October 4 Community Meeting Comments

At the meeting on October 4, the university presented the Carolina North campus plan.

Below are comments responding to information presented at the meeting, arranged by topic. Email carolinanorth@unc.edu if you'd like to add a comment.

General

Jack - enjoyed your presentation. Thank you for your leadership and devotion to Carolina North. UNC could not have selected a better leader! I'm proud to have you as a friend.
Speaker should identify himself, his affiliation, his role in the project. Restate audience questions so everyone can hear them.
I was impressed by the recent editorial appearing in the Chapel Hill Herald taking the Town of Chapel Hill, local citizens to task for opposition to the planning for Carolina North. I felt it was an appropriate perspective and made valid points.
Plan and staging look good/realistic.
Realizing the sustainability aspects of the plan will depend heavily on the willingness of the Town of Chapel Hill to collaborate on the transit system and on the plan reviews (a positive spirit).
Jack - good job!
Continue thoughtfully in every step of process. Please. Thank you.
Also consider statement concerning "building trust." Do what can be done to build trust. Please.

Why not develop 15-year phase in the back of the property, instead of the front (MLK edge)? Too expensive? Not buildable? This would minimize the impact of construction on first-in buildings.

A number of comments over the various presentations during this process have suggested not building a large central energy plant - yet a large central plant is still in the plan - what good does it do to comment? It appears to be simply for public relations and meaningless as to content!
Given Senate Bill 668 re: energy efficiency, will other renewable sources (e.g., biomass, solar, etc.) at the central utility plant be utilized in addition to landfill gas? And CHP?
Will the water reclamation center create smells for the neighbors?
Keep skies dark by putting minimal light where it's needed.

Parking ratio should be improved. That is, more parking should be provided for at the outset. If not needed later, land devoted to parking could easily be redeveloped for any other purpose. The use of mass transit should not be/is not mandated.
Excellent presentation. Question: MLK & Estes Drive will no doubt need widening - these slides don't really reflect that need.
Where will all these buses go after they come south on MLK to main campus? What facilities are being planned to accommodate these vehicles?
The parking/transit strategies for the next 50 years seem to be business as usual for UNC-Chapel Hill. How will the transportation strategy deal with impending energy issues and climate issues due to petroleum and carbon dioxide? Can Carolina North help Chapel Hill and the region to reduce the Town's carbon footprint? For example, providing opportunities for people to live at Carolina North would allow them to bike or walk. I'd be interested in hearing about incentives that corporations would provide employees to live near Carolina North.
How and where will Carolina North connect to the main campus - both initially and later (15 years, and 20, 30 etc. years)? Where will the main connecting hub be on the main campus?

Bike lanes should be separated from traffic by medians.
Please consider placing bike lanes next to sidewalk rather than in the lane of traffic. CAR>PARKING/MEDIAN>BIKE>PED provides protection for bikers. On-street parking on C-road and elsewhere: can improve access for customers to retail and slow traffic down to promote pedestrian friendly design. Is on-street parking (parallel, diagonal, backwards diagonal) being considered?
Need to create pedestrian islands on MLK Blvd. near Carolina North and bike lanes on Estes and Seawell School before construction.
Should bike lane be in the main access streets or should there be separate bike path? Have a bike path parallel to the transit 2-lane road.
The street scenes shown show a very narrow bike lane.

Please don't start construction of Innovation Center until the airport has been moved. It will put construction workers at risk on the site. The use of cranes and other heavy equipment will also be hazardous.
UNC must commit to a conservation easement on much of the land especially the land in the ecologically sensitive areas.
100,000 square feet for retail/services will be inadequate quickly.
A school does not belong within research/businesses such as CN.
All buildings, public and private, should be LEED certified. This should be taken into account in plans for central energy plants. A substantial amount of renewable energy should be used.
Can UNC help to improve Chapel Hill's availability of affordable housing by providing some or helping developers do so?