Update on the Duraleigh Connector

by Kate Dixon, TLC Executive Director
(from TLC News, Fall 1996)

I am writing to keep you informed of the plans the NC Department of Transportation has for constructing a road, the Duraleigh Connector, through a property TLC donated to the state for addition to Umstead State Park. Although the Council of State voted to accept this land from TLC before the road became a priority project, the State Property Office, under pressure from NCDOT, has not recorded the deed and claims that the state does not own the land. This road was a major issue in the primary elections in Raleigh, and an incumbent state senator who was a strong supporter of the road lost his bid for re-election.

Several days after the election, Governor Hunt visited the property TLC had donated with a number of conservation leaders. He asked many good questions about the impact the road would have on Umstead Park and NCSU’s Schenck Forest and on Richland Creek which flows between them. We told him about transportation alternatives that we could support. Finally, he asked the NC Division of Parks and Recreation to prepare recommendations about what land could be acquired for the park to connect it directly to Schenck Forest.

The Governor told us that he would not decide whether to support the road until he had seen NCDOT’s Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for the project. Because NCDOT had been pushing back its release date for the EIS, the Governor promised to strongly urge them to complete it within a month. More than three months after that meeting the EIS has still not been released, and the Governor has taken no further action. The State Property Office has still not recorded the deed for TLC’s land donation to the park.

TLC has been hard at work, however, completing a conservation plan for the Richland Creek corridor between Umstead Park and Schenk Forest. We started work on this plan in 1993, when the road was not an issue, with funding from the World Wildlife Fund, the Woodson Family Foundation, the Junior League of Raleigh, and a number of other donors. Volunteer biologists have conducted a detailed inventory of the plants and wildlife that inhabit this corridor, and a steering committee of landowners and concerned citizens have helped us craft a vision for how wildlife habitat, water quality, and hiking opportunities can be protected and enhanced in this beautiful area. TLC will release the plan publicly in the near future.

In order to raise funds to help protect the park, the Umstead Coalition is sponsoring the second annual Umstead Festival on September 21 and 22. The festival is held on a beautiful property between the park and Richland Lake which would be severed by the Duraleigh Connector. Great music, hiking, and educational activities are planned. We hope you’ll come out for a good time and to show your support for the park.

The primary elections made it clear to the Governor and other elected officials that people in this area care deeply about Umstead Park. As the election season heats up again, they will be particularly attuned to voters’ concerns. Your letters and calls—particularly to the Governor—are still needed to ensure that our state parks are treated with all the care and respect they deserve. Please continue to write or call the Governor and let him know your opinion about the Duraleigh Connector and your concern for Umstead Park.