Paul attended the Umstead PAC meeting on 9/9/09 and provided the following information shared at the meeting:
Don Reuter, assistant director of NC Parks, had asked Scott Letchworth, superintendent of Umstead, to pass along the following info on the Graylyn access alternatives: Continued patience has been appreciated and the issue has not been forgotten. They expect to have some news at the next PAC meeting in November.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Heads up
FYI: We received information yesterday about new No Parking signs posted at the Harrison Ave entrance to Umstead. A runner returning to his car was informed by a Wake County law enforcement officer that warnings would be given initially but that tickets would be issued at some point. The runner indicated that the signs were closer to I40 than the gate at Umstead.
Clarification on No Parking signs at Harrison, 9/15/09: Upon checking further, we are not sure whether the No Parking signs are new but the enforcement may be new. Truck drivers utilizing the quarry expressed concerns about the number of cars parked during their operating hours creating safety hazards.
Clarification on No Parking signs at Harrison, 9/15/09: Upon checking further, we are not sure whether the No Parking signs are new but the enforcement may be new. Truck drivers utilizing the quarry expressed concerns about the number of cars parked during their operating hours creating safety hazards.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
As promised
As promised, Rep. Weiss met with individuals from NC Parks 7/20/09 and provided the following update with us regarding the Graylyn alternatives:
Dear Margaret:
Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with Lewis Ledford, Elizabeth Biser, Carol Tingley and employees from Umstead State Park and I was informed that DENR/ NC Parks is very close to announcing their decision about what course to take with respect to increased access to Umstead State Park. They should be publicizing their decision and their timetable for future steps very soon. I encouraged them to continue collaborating with NC DOT and the City of Raleigh and Town of Cary regarding access issues.
In addition, they did mention that they are continuing to pursue discussions about potential parking in the area near Reedy Creek/Trenton Roads.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Weiss, NC House 35
Dear Margaret:
Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with Lewis Ledford, Elizabeth Biser, Carol Tingley and employees from Umstead State Park and I was informed that DENR/ NC Parks is very close to announcing their decision about what course to take with respect to increased access to Umstead State Park. They should be publicizing their decision and their timetable for future steps very soon. I encouraged them to continue collaborating with NC DOT and the City of Raleigh and Town of Cary regarding access issues.
In addition, they did mention that they are continuing to pursue discussions about potential parking in the area near Reedy Creek/Trenton Roads.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Weiss, NC House 35
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Opportunity to talk with city council members
We received the information below from Rodger Koopman regarding an upcoming opportunity to talk with him and Russ Stephenson. Both gentlemen are current city council members who serve on the Public Works Committee and up for re-election in the fall. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to meet them and find out their views--and share yours. We believe resolution of the parking access issue at Reedy Creek/Trenton and at Graylyn will require the city and state working together to remove unnecessary obstacles and take action. Thus far, we have had several conversations with Mr Stephenson and have been impressed with his proactive efforts to find a solution at Reedy Creek/Trenton.
Raleigh City Council Elections are non-partisan, so voters from ALL parties are invited!Please join us for a little "R&R" (Russ Stephenson and Rodger Koopman) at Durant Nature Park. Come and meet two Raleigh City Councilors who are up for re-election this Fall. Learn about the issues facing Raleigh and the importance of your involvement in this election on OCTOBER 6th!! And enjoy a fun day in the park with other activities. Summer beverages and snacks will be served. When you pull in the parking lot look for the red, white and blue balloons. Children are not only allowed, but encouraged!More information is available at this link: Link to Event for Russ and Rodger
Time: Saturday, July 11 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Host: Vickie Takei
Location:Durant Nature Park (Raleigh, NC)8305 Camp Durant Rd.Raleigh, NC 27615 Respectfully,
Rodger KoopmanCouncilor District B
Raleigh City Council Elections are non-partisan, so voters from ALL parties are invited!Please join us for a little "R&R" (Russ Stephenson and Rodger Koopman) at Durant Nature Park. Come and meet two Raleigh City Councilors who are up for re-election this Fall. Learn about the issues facing Raleigh and the importance of your involvement in this election on OCTOBER 6th!! And enjoy a fun day in the park with other activities. Summer beverages and snacks will be served. When you pull in the parking lot look for the red, white and blue balloons. Children are not only allowed, but encouraged!More information is available at this link: Link to Event for Russ and Rodger
Time: Saturday, July 11 from 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Host: Vickie Takei
Location:Durant Nature Park (Raleigh, NC)8305 Camp Durant Rd.Raleigh, NC 27615 Respectfully,
Rodger KoopmanCouncilor District B
Monday, June 29, 2009
Graylyn
We do not have anything of substance to report on Graylyn but wanted you to be aware of actions taken.
