The state Division of Parks and Recreation toyed for a year with the idea of opening a third automobile entrance to Umstead State Park (at Graylyn Drive), and it received a few hundred comments expressing sharp opinions on both sides.

The Raleigh City Council's Public Works Committee struggled this year with calls to erect "No Parking" signs in residential neighborhoods where Umstead users leave their cars There were sharp, competing opinions here, too.

State and city agencies helped create these problems. The Umstead maintenance gate at the corner of Trenton and Reedy Creek Roads became an even more appealing destination for park users after the city and the state extended the Reedy Creek Greenway west from the NC Museum of Art -- and stopped it there. The closest parking lot is two miles away at the art museum.

NCDOT banned parking on the state roads outside the Graylyn and Reedy Creek Road maintenance gates -- after it justified paving Graylyn by using high traffic counts that had been generated by those same parked cars.

Both the city and the state are wary of taking steps that will set uncontrollable precedents, cost money and perhaps create new sets of environmental, legal and political problems.

So the parks division refused this week to open the Graylyn gate. And the city council said ... [MORE]

Runners and cyclists hoping for easier access to the state's busiest urban state park lost ground today:

State officials said they won't turn dead-end Graylyn Drive into a third automobile entrance to Umstead State Park.

And the Raleigh City Council prepared to post more No Parking signs on neighborhood streets near an Umstead gate on Reedy Creek Road. [Update 5 p.m. Tuesday: The council delayed action on the No Parking proposal, sending the matter back to committee for more deliberation.]

Lewis Ledford, the state parks director, announced a plan to improve a bumpy gravel road inside the park that provides access from the Glenwood Avenue entrance to the Sycamore Bike and Bridle Trailhead (see map). The road will be paved when funds are available, and the trailhead parking lot will be expanded.

He rejected an option, floated a year ago, to let park patrons drive to the same trailhead on what is now a maintenance road with a locked gate at the end of Graylyn Drive off Ebenezer Church Road.

“Our overriding philosophy must be to minimize the development footprint at Umstead as one way to protect the wild and natural landscape of this state park,” Ledford said in a news release. ... [MORE]

It appears that Raleigh City Council member Mary Ann Baldwin used $1,800 of her campaign war chest to pay for an upcoming trip to China with the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
Baldwin said the trip offers chances to learn about the Chinese economy and viewed the trip as an extension of her council duties.
The trip, scheduled for Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, includes nine days worth of sight-seeing, with stops at China’s Great Wall and Tiananmen Square. Harvey Schmitt, the chamber’s president, said the trip is being billed as a way for participate to familiarize themselves with China to gain a better understanding of the nation’s economy and people.
Baldwin she used $500 of her own money, in addition to the $1,799 that her campaign paid for.
"You’re kind of between a rock and a hard place," Baldwin said about the decision to use campaign funds. "You don’t want to use tax-payer money for something like that.”
Nancy McFarlane, a fellow Raleigh city council member, is also going on one of the three trips the chamber organized this fall to China.
Baldwin, a marketing consultant elected to the council in 2007, is one of five people running for the two council-at-large positions in Tuesday’s Oct. 6 municipal elections.

Next week the City Council will hold a public hearing to discuss City Manager Russell Allen's proposed budget. Allen released his budget last week, and it recommends reducing or eliminating funding for a number of local groups. Those groups are likely to plead their case at the June 2 hearing, which starts at 7 p.m. in the council chamber at City Hall, 222 W. Hargett St.

Here's a list of those that would have their funding reduced or eliminated under Allen's proposed budget:

* Groups whose funding would be cut by 10 percent: DHIC, Raleigh City Museum, Healing Place, Kryan Anderson Academy, Kids Voting, Passage Home CDC, Southeast Raleigh Assembly, Downtown Development for the Downtown Raleigh Alliance

* Groups whose funding would be elminated: International Affairs Council, Lost Generation Task Force, Raleigh Area Development Authority

* Some arts nonprofits would also be hit, as Allen's budget recommends reducing the city's per capita spending on art from $4.50 per resident to $4. (This would reduce overall grants by 11 percent.)

* A number of downtown events would also be reduced or eliminated, including MOvies in the Market, St. Patrick's Day event, Christmas Parade floates, Bike Fes and Raleigh Wide Open. No word yet on whether the city could still afford to hire the likes of Eddie Money to perform at RWO.

At its meeting Thursday morning, the Raleigh City Council's Public Works Committee will discuss a proposed parking ban on the streets of Trenton Woods, one of the nice new West Raleigh subdivisions springing up on the outskirts of Umstead State Park.

Trenton Woods is on Trenton Road near its intersection with Reedy Creek Road, and that's close to a park maintenance road that has become a popular neighborhood access point for folks who bike, hike, run and walk in the park.

The council agreed in February to have the committee reconsider the request after some park patrons protested that it would make it even harder -- and it's getting harder all the time, already -- simply to find a place to leave your car so you can visit the park.

