The latest word from the field, via the ever-reliable Michael Bowers, a longtime greenway aficionado, is that the House Creek Greenway in Raleigh is pretty much open: “I rode across the bridge” — for the last couple of months the greenway’s lone missing link — “today [Saturday]! All paving is done … connecting to the Meredith-[Museum of Art] greenway trail. The tunnel under Glen Eden is closed though due to fencing installation…which should be done in a few days. You just have to go around via Ridge Road.”
This is big news for Raleigh greenway fans. For while House Creek is only 2.9 miles in length, it creates a key connection between the 11-mile Crabtree Creek Trail to the north and an extensive network of greenway to the south, which heads farther south and east through Meredith College, the N.C. State University campus, past Dorthea Dix and into Southeast Raleigh, and north and west, through the N.C. Museum of Art, Umstead State Park and into Cary.
For a better sense of how the House Creek Trail fits into the Triangle’s greenway connectivity, see this post from April.
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House Creek Trail
View House Creek Trail in a larger map
For several months the greenway appears to have been accessible, if not actually “open,” from Crabtree Valley Avenue to Lake Boone Trail. It was that last stretch between Meredith and Lake Boone that wanted completing. Yesterday I was the first time I passed that stretch in over a week, and I was excited to see pavement stretching off House Creek way, finally! I imagined that the trail was finally passable from end to end, but when I went down Glen Eden later, I found that chain link fencing had been placed across the ramp down to the Glen Eden underpass. Most barriers to the under-construction greenways seem to do little to deter the curious, and merely warn off the timid, but I don’t see how a person could skirt this chain link fence without risking a tumble down a steep incline. It seemed to be in place while they installed some barriers between the side of the ramp and the slope down to 440, so perhaps as of today that is already done and the fencing removed. But as of yesterday the trail seemed closer to completion then ever, but less accessible than it’s been in several months.
Glad to see that the last bit is done but WHY, oh why, has this taken so long! We still can’t get on the greenway from Lake Boone Trail like it was designed. All of this was scheduled to be finished in early to mid 2011; then delayed until Nov. 2011. When I inquired in winter 2011 why it wasn’t finished, they responded that due to DOT standards, paving isn’t allowed from December until March 15. When they finally got back underway with paving in May 2012, the delays were attributed to handrails and fencing installation. And it still isn’t finished. Sorry for the rant but I am frustrated.
For the last two days I’ve passed the Glen Eden section and seen work going on at the underpass: guard rails. I didn’t see the chain link fence, so the underpass may be accessible. Of course it’s also possible that the workers put the fence up before they leave. I pass this way some time between 6 and 7 pm, so it seems like they may be putting in extra hours to make sure this thing really opens in September. Really looking forward to it as it should make it possible for me to move half of my commute off of the streets. Any word on the Meredith gate, Joe? Went by the other day and Meredith security was parked at the bridge (right on the House Creek entrance), presumably preparing to lock up the bridge for the night. Glad I made it through when I did. I thought the gate was moving to the Wade Avenue underpass, but I see no sign that it is. Strange because now instead of the gate closing that side of Meredith’s stretch of Greenway, it leaves it open to both House Creek traffic and Wade Avenue traffic, and only blocks traffic from the Art Museum.
Thanks for the update, Rob. And no word on whether they’ll keep the Beltline bridge open at night. Got the impression that wasn’t an immediate priority.
Finally got a chance to ride the House Creek trail. Quite a workout, with surprisingly steep sections, especially compared to the rather flat Crabtree greenway.