Sunday, November 30, 2008

At the Ackland - Ackland Art Museum

The Ackland is less than an hour's walk, or a short bus ride, or if you must, a short drive. Clearly a part of the larger community close at hand around Southern Village.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Walking....

A very big part of Southern Village's attractiveness to me is its walkability.

I got thinking about what I could walk to "do" here.......

+ Walk up anytime to Market Street or the Park and Ride lot and pick up a free copy of the Daily Tar Heel, the Independent and or the Carrboro Citizen.

+ Walk up to Market Street and buy anytime from a vending machine a copy of The New York Times, the News & Observer or the Herald-Sun (especially when they fail to deliver these to our driveway).

+ Walk to UNC campus.

+ Walk to the Ackland Art Museum!

+ Walk to O2 Fitness.

+ Walk to see flowers, a friend, a game on one of the fields.

+ Walk to the Lumina and watch a movie.

+ Walk to La Vita Dolce or Weaver Street Market and have a coffee whenever they are open.

+ Walk to La Vita Dolce, Weaver Street Market, Pazzo!, Merlion, Jaluka or Town Hall Grill and have lunch, and in several of those, dinner as well.

+ Walk to Merritt's out on South Columbia and have a meal or buy some of their food and other offerings.

+ Walk to church if you are of that faith and choose to do so.

+ Walk to the bank if you are a customer or choose to use any of its services.

+ Walk in the hope of saying hello to a neighbor, and if very lucky, with his or her dog in tow .... or being towed by

What else to add?

Notes on the new park

When I walked around the new Southern Community Park Wednesday, I made a couple of notes....

+ Why is the grass all brown? Is that normal for playing fields of this sort in the winter? Will that happen each year?

+ Why are there so few bleachers for the fields?

+ Why do those OWASA manhole covers have to be so far above the grass level? They sure are ugly. In addition to them, there are some other pipes of some sort sticking out of the ground along the path; they seem to be "finished" and I fear they wil be sticking out as they do for many years to come.

+ What are the preliminary plans for extending the trail further south? It simply goes from asphalt to straw right now. Is something on a map somewhere showing what planners hope we'll have one day?

+ What is the hoped for use of the dog area on the other side of Dogwood Acres Drive? It is such a large space; is the vision that it will be overflowing with dogs at certain times? Why has it not atrracted more already?

+ Do we have a master schedule somewhere of all the games that are scheduled for 2009 on the Southern Community Park fields and the soccer field by the tennis and swim club?

Rest rooms in the park

What will the rules be on using the new restrooms that are part of Southern Community Park? Perhaps they will be posted along with some indication of which door is which!

I guess the park has not officially opened yet.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

"Keats's "Poems" is Library's 6-millionth volume"

What a phenomenal resource for us who live here!

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Morgan Creek trail

"- Easement to OWASA for Morgan Creek Trail: The Council authorized an easement to OWASA in order to relocate the sewer line to benefit the Morgan Trail Project. The project is proposed to be a 10 foot wide concrete trail that would be an extension of the existing Fan Branch Trail. The first phase is intended to begin at the Fan Branch Trail near Culbreth Road and end just east of Kingswood Apartments. A natural surface trail would extend from the main paved trail on the north side of Morgan Creek and provide pedestrian access to Merritt Pasture. A bridge over a small tributary on the east side of Highway 15-501 would provide direct access to the pasture. "

Speed tables - Dogwood Acres Drive

"7. Dogwood Acres Drive to Receive Speed Tables
Speed tables and related warning signs will be installed on Dogwood Acres Drive on Monday, Oct. 20, at Southern Community Park, which is under construction and nearly completed.
The traffic tables will be installed beginning at 9 a.m. in the section of the road within the park boundaries. There may be some travel delays as the crew installs the tables. Work should be completed in one day. When the speed tables are installed, people who drive on Dogwood Acres Drive should adjust their travel speeds.
The Council authorized the speed tables in order to slow traffic and maximize pedestrian safety as part of the park development plan. Located south of Southern Village and west of Highway 15-501, Southern Community Park is scheduled to open later this fall.
The park will become the 11th and second largest park (after Cedar Falls Park), covering 72 acres with more half the land remaining in a natural state. The $4.7 million park project features three athletic/soccer fields, two basketball courts, an inline hockey court, a two-acre dog park, a meadow area, trails, a play area, and a disk golf course. The project was funded by Orange County, Chapel Hill, and a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant.
For more information, call the Town of Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department at 968-2784."

Saturday, November 01, 2008