A cornerstone of a successful greenway trails program is the implementation of an effective maintenance program. Patrons expect a safe and aesthetically pleasing trail environment. As trail sections are built, Town residents will be watching the success of the maintenance program to determine if they will welcome trails in their own neighborhoods. Poorly maintained trails may endanger the expansion of the greenways trail system into new areas. Well-used and well-maintained trails, on the other hand, may become their best promoters.
The Parks and Recreation Department works with other Town Departments to ensure that the Town's parks, open spaces, and greenways are maintained in a safe and aesthetically pleasing condition. Maintenance should be performed in a manner that enhances the use of the land, maintains its appearance, and promotes the enjoyment and positive aspects of outdoor recreational activity.
The maintenance program should strive to attain the following goals.
1.
Dedicate Personnel for Greenways. Experience in other communities indicates that a major
focus of any greenways trail program must be a sustained maintenance program.
There are currently no Public Works maintenance personnel assigned specifically
or exclusively to the maintenance of the Town’s greenways. Routine maintenance
includes litter pickup and grass cutting and requires regularly scheduled
personnel. The maintenance and repair of recurring problems are generally handled
well under the current system. These tasks include landscape maintenance,
repair of erosion problems, repair of boardwalks, replacement of signs and
clearing of downed trees and branches. However, as more greenway trails are
constructed the need for routine maintenance and scheduled repairs will become
more demanding and difficult without assigned personnel.
When funding levels are
adequate, the Town should commit adequate personnel to the Town's greenway and
open space program. As the number of miles of dedicated trail increases,
workers dedicated to trail maintenance should be added as needed.
2. Maintain Paved Trail Surfaces.
Trail surfaces on paved trails should be kept free of litter and debris. Cracked pavement should be repaired immediately. Paved surfaces should ideally be patrolled daily for litter pickup in order to keep the trail surface safe for bicycles and wheelchairs.
3. Maintain Natural Trail Surfaces. Maintenance of natural trail surfaces should target removal of dangerous conditions and litter and the prevention of erosion. Ideally, routine maintenance inspections for natural surface trails should occur once a week. Uneven trail surfaces are to be expected on these trails.
4. Keep Trails Litter Free.
Maintenance should include pickup of litter visible within 100 feet of the actual trail.
5. Maintain Trail Amenities.
All trail amenities such as bridges, picnic facilities, signs, steps, benches, and other items should continue to be inspected and repaired on a regular schedule.
6. Practice Preventative Maintenance. Preventative maintenance should be emphasized in order to prevent future erosion problems, fallen trees, and other foreseeable problems.
7. Solicit Neighborhood Assistance. Neighborhood adopt-a-park programs should be used whenever possible. Such programs can range from simple reporting of problems to the undertaking of heavy maintenance and repair functions. Recognition of persons involved in adopt-a-park activities should be acknowledged within the framework of the Parks & Recreation Department's volunteer recognition program.
8. Develop Community Support.
Community wide events can be organized for the purpose of large scale cleanups or light construction work. This type of project is especially useful on new trail segments. This type of program has been successfully used on both the Battle Branch and Tanyard Branch Trails.
The Town should construct new trails only at such time as it is able to provide an adequate maintenance program for each addition to the expanding trail system. If residents of a neighborhood ask for construction of a new trail that the Town cannot properly maintain, the use of a formal Adopt-a-Greenway program should be utilized. The Town should work with Homeowners Associations, environmental organizations, Boy and Girl Scouts of America and other groups to utilize the efforts and talents of local residents in the construction and maintenance of trails. These agreements should be formal and clearly describe who is responsible for construction, maintenance schedules, and types of maintenance.
The Engineering Department currently conducts regular citizen stream clean-ups through its Adopt-a Stream program.
The potential for a successful trail program is likely to be enhanced when citizens can assume a degree of ownership of individual trail projects through their participation in the planning process. Mechanisms for public participation in recreation planning have long been an integral part of the planning of Chapel Hill parks and greenways projects.
Each aspect of the greenways program demands a different degree and type of citizen input. The following methods of participation should continue to be encouraged:
The Commission provides a forum for direct citizen representation on matters of policy. Citizens appointed to the Greenways Commission make recommendations to the Town Council, other Boards and staff on a wide range of issues. Citizens not appointed to the Commission can also use the Commission meetings as a forum to present petitions, ideas and concerns.
This Commission advises the Council, Town manager and Parks & Recreation Department staff on all issues pertaining to community recreation. The Parks & Recreation Commission may work in concert with the Greenways Commission on certain projects.
This form of public input should be used in most trail planning and construction programs. Neighbors and other individuals affected by the presence of the proposed trail should be encouraged to comment in the presence of Town citizens, Greenways Commission members, and staff. Meeting formats should be designed to encourage citizens to participate in the planning process.
In most cases, at least two public meetings should be held during the planning of each proposed greenway trail. Public forums should be publicly advertised in order to attract a range of community interests. The purpose of holding public forums is to provide citizens with information and opportunities for input throughout the planning process.