On 5/13/09, Paul received word from Don Reuter, asst director of NC Parks, that pressing budget issues have further delayed the Graylyn alternatives. We subsequently e-mailed Rep. Weiss to see if she could help as she had been very helpful thus far. We expressed concerns about the lack of progresson this issue. We noted we were cognizant of the budget issues but were questioning whether everything possible was being done toward resolution and asked for consideration of the less costly options that were previously suggested to NC Parks. Rep Weiss stated she would check with DENR and recontact us when she had additional information. We recontacted her 6/23 for status and were told she had contacted DENR for followup. She recontacted us 6/26 to let us know she hoped to meet with DENR soon.
We will post as soon as we hear. Again, we encourage everyone to feel free to contact Rep. Weiss, other city and state representatives and the folks at NC Parks to let them know this issue is still of great importance.
On 5/13/09, Paul received word from Don Reuter, asst director of NC Parks, that pressing budget issues have further delayed the Graylyn alternatives. We subsequently e-mailed Rep. Weiss to see if she could help as she had been very helpful thus far. We expressed concerns about the lack of progresson this issue. We noted we were cognizant of the budget issues but were questioning whether everything possible was being done toward resolution and asked for consideration of the less costly options that were previously suggested to NC Parks. Rep Weiss stated she would check with DENR and recontact us when she had additional information. We recontacted her 6/23 for status and were told she had contacted DENR for followup. She recontacted us 6/26 to let us know she hoped to meet with DENR soon.
We will post as soon as we hear. Again, we encourage everyone to feel free to contact Rep. Weiss, other city and state representatives and the folks at NC Parks to let them know this issue is still of great importance.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Meeting minutes 3/26/09 re: Reedy Creek & Trenton area
To view the meeting minutes of the 032609 Public Works Committee meeting dealing with the Trenton Place residents' petition to ban parking in their neighborhood, please click on:
www.raleighnc.gov/publications/Boards,_Commissions_and_Council/Public_Works/2009_Minutes/PW-Minutes-20090326.doc
We encourage you to read the entire document carefully. Also, we do not plan to debate the issue here since the blog is intended for informational purposes for supporters (not for venting or debate.) We agree with the Umstead Coalition about banning parking setting a precedent. We support the positions of the Umstead Coalition, Mr Colvard and Mr Garrard and believe they provided adequate solutions to solve the problem at Reedy Creek/Trenton.
We're unsure why but there was a presentation by a resident at Lakes of Umstead not included in the minutes. This gentleman stated that he used to serve on city council in Greenville. He also stated that he would like the parking ban on Reedy Creek extended to Shenck Forest and essentially viewed Reedy Creek/Trenton as a neighborhood access. He provided a power point presentation of people parking on one side of the road at Lakes of Umstead during the orientation event. Again, we are very concerned about this mindset. We firmly believe any action at Trenton Place will have a domino effect for the other new developments along Reedy Creek and Ebenezer Church Road.
Clearly, part of the problem lies with the elimation of parking access for Umstead park users at Reedy Creek/Trenton. While Reedy Creek/Trenton may not have been a "formal access" to the park, it certainly preceeded any of the new subdivisions currently crying "foul" and we can argue as to why access is needed.
