Ryan Byars sent the email below to Mayor Damon Seils and the Carrboro Town Council on Thursday, April 20. On April 19, the Chapel Hill Town Council approved a $500k ARPA allocation for town staff to design an extension of the existing Bolin Creek Greenway in Chapel Hill from Umstead Park to Estes Drive in Carrboro.

Dear Mayor and Council,

I wanted to share some news with you from our friends to the east. At their meeting last night, the Chapel Hill Town Council approved a $500k ARPA allocation for town staff to design an extension of the existing Bolin Creek Greenway in Chapel Hill from Umstead Park to Estes Drive in Carrboro. Town staff evaluated a number of projects for the town’s “everywhere to everywhere greenways” program, and found that extending the Bolin Creek Greenway to Carrboro checked all the right boxes for feasibility, equity, and impact. The motion to approve the funds passed unanimously and there was not a single public comment against extending the greenway along Bolin Creek.

What this move by Chapel Hill means for Carrboro is pretty clear: completing Phases 3 & 4 will now have a multiplier effect by connecting both town’s greenway networks together at Estes Drive. Residents would be able to travel from Winmore all the way to Community Center Park without contending for space with cars. CHHS students from as far away as Colonial Heights in Chapel Hill would be able to travel on a greenway to school. Our town’s little disconnected greenway bits would be transformed into a very long, continuous off-road trail with stops at bookstores and coffee shops. As the Carrboro Town Council continues to weigh the trade-offs with this project, I would encourage you to consider the regional benefits we can achieve by connecting our greenway network with neighboring Chapel Hill.

As always, thanks for all you do.

For more information, please read our prior coverage about Carrboro’s Bolin Creek Greenway, and visit the Carrboro Linear Parks Project for more information about how to get involved.

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Ryan Byars writes about transportation infrastructure, greenways, and how to get around with your kids safely on a bike. He lives in Carrboro with his wife and three young children.