“Hey,” I said interrupting whatever it was we were talking about. “That’s the Black Creek Greenway, isn’t it?”
Why I hadn’t noticed the bulldozer busy at work just beyond the Cycle Surgeon’s property line, I’m not sure because this was the fifth time in less than a week that I’d been at the Surgeon’s Cary garage as he patiently tried piecing together the bike I was borrowing after I’d broken the frame on mine. “I don’t want to spend a lot to get it running,” I’d say every time I brought the newly broken loaner in. Then, noting I have a race this Sunday, I’d add, “And I need it immediately.”
Matt Lodder, a k a the Cycle Surgeon, confirmed that it was indeed the vital last link in the Black Creek Greenway, a vital link between Umstead State Park and Raleigh’s 69-mile greenway network and Cary’s White Oak Creek Greenway, which is close to connecting to the American Tobacco Trail, which is close to connecting to downtown Durham.
“They sent us a letter in March saying they were going to start construction and that it would be done by the end of the year,” Matt said.
When finished, the Black Creek Greenway will run 5.6 miles, from Lake Crabtree County Park to the northeast to Cary’s Bond Park, just over a half mile to the west. Five miles of the greenway is complete; the remaining 0.6 of a mile is what is currently under construction. That stretch includes, according to the Town of Cary Web site:

• 0.07 mile on N.W. Maynard Road in front of the State Employees Credit Union.
• 0.12 mile on N.W. Maynard in front of the Carolina Car Wash.
• 0.38 mile in the Battery Subdivision, running from High House Road to Castalia Drive.

“Did you know,” I told Matt, “that in about a year, you’ll be able to ride your bike out your back door to a Durham Bulls game?”
Matt’s expression suggested he did not know that he would be able to take the greenway-in-progress west to Bond Park and pick up the White Oak Creek Greenway, which would take him — with one easily skirted interruption — to Green Level Church Road. (For the next month, there is another interruption: just past NC 55 the greenway is closed due to construction of the Western Wake Freeway. That stretch is scheduled to reopen the end of August.)
At Green Level Church Road, there’s a slight hiccup in the eventual connection with the American Tobacco Trail, a hiccup quickly remedied by taking a right on Green Level Church, then a left on Green Level West Road to the ATT. (It’s roughly a mile.) From there, the ATT goes north into Durham, where construction is soon to begin on the long-missing link over I-40 and the connection with 6.5-miles of paved ATT into downtown Durham, at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
“And,” I added, “if you go in the other direction on this greenway, you’ll be able to ride to Lake Crabtree, to Umstead and then connect with the Reedy Creek Trail and miles of connected greenway in Raleigh.
Matt listened politely, nodding and “Wow”-ing at the appropriate times. Fortunately, I remembered my bike was but one of more than a dozen cued up on the Surgeon’s deck awaiting urgent repair for races this weekend, from ORAMM near Asheville to the Lake Placid Ironman. I refrained from adding that, if he’s patient enough he’ll one day be able to take this greenway south to Key West, Fla., or north to Canada, this particular stretch of greenway being part of the East Coast Greenway, a work-in-progress 3,000-mile greenway spanning the East Coast.
As I wheeled my bike away yet again, Matt said, “I hope I don’t see you again before the race this weekend.”

He meant he hoped I didn’t have any more problems with the bike. I’m pretty sure that’s what he meant.

* * *

Cary’s Black Creek Greenway (green represents stretch under construction)

View Cary’s Black Creek Greenway in a larger map

The post Construction begins on final link of Cary’s Black Creek Greenway appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: The Triangle’s Growing Greenways.

Today, we kick off a week of greenway coverage with a 90-Second Escape, this time in slideshow form. Today’s escape focuses on the $35 million in greenway construction projects working in Raleigh, and how those projects will drastically alter the face of Raleigh’s — and the Triangle’s — greenway network.

Also this week:

Tuesday: A construction update on Raleigh’s Neuse River Trail and other major greenway projects.

Wednesday: After the aforementioned projects are completed and the core of Raleigh’s greenway system is in place, then what? A conversation with Raleigh greenway planner Vic Lebsock.

Thursday: Weekend plans — with a focus on greenways.

Friday: The big picture: A look at how the Triangle’s greenway network will look in less than two years.

* * *

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The post 90 Second Escape: The Triangle’s Growing Greenway System appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Raleigh’s highly anticipated 3-mile House Creek Greenway is scheduled to open in March. Sunday, I took a little inspection tour. More about that in a sec. First, about that “highly anticipated” description.

In Raleigh’s rapidly expanding greenway network, 3 miles isn’t a lot. The system consists of close to 70 miles at this point, and this 3-mile stretch is dwarfed, sizewise, by another stretch also under construction: the 28-mile Neuse River Trail, which opened its first 6.5-mile stretch in October and expects to be completely done — from the Falls dam south to the Johnston County line — in 2013.

