Voting by email, the Wake Forest commissioners decided to suspend plans to build a parking lot near Raleigh’s wastewater treatment plant for access to the Smith Creek Greenway between Burlington Mills Road and the Neuse River Bridge.
Nearly 100 residents of the two adjacent subdivisions, Caddell Woods and Moss Creek, had spoken against the plan during a community meeting April 20, and many were at the town board’s April 21 meeting to support Tim Evans, who was the neighborhood representative.
When asked why there was no discussion at a board meeting and how the decision was made, Interim Town Manager Roe O’Donnell responded in an email: “No meeting was called nor was one required regarding the decision to suspend design of the trailhead. As a matter of expediency, I canvassed the board via email to determine their wishes. Please feel free to call me to discuss further.”
A statement released by the town said other possible parking and trailhead sites will be considered. One possibility is one along One World Way on the north side of Burlington Mills Road, but funding for it will not be available for several years.
That section of the Smith Creek Greenway south of Burlington Mills is closed until later this month or early June because the City of Raleigh is completing a new sewer line.
When the greenway reopens, users will not be able to park along Burlington Mills because the state Department of Transportation, citing safety concerns, says it will prohibit parking in the informal parking lot that had been used. Raleigh has built a chain link fence across the sewer easement and will landscape it soon to prevent parking.
The Smith Creek Greenway is part of the 27.5 mile Neuse River Trail. Other trail access points in the Wake Forest area are located at 6100 Thornton Road, Raleigh; and 5956 Myakka Court, Raleigh. An established trailhead located at 2928 Horseshoe Farm Road, Raleigh, is currently under construction and expected to open in late May.
For more information, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/smith-creek-greenway-parking-trailhead.aspx or contact Assistant Town Engineer Holly Miller at 919-435-9443.