Neighbors who own property close to the proposed trail could be invited to a series of smaller meetings in order to discuss details of the project. These meetings should cover such topics as landscaping, grading, removal of trees, selection of building materials and other issues pertinent to persons living close to the trail.
Once a decision has been made to develop a particular trail, it may be appropriate to enlist persons affected by the project to help with the planning phase. This type of public involvement can allow proponents and opponents of a trail to actively participate in the decision making process. Possible members of an Advisory Committee could include:
• Greenways Commission
• nearby residents
• property owners
• representatives of utility companies
• Town staff
• representatives of funding agencies
The
Special Use Permit process for the phase two of the Bolin Creek Greenway and
development of the Conceptual Plan for the Dry Creek Greenway are two recent
examples of successful processes utilizing a citizen advisory committee. In
these projects, the citizen committee worked directly with the Parks & Recreation Department
staff and the greenway design consultant to achieve a plan that met the broad
goals of the Town, the technical challenges of the site and the privacy
concerns of adjoining neighbors.
Promote public involvement in the greenway corridors to assure their conservation and to create expanding support for upgrading trail development and public use. Various means might include hiking events, trail clean-up and volunteer work days, Adopt-a Greenway programs and the publication of promotional brochures
By its nature, the greenways concept cannot be easily contained within the jurisdiction of any single local government. Greenways tend to follow natural features such as waterways or ridges which often continue undistinguished by the political jurisdiction it occupies. In order to fully serve the citizens of Chapel Hill, it will become increasingly necessary for the Town to work closely with neighboring governmental agencies and political bodies to achieve common goals whenever possible.
It is critical for the long-term success of the Chapel Hill Greenways system to be an engaged partner in regional trail and open space initiatives. Currently, Orange County, the City of Durham, Durham County and the Town of Chapel Hill are involved in a cooperative project which may lead to preservation of the New Hope Corridor. The Chapel Hill Town Council has adopted the New Hope Corridor Task Force Report which envisions a cooperative effort among all four jurisdictions. See page ?? for further details.
Orange County government has provided funds from its 2001 Parks Bond for greenway projects that link communities within the county. Funds were used to purchase a vital piece of property along Bolin Creek within Carrboro’s jurisdiction. In addition the Board of Orange County Commissioners has agreed to use $1,000,000 from the same bond for the Bolin Creek Trail in Chapel Hill.
Other projects may be possible in the future. As other nearby jurisdictions become involved in greenways projects, the Town should work closely with them to ensure that projects can be merged to the benefit of all parties.
The Town should also work closely with other organizations supportive of the greenways program such as the Friends of Bolin Creek, Morgan Creek Alliance, Sierra Club, Triangle Land Conservancy, NC Botanical Garden, Triangle Rails to Trails Conservancy and the Triangle Greenways Council to identify greenway corridors of mutual interest and to ensure the timely acquisition of these corridors.
Since the inception of the
Town's greenway program in 1985, the Chapel Hill Police Department has reported
two sporadic incidences on dedicated trails. Reported
incidents have primarily been related to non-violent sexual assault (indecent
exposure, assault by unwanted touching, and women being followed).
There have also been several incidents which resulted in minor loss of property
but no personal injury. Reported complaints to the Parks and Recreation
Department are typically limited to the presence of mountain bicycles
dogs on pedestrian trails and vandalism of signs. Experiences in
Chapel Hill and in other communities indicate that most security problems
related to greenways tend to be infrequent and non-violent. The public's
concern regarding security issues, however, continues to dominate discussions
about new trail development in Chapel Hill.
The Town should address greenway security in two ways, through active patrol of trails and by enforcement of trail use ordinances. Regular active patrol of the trail system should enhance a sense of security to users and to citizens with property adjacent to the greenway corridor. The Town of Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances addresses a variety of issues related to security and regulation of the Town’s greenway trails.
Citizens attending
public meetings have indicated that security of greenways and parks is one of
their top concerns. The Greenways Commission has expressed a desire that the
Town consider creating a Park Ranger position at some future time. Park
Rangers would be hired to provide active patrol of parks, trails, recreation
centers, storage areas, and parks vehicles. Unlike police officers who must
respond to emergencies all over Town, Park Rangers could concentrate their
efforts patrolling parks and trails.
In the early 1990’s, the
Chapel Hill Police initiated a bicycle patrol program which could be available
for use on paved bicycle accessible trails. Bicycle patrols would provide the
most efficient method of providing trail security on paved trails for several
reasons. The Town’s planned and existing trails having a 10’ pavement width
would be ideal to accommodate bike patrols.
Communication with other greenway communities in North Carolina such as Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham and Cary, indicates that frequent and active use of a trail tends to decrease the number of crimes while causing an increase in relatively minor incidents such as littering, mountain bicycle infractions, and speeding on trails. The effectiveness of this “protection-by-use” approach can be enhanced by including trails in citizens watch programs.
Town maintenance crews can be an important component in the security system. Maintenance crews are frequently assigned to work along various trails, and are the Town employees most likely to view violations of the law. In addition, they are the persons most likely to offer initial assistance to citizens in need.
A well-maintained trail may discourage persons intent upon minor and major infractions of the law, and may give users a sense that the area is well-used and safe.