It’s always exciting when opposing groups can come together to advocate for the same much-needed improvements in Chapel Hill. We, as you might recall, are big fans of Bus Rapid Transit and Chapel Hill Transit’s planned North-South Bus Rapid Transit route (NSBRT) along MLK and S. Columbia. The NSBRT buses will travel in dedicated lanes […]
Chapel Hill
Posted inCHALT
Factchecking CHALT: How many vacant apartments are in Chapel Hill?
There was a time not long ago when stressed-out parents, to take the edge off, abused benzodiazepines. Then, someone launched NextDoor. Early evidence suggests that mother’s little helpers were less harmful to society than NextDoor, a platform that says to the worst people in your neighborhood – the busy body, the power-hungry HOA president, the […]
Posted inChapel Hill
Thinking of housing as a regional good
I moved to Chapel Hill in 2017 from Pittsburgh after receiving a great new job offer. My family and I rented for two years and then we bought a house. We chose to live in Chapel Hill because of the amenities. The schools are great for our kids, the library is amazing, the park system […]
Posted inChapel Hill Town Council
Make a new plan, Stan? And other takeaways from the 9/28 Chapel Hill Town Council meeting.
Last Wednesday’s Chapel Hill Town Council meeting featured a real humdinger of a presentation from Rod Stevens and Jen Keesmaat. First, some background: Stevens and Keesmaat are both planners; Stevens, of Bainbridge Island, Washington, wrote the 2021 Housing Report that said we need more housing, and Keesmaat, formerly Toronto’s chief planner, is currently leading our […]
Posted inChapel Hill
Chapel Hill’s getting ready to make it hugely easier to build “missing middle” housing!
Ok, now THIS is a big deal. Chapel Hill is getting ready to make it hugely easier to build “missing middle” housing. What is missing middle housing? It’s all the housing between single-family homes and big multi-family apartments like: Duplexes Triplexes, and Cottage apartments. For years, like many other communities, most land in Chapel Hill […]
Posted inParks and Rec
We’re getting a park on the American Legion land. Why are people fighting it?
Imagine your town council proposes a 20+ acre new park and also much needed missing middle housing for municipal workers in your community. Oh yeah, and also some shops like the ones they have next to that amazing downtown park in Blowing Rock, NC. And, get this, the new park will be within easy walking […]