We appreciate Raleigh City Council member Russ Stephenson's efforts to communicate with the various parties involved in an effort to solve this problem.
www.raleighnc.gov/publications/Boards,_Commissions_and_Council/Public_Works/2009_Minutes/PW-Minutes-20090326.doc
We encourage you to read the entire document carefully. Also, we do not plan to debate the issue here since the blog is intended for informational purposes for supporters (not for venting or debate.) We agree with the Umstead Coalition about banning parking setting a precedent. We support the positions of the Umstead Coalition, Mr Colvard and Mr Garrard and believe they provided adequate solutions to solve the problem at Reedy Creek/Trenton.
We're unsure why but there was a presentation by a resident at Lakes of Umstead not included in the minutes. This gentleman stated that he used to serve on city council in Greenville. He also stated that he would like the parking ban on Reedy Creek extended to Shenck Forest and essentially viewed Reedy Creek/Trenton as a neighborhood access. He provided a power point presentation of people parking on one side of the road at Lakes of Umstead during the orientation event. Again, we are very concerned about this mindset. We firmly believe any action at Trenton Place will have a domino effect for the other new developments along Reedy Creek and Ebenezer Church Road.
Clearly, part of the problem lies with the elimation of parking access for Umstead park users at Reedy Creek/Trenton. While Reedy Creek/Trenton may not have been a "formal access" to the park, it certainly preceeded any of the new subdivisions currently crying "foul" and we can argue as to why access is needed.
We appreciate Raleigh City Council member Russ Stephenson's efforts to communicate with the various parties involved in an effort to solve this problem.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
3/26/09 Public Works Mtg/Parking ban Trenton Place
Access Umstead representatives attended the 3/26/09 Public Works Committee meeting in which the petition to ban parking at Trenton Place, and the Trenton Road Bicycle/Pedestrian path were discussed. We came away with different perspectives than those posting comments anonymously to the blog on 3/27 and 3/29. While we do not share the belief that we were not given an opportunity to speak, we can understand why Anonymous 1 (3/27) may have that impression given the way the petition supporters spoke out and based on a comment made about the need to wrap things up. We chose not to speak at the meeting due the length of the meeting and due to our belief that the individuals sharing our views in opposition to the parking ban had excellent presentations and offered viable solutions. We find Anonymous 1 has posted several valid key points on the blog that deserve consideration by city council. We do agree with Anonymous 2 (3/29) that the council members asked thoughtful questions but are not convinced that the fire department appeared on their own initiative.
On these issue, Access Umstead supporters would like parking restored at the Reedy Creek/Trenton area and are opposed to any additional parking restrictions in the Reedy Creek/Trenton area. We request that the city not take action to ban parking at Trenton Place or any other subdivision in the Reedy Creek/Trenton area until provisions are made for designated parking. If the city must take action for safety purposes in the Trenton Place or any subdivision in the Reedy Creek/Trenton area, we request that any parking restrictions be limited to one side of the road. Additionally, we share the increased concerns about safety that have been exacerbated by the paving of these roads leading to increased vehicular traffic and increased car speeds. We agree with any efforts to make these roads more pedestrian/cyclist friendly while keeping the park accessible to all.
We also hope NCDOT and NCParks are being attentive to the safety issues created by the paving of Reedy Creek and Trenton before proceeding with paving Old Reedy Creek and any existing road within Umstead State Park.
On these issue, Access Umstead supporters would like parking restored at the Reedy Creek/Trenton area and are opposed to any additional parking restrictions in the Reedy Creek/Trenton area. We request that the city not take action to ban parking at Trenton Place or any other subdivision in the Reedy Creek/Trenton area until provisions are made for designated parking. If the city must take action for safety purposes in the Trenton Place or any subdivision in the Reedy Creek/Trenton area, we request that any parking restrictions be limited to one side of the road. Additionally, we share the increased concerns about safety that have been exacerbated by the paving of these roads leading to increased vehicular traffic and increased car speeds. We agree with any efforts to make these roads more pedestrian/cyclist friendly while keeping the park accessible to all.
We also hope NCDOT and NCParks are being attentive to the safety issues created by the paving of Reedy Creek and Trenton before proceeding with paving Old Reedy Creek and any existing road within Umstead State Park.
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