What is the connector?

One of the requirements of the Carolina North development agreement is for the University and Town to collaborate on a pathway to connect the main campus and Carolina North.  The path would not be located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard  and should avoid steep grades where feasible. It may include existing or planned greenways for a portion of the route.

The final Campus to Campus Connector Report was included in the first Annual Report for Carolina North.

 

What's Next?
The staffs have worked together to analyze the workshop comments and to develop the draft recommendation.   The Town Manager discussed the Annual Report and his Periodic Compliance Report on October 11, 2010 at the Town Council's regular business meeting.  The Council asked that Town staff share the report with the Town's advisory boards and Carrboro in order to consider the recommended route in the context of the various bicycle and pedestrian plans developed by those boards.

The report was shared with:

• Chapel Hill Planning Board (Town Hall): January 18th
• Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation: January 19th
• Carrboro Transportation Advisory Committee: January 20th
• Chapel Hill Bike and Pedestrian committee: January 25th
• Chapel Hill Greenways Commission: January 26th
• Carrboro Board of Aldermen: February 15th

The Town Council recommended on May 9, 2011 that the Campus to Campus Connector be included in the Town's priority list to the Metropolitan Planning Organization for future funding.  Council agenda materials can be viewed here. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you!

We had a great turn-out and good discussion on August 12th about the draft recommendation.

(click on "draft recommendations" above/below for the full report and maps)

The comments and emails are here, if you'd like to know what people were saying.

Want to comment?  Send us an email at:  carolinanorth@townofchapelhill.org

 

Schedule

January 2010:  Consider feedback from first public meeting on December 5, 2009, shared Council feedback on Carolina North participants and advisory boards; developed schedule for 2010 
February:  Developed schedule for route evaluation; invited working groups to walk/document routes, looked at funding options, gathered information on RR Corridor
March:  Performed preliminary evaluation of the options
April:  Second public meeting April 15, 2010
May:  Determined what additional technical expertise was available for evaluation of routes and funding (focus first on in-house staff and resources)
June:  Detailed technical evaluation
July - August: Third public meeting scheduled for August 12, 2010
August:  Finalize findings on location and funding
September:  Report to Council

History:

Town and University staff held a Community Workshop on December 5, 2009. There was a brief introduction by staff about existing conditions between the two campuses. They also shared some examples of the kind of opportunities we’re seeking for new routes through the neighborhoods or using portions of the existing and planned greenway system. The powerpoint presentation is linked below in "meeting materials"

The workshop participants included students, residents, technical experts, advisory boards and community groups.  They shared their knowledge about how to make this connector work and where it might go.  The conversations were spirited and informative.  You can see the notes below and marked-up maps from the meeting, below.

 

December 2009 Meeting Materials:

Campus to Campus Presentation
Participants' maps and comments: Map 1, Map 2, Map 3
Notes from the meeting

In late February and early March, we explored the routes that were discussed at our community meeting in December.  We collected data, using the maps and information below. 

• Overview map of the routes
• Checklist for evaluating segments of the routes
• Breakdown of the Routes (segments) *checklist can be filled out for the segments identified here*

 

On April 15th, the staff presented the data, maps and photos from the route walks in the Magnolia Conference Room of the Giles F. Horney Building. 

See what people said at the April 15, 2010 workshop:

• Route A Plan with Comments    
• Route B Plan with Comments    
• Route C Plan with Comments

We had many new faces from the community and got feedback about how to best accomplish the goal of providing a bicycle connection from Carolina North to the Main Campus.  Review the presentation and data sheets to learn more.   The maps with photos show a lot of information about the routes.  Click here if you want to see the photos and maps for Route A, Route B and Route C. 

 

 

Who do I talk to?

 

 

 

For more information, contact Mary Jane Nirdlinger, special projects coordinator for the Town of Chapel Hill, at 919-968-2739 or mnirdlinger@townofchapelhill.org. 

 

You may also want to view the citizen petition from November 23, 2009 on the connector.