On November 22, three members of our Board braved on and off rain to cut and clear over a dozen fallen trees and trim back numerous other trees near the trail. This popular 2.2 mile trail is south of Stage Coach Road in Durham and offers a very quiet experience ending at the edge of Jordan Lake. The Eagle Spur follows the original Durham to Duncan rail corridor that was in use until the mid-1960s when the corridor was re-routed to the east to allow the filling of Jordan Lake. TRTC has maintained this trail for over 15 years.UPDATE--February 14, 2016: Over the next few weeks TRTC will be doing trash clean-up and some work to remove small saplings that are making the trail less passable. After that has been done we will be installing replacements for 3 badly damaged culvert sections which cross the trail near its south end. Workdays on the Eagle Spur are tentatively planned for late February and in March to do these clean-ups and to bring the large culvert sections from Stagecoach Road to the lower part of the trail for installation during the Spring. We'll be letting folks know of these workday opportunities through emails via TRTC's Volunteer List. If you would like to be added to our Volunteers list email us at: info@triangletrails.org with a subject of "Subscribe Me to Volunteers List" .

UPDATE--February 23, 2016: We'll be doing a second workday at the Eagle Spur on Saturday February 27. Our tasks are to remove brush and small saplings to effectively widen the trail. Restoring this width will allow us to bring in three large drainage culverts by trailer later this year and to install them near the south end of the trail. Our plan is to meet at the Eagle Spur gate on Stagecoach Road in Durham at 9 am and to work until ~12:30 or 1 pm. If you are interested in helping us maintain and improve this very fine, rural trail please see the following file: Eagle Spur Email Those wishing to volunteer should contact Steve Lund at slund348@pobox.com by 6 pm Friday February 26th.

UPDATE--March 31, 2016: On March 26th we did a third workday. Because this midway section is especially overgrown our recent efforts only extended the widening/clearing about another .3 mile further south. We have ~ 1 more mile to clear and widen and will be holding another workday or two before the Summer heat sets in.

With sub-freezing nights coming very soon we shut off the water at Pittard Sears on 11/20 for the season. Re-opening should occur in late March after sub-freezing nights are out of the forecasts. Since we installed it in April 2013 water usage has increased each year and indicates that this has been a popular and well used service for trail users. From anecdotal reports we understand that a number of runners starting in Cary have structured their longer runs so as to use the fountain as a turn around point.

After over a year of discussions with staff from the Town of Cary and Chatham County, TRTC's advocacy efforts were accepted and yellow dashes marking the trail's center line were put down by our contractor today. Our goal for these dashes is to provide trail users with a gentle reminder to generally keep right and ride or walk no more than two abreast. We believe most users will appreciate these efforts to improve safety on the trail for all types of users.
Our Conservancy now has two vacancies on the Board and would welcome anyone interested in our group to attend our next Board meeting on December 7th. We'll be meeting at 7:30 at the Clubhouse in Woodcroft (very near the trail)

As additional action from the monitoring of trail users and vehicles done this past May, the District DOT staff has installed signs to remind motorists that they are obligated to yield to pedestrians. These are regulatory signs and motorists not yielding can be ticketed. We are exploring ways to get transportation improvement funding for user activated flashing signal lights for this crossing through Chatham County. Stay tuned, this may not be a quick process.
Mid-November Update: No success in finding resources for the lights this year. The project is now included in Chatham's planning process as an effort to be seriously considered for funding by the Chatham Commissioners in 2016.

This just in! The Independent Weekly reports this week on the recently published study of safety on the American Tobacco Trail. Click here to read the coverage in the Indy: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/does-the-american-tobacco-trail-unite-o...

Click here for the full report of findings: Durham Safety Study

Click here to read: Dave Connelly's response to the INDY article

Good News for trail users frequenting the ATT crossing at O'Kelly Chapel Road! Based on the 9 day monitoring of users crossing O'Kelly by volunteers with TRTC and vehicle speeds and numbers monitoring by DOT, DOT has installed 35 mph advisory signs for both directions. These are not legally enforceable limits, but these yellow advisory signs are very often effective in lowering the average speed of motorists passing through trail crossings. This is still a potentially dangerous crossing due to the limited sight lines by motorists and the enforceable limit of 50 mph. Users have suggested having blinking yellow lights installed at this crossing. We'll be exploring getting these as long term safety upgrades through the MPO planning process. July 21 Update: District 8 DOT has pulled together a study group to look at options for improved signage and other changes to improve safety at O'Kelly and similar road crossings. More on this as findings emerge.