House Creek is being closely watched because it will link the 11-mile Crabtree Creek Trail to the north with the Reedy Creek Trail and 22 miles of connected trail to the south. That southern stretch runs from Southeast Raleigh through the N.C. State and Meredith campuses, through the N.C. Museum or Art, through Umstead State Park and into Cary — almost to Bond Park. Completion of House Creek will create 36 miles of connected greenway. Hence, “highly anticipated,” “closely watched,” “eagerly awaited,” “drooled over” — your pick.

So, will this 36-mile connection happen this spring? Looks like it.

From the northern trailhead, at Blue Ridge Road and Crabtree Valley Avenue, where it joins the Crabtree Creek Trail, the House Creek Greenway is paved for a mile and a half to the south.

Note for liability purposes: “paved” does not equal “open.” No signs are up, for one, and the bridge over House Creek lacks guardrails. There are, no doubt, other little things discernible only to the keen eyes of the contractor and the City of Raleigh that need to be finished before the greenway is deemed open for public use. This caveat applies to all subsequent mentions of trail being “paved.” We resume our post, in progress.

The trail remains unpaved for the next 0.6 of a mile south, through the box culvert tunnel under Lake Boone Trail up to where it crosses Horton Street. Pavement resumes at Horton Street and continues for 0.6 of a mile. The last 0.2 miles to House Creek’s southern trailhead, where it Ts into Reedy Creek Trail, also is unpaved.

The vital connection House Creek makes between Raleigh’s two longest stretches of existing greenway isn’t the only reason to eagerly anticipate/drool over this stretch of trail. Though it’s always within earshot of busy I-440 — and frequently within eyeshot, especially in winter — it has stretches with a wild, escapist charm. Between Horton Street and Lake Boone Trail the greenway snuggles up to a rocky stretch of House Creek where exposed rock defines much of the creek bottom. Three stretches pass through forest dominated by cell-tower-straight poplars, there’s a nice passage through grassy Glen Eden Pilot Park and a surprising number of hills help House Creek avoid the monotony common to many greenways, which tend to follow floodplains. A nice escape for walkers, a challenging 6-mile out-and-back workout for runners, a good urban bike ride for families, considering there is only one street crossing (albeit a busy one, across Blue Ridge Road at the north end).

Another quick caveat: Tempting though it may be, do not access the House Creek Greenway by parking in the Ridgewood Shopping Center lot at Ridge Road and Wade Avenue, and picking up the new Ridge Road spur. Signs in the QR parking lot warn against greenway users using the lot; from what we’ve heard, there’s some bite behind those words. A better bet: park at the N.C. Museum of Art off Blue Ridge Road at Reedy Creek Road and take the Reedy Creek Trail east.

Again, that is, after the trail officially opens.
View House Creek Trail in a larger map

The post Update: House Creek Greenway 75 percent paved appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

A destination greenway is one that people will put their bikes on the roof rack and drive to, in the hopes of spending at least half a day exploring. Attaching a mileage to that is where the squishiness comes in. If you have small kids, then 10 miles of continuous path may suffice. In general, though, Roger Bardsley with Guilford County Parks & Open Space, says, “Once you get into the 15- to 20-mile range, then you can advertise yourself as a regional greenway destination.”

But, as Bardsley is quick to add, the designation can also depend on how much there is to see and do along the route in question. For our purposes here at GetGoingNC.com, we’ll go down to 10 miles — again, depending upon circumstances.

Our greenway site will, hopefully, include everything you’d want to know about taking a trip, primarily in the form of maps that will show a variety of information: trailheads, parking, water, food, restrooms, spots where the trail may be difficult to follow (at road crossings, for instance), and sites to see along the way. In addition to a map, each greenway will include a slide show and video to help give a better sense of what your experience may be like on the greenway.

We hope to have this new-and-improved site up next month. In the meantime, check out the interactive map below of a 14.4-mile stretch of greenway that includes the Rocky Branch and Reedy Creek Trail greenways in Raleigh, and the adjoining 5-mile bike and bridle trail though Umstead State Park. (Note: The majority of trails in this collection will be paved. However, there are some excellent hard-packed screened gravel surfaces, such as the 5 miles through Umstead, that also will be included.)

Check out the map, a Google map that can be downloaded to your smartphone for handy access. Let us know what works for you, what doesn’t and what would be helpful that we haven’t included. If you’d like to know more or just want to talk greenways, I’ll be discussing destination greeways Saturday, April 9, at 2:30 p.m. at the Cameron Village branch of the Wake County Public Library.

Let us know what you think.

View Umstead/Reedy Creek/Rocky Branch in a larger map

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