenway, but can be placed on spur access paths. Robert noted the specific criteria:

·      Two users should be able to pass simultaneously and openings should be a minimum 48” wide


Action:  Leta Huntsinger made a motion to accept the minutes of the February meeting with the changes noted above. Kat Williams seconded the motion.  The motion carried by a unanimous vote

 

 

PRCR Advisory Board Report
The Advisory Board approved the re-appointment of Kerry Mead, Leta Huntsinger and Greg Lytle to the Greenway Committee.  Bruce Spader was approved as a new Greenway Committee member and will begin his term April 1, 2008.

 

Project Review

 

East Coast Greenway
The Town has been contacted by the East Coast Greenway group in reference to temporarily using portions of the Black Creek and White Oak greenways as part of this multi-state trail.  They would also like to sign those portions of greenway to indicate it as part of the East Coast Greenway.

 

NC 55 White Oak Creek Extension
The Town is surveying the area and will be putting in a spur trail to give the neighborhood residents an alternate access to the White Oak Greenway.  The access point would only be 6 feet wide and a steep grade, but would offer a safer alternative to the sidewalk adjacent to Hwy. 55.  Cameron Sweeney expressed that the proximity of the sidewalk to Hwy 55 was still an issue for the connectivity and access to the Turner Creek elementary school.  Staff suggested that the neighborhood residents get an official request into Juliet Andes with the Town planning department regarding the connectivity issue to the school.

 

Robert Bush suggested a future agenda item for the Committee to come up with an overall list of where they would like to see sidewalks. 

 

 

Current Multi-use Trail Projects

Staff presented some examples of upcoming multi use trail projects to the Committee.

 

Alston Ave.  – There is a new elementary school being built on the west side of Alston Ave. and this multi use trail will be located along the west side of Alston Avenue.

 

Davis Drive and High House Rd. – Located at the northeast corner of the intersection. Staff reviewed the alignment of trails within the project.  This would include a multi-use trail along High House Road.  Staff explained that they had begun to review the ultimate location of the proposed multi-use trail along High House Road, which will originate from Bond Park and link with Preston Fields on the south side High House Road.  Staff proposed keeping the multi-use trail on the south side to where it would link with Searstone and cross over at a signalized intersection.  The Committee discussed this alignment and felt that staff should reconsider putting the trail on the north side.

 

The Committee discussed the review of future multi use trail projects and agreed that the Committee should be reviewing multi-use trail projects that are elements of the master plan system, however smaller scale projects would not necessarily need to be brought before the Committee and if so only in an informational capacity.  The Committee also agreed that it should continue to give feedback on sidewalk, multiuse and bike paths as they are pertinent to the overall connectivity of the greenway system.

 

Robert Bush suggested that a discussion of the overall charter of the Greenway Committee be a future agenda item.

 

Old Business


Bike-Hike Map Review

The Committee previously submitted feedback to staff on the updates for the map.  The Committee provided additional feedback during the meeting. Comments included:

 

  • Represent proposed 540 w/ dashed line
  • Include RTP trails along Davis Drive and Louis Stephens Drive.
    Include     Cedar Fork Park and trails.
  • Include greenway mileage on the list grid.

 

Staff indicated that the cover photo of the map will also be changing.  Staff requested photos from the Greenway Committee to be included in the map.

 

 

New Business

 

Volunteer Opportunities

Staff presented the following upcoming volunteer opportunities for the Committee.  Members are encouraged to sign up for a two hour block of time.

Cary Road Race, Saturday, April 12

Spring Daze – Saturday, April 26

 

The Committee has also been asked to staff an information tent for the KTP Family Fun Walk on May 3rd. A sign up list for this event will be available at the April meeting. 

 

Staff also reported that the Town will be dedicating a portion of the White Oak Greenway on June 7th - National Trails Day.  More information will be available later.

 

2008 Committee Meeting Agenda Items
Robert Bush presented a list of potential agenda items for the Greenway Committee.  The Committee reviewed the list.  The upcoming update of the master plan was discussed and it was decided that this should be added as an agenda item beginning in June.   

 


Adjourn 8:00 p.m.