First, we would like to clarify that the proposed greenway may be considered an alternative "transportation corridor," that is a multi-use path meant for walkers, runners, moms and dads with strollers, residents using wheelchairs, and kids learning to ride a bicycle, but it is by no means a highway. The greenway will also allow many to leave their cars at home and visit parks, shopping centers and other public places, and actually ride a bicycle to work and/or school.

It is misleading to indicate that "the proposed route fails to line up with key connections" since the greenway will eventually link Twin Creeks Park at Eubanks Road with University Mall, the Chapel Hill Greenway system, and all points in between. The proposed greenway and connecting paths will, in fact, provide connections to at least seven schools (Chapel Hill High, Smith and McDougle Middle Schools, and Seawell, McDougle, Carrboro, and Morris Grove elementary schools) and link Carolina North to the main UNC campus. The proposed greenway also allows for access to public bus stops, providing connections to transportation networks greater than just the path itself.

There is concern that the proposed greenway will require "a clearing as wide as 30 feet," but the proposed greenway corridor is already a cleared 30-foot wide utility easement that is in many areas highly degraded. The greenway design team, Greenways Inc., has vast experience and recommends a 10-foot-wide paved surface (the width of an average driveway), with five feet mown on either side.(Note that concrete is preferable because it is inert and long-lasting, and it can be stained any color you like if white is undesirable.)

The existing Chapel Hill greenway along Bolin Creek, also designed by Greenways Inc., is paved, and has helped to rehabilitate this section of the creek where there is documented water quality improvement. Chapel Hill will soon extend this paved greenway from Martin Luther King Boulevard to Umstead Park and it will eventually join Estes Drive Extension (where it could meet the proposed Carrboro greenway).

Little tree clearing should be necessary if the greenway is created in the existing OWASA easement. But if an alternative, upland route is chosen, extensive tree clearing will be required. Furthermore, an upland route would probably be restricted to foot traffic, given the difficulty and expense of creating a greenway (as currently proposed) that would have to go up and along slopes. Foot trails of this sort already occur within the Bolin Forest and are maintained by the university. Moreover, UNC states that the "upland" route that some advocate is unacceptable because it would require extensive clearing of the Bolin Forest that UNC has agreed to preserve for at least 50 years. Tree-clearing and construction in upland areas and slopes would likely lead to greater damage, run-off and erosion than use of an existing easement.

While the Bolin Creek corridor is certainly beautiful, it is far from a pristine "deep woods" natural area. There are few locations of the creek corridor from Estes Drive to Homestead Road where you can escape the sounds of traffic, trains and aircraft, and houses line the OWASA easement from Estes Drive to Spring Valley. Most of the woodlands proximal to the proposed greenway corridor are of relatively young age (30-40 years) and are filled with invasive plants such as Chinese privet, autumn olive and stilt grass. And the rutted and well-used OWASA easement currently contributes to creek sedimentation during regular flood events.

Plans for the greenway include rehabilitation of these degraded areas for the greater good of all residents -- both human and non-human. A public forum will soon be scheduled to address the recent controversy over the proposed greenway; in the meantime, please visit the Town of Carrboro web site ( bit.ly/7UWoiy) to evaluate the proposed greenway plan for yourself. Note that Carrboro Board of Aldermen has not approved the entire plan, as phases 3 and 4 are currently not under consideration.