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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 02-12-2007-4ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: February 12, 2007 Action Agen~~da Item No. SUBJECT: Concept Plan -Bolin Creek Greenway Phase III DEPARTMENT: ERCD PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: Draft Concept Plan, October 2006 David Stanch, 245-2590 (Under Separate Cover) PURPOSE: To consider and provide feedback on the draft Concept Plan for the Town of Chapel Hill's Bolin Creek Greenway, Phase III. BACKGROUND: The 2001 County Parks and Open Space bond included $1.75 million for Chapel Hill and Carrboro greenway projects that furthered open space connectivity. In June 2004, the County and Town of Chapel Hill agreed that the funds allocated for Town of Chapel Hill greenways ($1.0 million) would be appropriated for extension of the Bolin Creek Greenway. The first phases of Bolin Creek Greenway were built from 1993-1998, and provide a paved greenway trail along Bolin Creek from the Town Community Center on Estes Drive (near University Mall) to the Chapel Hill Police Department headquarters at Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, where the trail currently terminates onto sidewalks. Phase III of the greenway would cross Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and continue westward, through the Town's Umstead Park, to connect with Estes Drive Extension at the Carrboro town limits, with future connections northwest into Carrboro and north along the rail line into the Carolina North property. The first step in extension of the greenway was the development of a Concept Plan to conduct a feasibility study and investigate the potential corridor for this future. segment of trail. Since the project is funded by both County and Town funds, the Chapel Hill/Orange County Project Planning Committee (PPC) for parks and open space worked with staffs of both jurisdictions to interview design firms and- recommend a consultant.. The firm of Lappas and Havener was hired in 2005 to create the concept plan. The draft Concept Plan was completed in October 2006, with a public forum on the design in December 2006. The plan is currently being reviewed by Town advisory boards, and was recently presented to the Carrboro Board of Aldermen. In summary, the plan examines the corridor in light of the proposed project and the Town's adopted Greenways Master Plan (2006), which includes connections to other nearby neighborhoods north and south of Bolin Creek. The corridor that is examined is 1.9 miles in length, and the concept plan provides specific recommendations for "routing and construction of a 10-foot wide multi-use path designed to accommodate recreational and non-motorized modes of transportation". The Concept Plan addresses connectivity as a shared bikeway and pedestrian facility that is a key internal segment of a planned 9-mile long trail that will ultimately connect Millhouse Road in northwest Chapel Hill with Pinehurst Road near Meadowmont in southeast Chapel Hill. The. potential corridor is shaped by both design criteria and environmental impacts -including the significant issue of how to traverse Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. The plan also addresses construction issues (navigating steep terrain on creek banks), the corridor's landscape, and potential trail amenities. There are 8 project goals that guide the master plan: ^ Design a trail that avoids at-grade road crossings wherever possible, o Design a trail that would result in no-rise in regulatory flood flows in Bolin Creek, ^ Maintain a 10-foot width of trail with a maximum 5% slope to the greatest extent possible, ^ Avoid the need to acquire easements on private property to the greatest extent possible, ^ Avoid disturbance to Bolin Creek, Tanyard Branch and other tributaries to the greatest extent possible, ^ Avoid the loss of large trees to the greatest extent possible, ^ Avoid the need to relocate existing infrastructure improvements (bridges, water and sewer lines), and ^ Minimize the impact of the trail on adjacent residents. The Concept Plan examines the proposed extension by segment, and includes design options and projected cost estimates. Once comments have been received from the Board, the Town Council will take up the. concept plan, probably in March. Suggestions or questions identified by County staff to date include: ^ Have there been Town Council discussions to date regarding the funding for future work and construction? ^ Addition of mention in the plan of funding provided by Orange County for the project, ^ Notation of the regional context of the greenway (the connection north via Millhouse Road could tie into County parks and open space and the proposed New Hope Rustic Woodland Trail), and . o The need for a map series corresponding to the segments used for cost estimates. FINANCIAL IMPACT: On September 9, 2004, at request of the Town, the County agreed to use the $1.0 million in 2001 County bonds for Chapel Hill greenways toward this project. $75,000 was allocated toward the concept plan design at that time. This has been matched by $100,000 from the Town's 2003 Parks Bond. Cost estimates for construction of the greenway from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Estes Drive Extension and beyond have been prepared by the design consultant, and broken into segments. Two of the proposed segments are spurs of the main greenway. There are several options associated with each segment, with a recommended option and cost estimate. The cost estimates for the portions of the Bolin Creek Greenway from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Village Drive (along Estes Drive Extension) are projected to be $1,863,000 (in 2006 dollars). Other spur segments not part of the main greenway total approximately $2.2 million dollars. A total of $925,000 remains from the County 2001 Parks and Open Space bond for this project. The Town has appropriated $650,000 to date from the 2003 Town bond for this project. The 2003 Town bond has $5.0 million for three greenway projects, including Boliri Creek Greenway. RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends that the Board receive the presentation and provide comments and recommendations to the Town on the concept plan.