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In the 1970s and 80s, Fayetteville’s Rowan Street Park was a popular family gathering place for picnics, recreation and outdoor concerts. It won’t be long before the park will regain its long-lost popularity — but for an altogether new reason. A glance at the park from West Rowan Street or Woodside Avenue. reveals a major construction project. City Council decided over the summer to build a skateboard park where the natural amphitheater used to be. Voters approved a $35 million parks and recreation bond referendum in 2016 and about $1 million of it is for this park. A preliminary sketch indicates it will have a concrete bowl for skaters to ride rapidly up and down to do tricks. There also is to be a large “street skate” area with ramps and fixtures to simulate skateboarding on public streets. The park will have a concession area and restroom facilities and viewing stands. Team Pain Skate Park Design & Construction of Winter Springs, Florida, is building the park. Combatting roadway deaths
The North Carolina Governor’s Highway Safety Program has awarded more than $18 million in grants to keep travelers safe on N.C. roads. “Reducing the number of traffic deaths and serious injuries is a top priority,” said Mark Ezzell, director of the Governor’s Highway Safety Program. Ninety-seven community-based grants will be allocated during the federal fiscal year from October
2019 to September 2020. The grants will address drunk driving, speeding and seat belt usage — the leading causes of traffic deaths and injuries. The grants will be used to train prosecutors and law enforcement officers and will continue support for DWI treatment courts in Cumberland, Robeson and Buncombe counties. More than $3 million is allocated to expand blood-alcohol testing, toxicology and field sobriety testing training. About $8.7 million — the largest share of the grant funding — will aim to reduce drunk driving. About 30% of the state’s traffic deaths each year involve drunk drivers. A complete list of grant recipients is available online at www.ncghsp.gov.New Spring Lake fire station
The town of Spring Lake broke ground last week on Spring Lake Fire Department’s new Station 11. It will serve the northside of town at 2355 Lillington Highway/N.C. Highway 210. It will be the second firehouse for the department and will also serve the former Manchester Fire District in an adjoining unincorporated area of Cumberland County. The Manchester Fire Department was dissolved approximately 20 years ago. Cumberland County provides funding and contracts with the Town of Spring Lake to provide fire service in the Manchester Fire District.
UNC Pembroke street updateA major reconstruction of the main gateway to the UNC Pembroke campus is open to traffic and pedestrians. The N.C. Department of Transportation spent $5 million overhauling a mile of North Odom Street/Prospect Road off West Third Street. The improvements make the roadway safer and more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly. A median, two roundabouts and sidewalks were built. Bike lanes and 12 crosswalks were added. The roundabouts improve safety by slowing traffic and providing a U-turn location. The wide, grassy median replaced an open center turn lane. It provides a refuge for pedestrians when crossing the roadway. “With so many of our students, faculty and staff crossing Prospect Road throughout the day, this was a much-needed project on our campus,” said University Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings. “We are so thankful to the Department of Transportation for their efforts to help us increase the safety on our campus as we accommodate and continue the growth we are experiencing.”
The orange barrels will be removed after a few remaining touch-up items are completed.
PWC solar weatherization projectThe N.C. Weatherization Assistance Program has awarded grant funds of $128,000 to three organizations that provide community solar resources for qualified low-income residents. NCWAP will provide $3,200 per home to Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission, Roanoke Electric Cooperative and Blue Ridge Energy for a pilot program covering a total of 40 homes. The funding allows NCWAP clients to participate in the community solar programs of these electric utilities.
“This is an innovative approach that allows low-income households to support and participate in a clean energy resource that would otherwise be inaccessible,” said Secretary Michael S. Regan of the Department of Environmental Quality.
NCWAP will also provide weatherization services to these single-family households. Services can include energy-related health and safety issues like duct sealing, insulation, air sealing, lighting upgrades and refrigerator/heating/cooling system evaluations. PWC will use its funding to support the participation of 10 eligible households in its Community Solar Weatherization Pilot project. Target benefits of the community solar pilot program will be approximately $365 per year per eligible household for no less than 15 years.
