Earlier this week, we asked a simple question — has recent large scale multi-family development in Chapel Hill improved the extent to which residential development as a whole pays for itself in terms of taxes paid versus public services consumed? We wrote that this question was based in part on a town-funded cost of services […]
Posted inUNC, Chapel Hill
CHYDARU: The abandoned experimental youth prison run by UNC
For a brief period of time in the 1960s, UNC ran an experimental youth prison near what is now the Mason Farm Biological Preserve. This morning I came across the ruins of an experimental youth prison UNC ran over by Mason Farm in the 60s. It was called CHYDARU. Here are a brief & editorial […]
Posted inBike and Walk, Bike Beat, Connectivity, Greenway, Transportation
Chapel Hill’s new traffic garden teaches kids how to safely ride bikes
This week, the Town of Chapel Hill soft opened a new traffic garden. With the cold snap upon us, most folks in town haven’t thought much about their garden. But traffic gardens aren’t for growing heirloom tomatoes, they’re for growing confident kids that can navigate our towns’ bike paths and greenways. The new traffic garden […]
Posted inChapel Hill, Housing, NextDoor
Does residential development now pay for itself in Chapel Hill?
One of the arguments CHALT frequently makes against dense infill multi-family housing is that “the cost of serving residential development (money going out) exceeds the amount coming in.” They repeatedly cite a 2012 study commissioned by Chapel Hill’s former town manager– Here’s a recent example from NextDoor: There’s just (several) problems with this. Let’s wade […]
Posted inBike and Walk, Bike Beat, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Greenway, Transportation
Bolin Creek Greenway Alternative Bike Map: “Not something I’d ever let my kids ride on”
For the past few weeks, an anti-greenway group in Carrboro and Chapel Hill has been sharing a map purportedly showing ‘alternative bike routes’ that could take the place of paving the Bolin Creek Greenway in Carrboro. The map looks like they threw imaginary bike lane spaghetti at a map of Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Many […]
Posted inGreenway, Bike and Walk, Carrboro, Transportation
Who uses the Bolin Creek Greenway in Chapel Hill?
In recent weeks, we’ve started to see a lot of misleading facts and misinformation start to spread about the missing Bolin Creek Greenway in Carrboro. Extending the greenway in Carrboro along the existing 30-foot-wide cleared sewage easement would help connect our schools, parks, and unpaved walking trails in Carrboro. We’re going to start debunking these […]