"Smith Level Road plan approved" - Herald-Sun

Several things strike me about this article for those of us who live in and around Southern Village.

First, how can we see the "final" plan on a map? It's a little confusing to walk or drive the word route.

Second, what's the timetable to do the work?

Third, I hope Carrboro and/or the state will begin to measure bike lane and sidewalk use in the way they measure road traffic. Once done, how many people/day wind up using the sidewalk? How many bikes/day? We want those numbers to be very high but I fear they will not be.

Finally, once this is done, imagine a moblunch at Glasshalful or any other place in Carrboro, to which a group of us in Southern Village WALK! We can do that now, but only by taking our lives in our hands and among the high grasses.

Engines running idiocy

I keep seeing - as I did today in the Park parking lot - mothers (I have not witnessed any fathers doing this, but I am sure they do the same thing) turning on or leaving on the engines in their monster trucks (aka SUVs), leaving a child or children inside and then getting out of the car. To say they are stupid is to give them much more credit than they merit. The next time I see someone doing that I am going to call the police and demand that they be arrested on a charge of reckless endangerment of a minor. I am serious about doing this. Test me if you wish.

Kids without helmets

I saw a young boy today on the trail who had apparently fallen off his two wheeler - what do they call those? Razor? In any case, he had no helmet. The parents ought to be roundly criticized, but more important, get him a helmet!

"Don’t Toss That Dog Poop: Mass. Artist Uses Waste to Power Park Lamp" - TIME

What an opportunity for the dog area in Southern Community Park! The dogs can honestly bark that they are leaving the light on for us!

"Chapel Hill could host Costco" - The Daily Tar Heel

Note reference to property opposite Southern Village.

Lots of people on trail!

I noticed yesterday at 4:45 how many people were walking on the trail between Aberdeen and the Southern Community Park. It was also really nice to see so many kids playing soccer on the fields. That's the way it should be so much more of the time!

"Redesigning Chapel Hill" - The Carrboro Citizen

"Town picks a new bank, delays Smith Level vote" - The Carrboro Citizen

Chapel Hill Transit

When I arrived at the Park and Ride lot the other day to take the V bus, it was there waiting as I had been told over the phone. The bus, however, had not logged into the system and so did not show on the real time arrival service. When I started to board the bus, the door was closed, the engine was running and the air conditioning doing its thing. The driver, however, was asleep behind the wheel. What if she had awakened startled and done something to put the bus in motion? I think it's a very unsafe situation. She confirmed that the bus was not logged in but it was not clear to me if this was a failure of the system or the failure on her part to do something to log in.

"DaveZillion.com"

Does this work in Southern Village?

"Banking decision" - Lydia Lavelle

Note reference to Harrington Bank and the Office of Thrift Supervision.

15-501

Isn't it time that we tried to work with someone to transform the rental homes between Southern Village and 15-501 into something more attractive and equally affordable?

Ozone testing

With all of the traffic on 15-501, I wonder if anyone routinely checks ozone (or any other polutant) levels next to the highway and inside Southern Village?

"Gardeners Go to the 'Hellstrip'" - WSJ.com

Here is the accompanying story.