The Friends of Bolin Creek opposes using the town of Carrboro’s limited budget to design the greenway for several reasons, which are detailed here.
1. It’s poor timing in 2025 for Orange County towns to take on additional expenses when the County is resetting property tax evaluations to reflect current market values. When property values are updated, potentially higher tax bills for property owners will result. Greenways and large infrastructure projects are typically funded by the regional transit authority (Triangle West). After reviewing the local priorities and funding availability, Triangle West did not include the Bolin Creek greenway for funding in 2026.
2. Based on the preliminary engineering study conducted in 2023, known environmental constraints could raise the actual construction cost to well beyond $14 million, with no guarantee of approval by future Town Councils. In other words, this $1.4M could be wasted without a realistic plan for financing construction.
3. Carrboro should develop a conservative budget this year when significant Federal cuts in funding for housing and human services are anticipated. $1.4 M is a considerable discretionary expense.
4. Chapel Hill and UNC are pursuing growth plans for Carolina North. .Carrboro should not commit funds before knowing what neighboring jurisdictions will do and where Carrboro’s connectivity to that new development is best achieved.
5. Better, more direct and cheaper routes are on the funding request list: Press for TWTPO (formally DCH MPO) Prioritization and funding of the Seawell School Sidepath that immediately connects three schools (HIgh school, Seawell Elementary and Smith Middle School) with Homestead neighborhoods with adjacent-off road sidepath for cyclists and pedestrians, additionally, meets needs for Safe Routes to Schools. Direct and shorter connectivity between current and planned bikeways on Estes Drive.
6. Carrboro’s fiscal situation. To bring staff salaries and benefits up to meet a competitive standard (2023 compensation study), the Town borrowed $4.1M from its reserve fund (emergency savings). That money, which by law cannot be used to pay salaries, must be paid back in the 2025-2026 budget. As the Town Council begins deliberations to finalize that budget, they face a $5.9M deficit (the compensation payback) plus insufficient revenue to cover the six (6) major budget priorities outlined during the April 8 worksession.
7 . Climate and Environmental Stewardship. The Summit Engineering Report and Sungate Technical Review of the Carrboro Greenway Plan, commissioned by the Town of Carrboro, cites many financial and physical barriers to constructing a paved bikeway in the riparian zone of Bolin Creek Phases 3 and 4. Among the barriers listed are:
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- Stormwater impacts
- Impervious surface expansion into a natural forest environment. Carrboro taxes residential property owners for the impervious surface of their dwelling site.
- loss of canopy, exposing the forest to heat
- Loss of carbon-sequestering tree canopy along the riparian buffer
- impact on forest, aquatic, and riparian wildlife
- The Creekside alignment cannot comply with the Jordan Lake buffer rules.
- It crosses the Norfolk Southern RR several times, raising complex right-of-way issues;
- Steep topography will make ADA compliance difficult.
- The Creekside alignment is in a Zone AE floodway, exposing the paved trail to damage by flooding and large maintenance costs.
- The required ‘No rise’ certification may not be achievable.