The meeting is in Room 201, City Council Chamber, Raleigh Municipal Building, 222 West
Hargett Street, Raleigh. For information call 996-3040 (City Clerk’s Office).

A bumper crop of “No Parking” signs is flourishing along Reedy Creek and Trenton roads at the southeast edge of Umstead State Park in West Raleigh.

Even in winter, they’re spreading like kudzu.

In the past two years, the state Department of Transportation has planted about 60 signs on a quarter-mile stretch around this quiet corner.

They stand barely 30 feet apart, closer than needed for a simple regulatory message. They’re dense enough to serve as crude barriers — to anyone who dares to park the car and indulge in the guilty pleasure of fresh air and exercise in a splendid state park.

On Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council will consider making a further extension of the Umstead unwelcome mat.

The council’s consent agenda — items to be approved without discussion — includes a parking ban on the streets of Trenton Woods, one of the nice new subdivisions springing up on Umstead’s outskirts. Homeowners there don’t like park users parking in front of their homes.

[Tuesday 2/3 update: The Trenton Woods proposal was pulled from the council agenda and sent to a committee for study.] ... [MORE]

As the only Republican on the Raleigh City Council since the 2007 elections, Philip Isley has gotten used to hearing Democrats gripe about the state of the country under President Bush.

Now, with the election of Barack Obama, Isley is learning what life will be like with a Democrat in the White House.

During Tuesday’s City Council meeting Democrats on the council made repeated mentions to the wonder of Obama’s campaigning skills and the bright future in store for America under a new Obama administration.

A mention of human rights led Mayor Charles Meeker to say America’s human rights record should start improving now that Obama is replacing Bush. A discussion of how to reform the city’s Citizens Advisory Councils led Councilman Thomas Crowder to mention how Obama’s victorious campaign showed what can happen when you empower everyday citizens.

When Isley questioned whether the city should still proceed with plans to build a $226 million new public safety center, Meeker noted that the council wouldn’t vote to provide the funding until next summer. By that time, Meeker said, the Obama administration could have turned the economy around.

Isley, who had until then mostly ignored the Obama lovefest going on around him, finally piped up.
“I think that’s the fourth or fifth Obama reference today!” he cried.

A smile creeped over the mayor’s face.
“I said that for Mr. Isley’s benefit,” Meeker said.

That appears to be the question being asked of developer Greg Hatem by the City Council. During today's meeting, the council will vote on whether to void an existing agreement that Hatem's company, Empire Properties, has with the city do develop a city-owned piece of property across from the new convention center. The move would essentially rebid the project, forcing Empire to compete with other developers for a project it previously won. In our story today, Hatem said he would probably walk away from the project rather than bid again.

Today's vote should be good political theater for lots of reasons.

1) Hatem and Empire have been instrumental in downtown's renewal in recent years. The company has renovated dozens of buildings, filling them with cafes, restaurants and bars. After giving repeated extensions to other developers in recent years, it would be noteworthy to say the least if the city lost patience with Hatem of all people.

2) Hatem is more than just a developer in downtown Raleigh. Most of the City Council attended his wedding last month, as did a good chunk of the city's Planning Department.

3 ) Developers frequently criticize the City Council for lacking business acumen. If the council rebids the project (known as Site #4), those criticisms could get even louder. City Manager Russell Allen says Empire does not have the financing to move ahead with its plans, and has no idea where that financing will come from in the future. Hatem notes in today's article that the lending environment is terrible and that city leaders are "naive if they think there are people who are lining up that can actually do this faster and better."

Allen states clearly that if the project is rebid the city still desires a project that has a unique design and a mix of retail, restaurant, hotel rooms and condos. That sort of project has become extremely difficult to finance, particularly if a developer is trying to build on land he or she doesn't already own.

So the question becomes: In voiding Empire's agreement and starting over, is the city moving the project along or just making sure nothing will get built on that site for an even longer time? 

Greetings WakePol readers, however few there may be. First, an apology: WakePol has been dormant for several months and we apologize to anybody who missed us during our sabbatical. We are back, tan and rested, and we promise to post regularly going forward for those willing to give us a second chance.

The Raleigh City Council meets at 1 p.m. today. Among the items on the agenda is proposed changes to the city's PROP ordinance. Here's a quick run down of the changes being considered:

- Require all rental properties, regardless of the number of units, to be registered with the city. Owners would pay $30 annually for the first registered unit and $10 for each additional unit registered in the same dwelling.

- Allow Raleigh police to issue $100 civil penalties for noise and nuisance violations instead of charging the tenant with a misdemeanor.

- Amend the ordinance so that the following crimes are consider violations of the ordinance: prostitution, possession of stolen goods, violations of certain state alcohol and liquor regulations, unlawful weapons, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, gaming violations and disorderly conduct.

Some landlords are complaining about the mandatory registration fee, saying it amounts to a tax on renters that is not necessary. Half the City Council expressed support for the changes last week, so their complaints may not derail the proposal.

 If approved, the changes will likely go into effect Jan. 5, 2009.