Saturday, September 27, 2008

Additional info re: Graylyn proposals

We want to provide clarification and to address some questions/concerns about the Graylyn proposals that have been shared with us.

First, in our e-mail, we provided misinformation about who makes the ultimate decision. It is the division director, Lewis Ledford. We apologize for the misinformation we provided earlier.

Secondly, we received a question about the impact of Alternative C on the closing of Sycamore Road and whether it would eliminate a popular route for bikers, runners and hikers. We received the following response from Charlie Peek with NC Parks:

Your question is a good one. It's the division's intention -- under any of the alternatives being considered -- to continue, and perhaps enhance, any access that hikers and bikers now enjoy within the park. Should we proceed with Alternate C, provision will be made for this. However, our planning staff and park staff do want to keep some flexibility concerning some of the details of management. Put another way, we need to keep our options open on how to achieve our objectives. ...please ask further questions if necessary.

We believe that the closing of Sycamore is actually a benefit as it will reduce the cars encountered.

And last but not least, we understand that there is concern by a limited number of neighbors that think that Alternative C would result in Graylyn becoming a main entrance. We believe NC Park's eliminating the vehicular traffic on Sycamore Road addresses this concern so as not to make this access any busier than that at Harrison. NC Parks has clearly established the main entrance with the Visitor's Center off of Hwy 70/Glenwood Avenue.

If you have additional questions, let us know--or if you have relevant information let us know.

Monday, September 15, 2008

In case you're wondering, we support Alternative C

Access Umstead has worked diligently to address the Umstead access issues by initiating a petition; sharing it with elected state, city and county officials; and communicating with various individuals within various government entities to raise awareness, explore alternatives and to arrive at solutions. While we must say that our preference is for the access to Graylyn to revert back to parking allowed alongside the road either informally or with some type of signage designating where to park, we accept that these are not under consideration and are focused on the alternatives proposed by NC Parks for access at the Bike and Bridle Trailhead/Graylyn area.

Of the alternatives proposed, we support Alternative C as it is the only one that restores access from Graylyln as requested by over 1460 petitioners who wanted safe and convenient access to Umstead State Park. This will allow many time-pressed individuals and families to resume enjoying the park for that quick run, walk or ride. We also appreciate that this alternative will have minimal (if any) environmental impact.

We strongly oppose Alternative B and do not view this as an improvement to the park. The paving of these additional roads inside the park will only create more safety hazards for bikers, hikers, runners, and horseback riders using these roads as it will encourage increased vehicular speed within the park. We think this is an expensive alternative that will also have a greater adverse environmental impact.

We oppose Alternative A as it does not address the public's concerns about the impact the loss of Graylyn access has had on their ability to enjoy their park.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Important: Umstead Proposals

Umstead staff and NC Parks planners have developed 3 access alternatives under consideration for the Graylyn Drive/Ebenezer Church Rd area. These plans can be found on the following website: www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/wium/access.php and posted at the park. (Note: We mistakenly thought this info would be posted on the press release section of the NC Parks website and apologize for the misinformation.) We appreciate that the staff of Umstead and NC Parks considered the concerns of the 1460+ petitioners concerns about losing access at Graylyn and note that Alternative C provides for restored access to Graylyn.

At this time, it is critical once again for you to share your comments as done on the petition--but this time it will be specific to these 3 options and according the NC Parks' procedures. Your comments can be e-mailed to denr.dpr.media@ncmail.net , mailed to them at William Umstead State Park; 8801 Glenwood Ave; Raleigh NC 27617, or delivered to them at the visitor's center off of Hwy 70. The deadline for comments is 10/10/08. We also appreciate that the comment period was extended for this issue.

Please also share this information with others that might be interested.

Access Umstead

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Update from Rep. Weiss

Yesterday, we contacted Representative Weiss for additional details she might have regarding the access issues to Umstead and received the following reply:

Lewis Ledford informed me that the Division of Parks and Recreation will give a report to the Park Advisory Committee tomorrow and will then be publicizing their proposed options for the Graylyn Dr. area on their website on Thursday and that rather than a 2 week public comment period, they will be having a 1 month comment period before making a final decision about Park access and management issues in this area. They plan to propose options related to Old Reedy Creek Road and Trenton Rd. at a future date. I encourage you and the other members of the Access Umstead coalition to examine the options and participate in the public comment period. Sincerely,Jennifer Weiss, NC House 35

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

GMP and Graylyn Road update

As noted in our last post, we were told that NC Parks planned to have have their General Management Plan (GMP) posted for the public comment period sometime this month. According to Don Reuter, the assistant director of NC Parks, NC Parks expects to post the GMP on their website and at Umstead State Park on Thursday, 9/11. NC Parks is allowing 30 days for public comment. We do not have any details yet about what is in the GMP but appreciate that there is a 30 day period for public comment. We had spoken informally with Representative Weiss about this issue and she had requested that it be extended beyond the typical 14 day period. We are planning to attend the Park Advisory Committee meeting tomorrow night and will share any relevant information with you on the blog. We will also post on our blog once the GMP is available as it will likely include information beyond access issues. It is critical for you to read the GMP and utilize the public comment period as this is our hope of effectuating change for the access issue.

Please keep checking our blog at accessumstead.blogspot.com for updates. We assume the GMP will also be posted on NC Parks website for press releases at www.ncparks.gov/News/releases/main.php .

On another note...sadly, it appears that the paving of Graylyn is imminent as noted in Joe Miller's blog posting today (blogs.newsobserver.com/joemiller/hom) Joe also notes that there is a Graylyn update pending according to NC Parks. Hopefully, this update or the GMP will allow us the much needed and requested access to Umstead that you have petitioned for. Sorry for the editorializing but doesn't paving Graylyn seem like Alaska's Bridge to No Where on a smaller scale? In any case, Joe and Bruce Siceloff ( New & Observer Road Worrier) are also closely following this issue.