replies to questions to Cary Town Council re: Old Reedy Creek

We received the following replies earlier this week in response to an e-mail I sent to all members of Cary Town Council on 3/8/09 regarding Old Reedy Creek to clear up rumors and to learn of progress on this front:

Thank you for contacting me about the parking situation along Old Reedy Creek Road. I am copying Ben Shivar, the interim town manager, so that his staff can update us on the current status of this situation both from the state and town standpoint. Regarding next years' budget, it will indeed be tight. The town will have to prioritize and make hard decisions that may end up delaying plans for many things. We hope to avoid this. But at this point no decisions have been made. Currently, we are in the very early stages of the budget process which will be approved on July 1st. Thanks again for contacting me.
Harold Weinbrecht
Mayor
Town of Cary


I have forwarded your email to our town staff so they may address your questions in detail. Thanks for contacting us regarding this important matter.
Don Frantz
Cary
Town Council

We appreciate the prompt responses from Mayor Weinbrecht and Council Member Don Frantz. Given the budgetary constraints faced by all, we encourage you to contact Cary Town Council members to let them know you would appreciate anything they can do to make the parking area at Old Reedy Creek a reality or to help assure no actions are taken by DOT until provisions can be made for parking at this area.

If interested in the e-mail sent, please see below:
To: Mayor Harold Weinbrecht and Cary Town Council Members Gale Adcock, Julie Robison, Don Frantz, Erv Portman, Jennifer Robinson, Jack Smith

I am contacting you in regards to the Old Reedy Creek Road access point to Umstead State Park. As I’m sure you are aware, an on-line petition was started last year ((www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/609803273) regarding diminished parking access to Umstead and with several stated goals to include preserving parking access at the Old Reedy Creek Road. Please take some time to review the petion and petitioners statements.

In April 2008, we attended a meeting with State Representative Jennifer Weiss and various representatives from North Carolina Department of Transportation, North Carolina General Assembly and North Carolina Department of Parks and Recreation. At that time, Johanna Reese with NCDOT stated that NCDOT agreed to delay their plans of paving the Old Reedy Creek access point in order to give the Town of Cary time to explore the option of building a parking lot on town-owned land near the entrance. This was in response to strong public outcry regarding the actions that had been taken which effectively eliminated parking at two other access points to the park. At this point, the issue at Old Reedy Creek appears to remain unresolved.

Many rumors are currently swirling about regarding this situation. One is that because of current budgetary constraints, Cary will not be able to build a parking lot for Umstead patrons now or at any point in the near future. Another is that the DOT is unwilling to delay paving the road until a lot can be built. As you know, action of that sort would eliminate parking for the many who depend on this access point at Old Reedy Creek to enter the park.

My hope is that neither of these scenarios is accurate. Myself and the many others in our community who love Umstead Park appreciate anything the Town of Cary can do to make the parking lot a reality or to help delay action by the state until such time that the Town is in a financial position to build the lot.

Thank you for your consideration and support of this matter.

Margaret Cooper
Access Umstead