Clean Energy-Durham is sponsoring a "get out and walk around the downtown" event on Sunday May 23rd from 2 to 6 pm. One mile of city streets near downtown will be opened to biking, walking and playing. Come enjoy the safety and fun of open streets, and participate in free dance and aerobics classes, play catch in the old ballpark, and more. Please see the Summer Streets site for more on this and their other upcoming events.

We were busy last week. Cole Concrete took advantage of the nice weather and completed the grading, concrete pouring and bollard installation. This 115' walkway is just north of Mile 1 on the ATT and now provides a smooth connection to Lawson Street and the NCCU area for walkers, cyclists and wheelchairs. Local residents started using it immediatly and see it as an asset to their community. At our May 1st workday we prepared the side areas for grass and gave the sturdy 6" bollards an initial coat of paint. Over the next few weeks we'll be doing a bit of clean-up and landscaping. Here is a glimpse of this new connector where it comes into the trail.

Chatham County and the City of Cary will hold a Grand Opening on Saturday June 5th from 10 to noon at the Pittard Sears Road access. (The rain date and time is Sunday, June 6th from 2 to 4.) The event will be held along the trail south of Pittard Sears towards the Panther Creek bridge. Parking will be along Pittard Sears Road and in a nearby development being constructed on the west side of the trail at this intersection. All trail users are invited. The event will include refreshments and remarks by TRTC and local and State staff who worked to make this section happen. Congressman David Price and the press will be invited. Information tables/booths by groups are encouraged. For further information please contact Cary's Festival Coordinator Joy Ennis.

On April 3rd we held a successful workday to cut up and remove some fallen trees and do a bit more on general trash removal in the wooded area bordering South Street. See workday PIC of volunteers. Our efforts to get the ATT connector built are moving well. (As reported earlier, funding we obtained under the Adopt-A-Trail grant program will be used to build a 115' connector trail from the ATT to South Street). We are evaluating proposals for grading and paving and expect to have the contractor work completed by mid-May.

With the much increased use of the Chatham section, TRTC, numerous users and some nearby property owners have contacted NCDOT and staff from Cary to express their concerns about the dangers at trail crossings and for users parking and unparking cars near these crossings. In an effort to provide safe and effective at-grade crossings along the trail, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, the Wake County Board of Commissioners, and the Town of Cary Town Council have passed resolutions asking NCDOT to perform in-depth safety evaluations of each crossing in Wake and Chatham.

Please pay particular care and attention when crossing O'Kelly Chapel Road, particularly if you have children, dogs or horses. Due to the speed of traffic and the limited sight lines, O'Kelly Chapel is arguably the most dangerous road crossing along the trail.

On February 28, over 20 members of the Psi Upsilon fraternity at Duke University came out for a second pass at removing the old appliances and trash from the woods adjacent to the new Phase E section of the ATT near Massey Chapel Road. Their initial ATT workday on January 24th produced a similar haul. We estimate that the group's efforts have removed about 90% of the trash from this area. The attached image shows the group and the latest pile. We also want to thank the Impact Team from the City of Durham who efficiently pick up these large hauls to keep the roadside looking nice.