New Hope Creek Corridor Advisory Committee

Dry Creek From New Hope Creek to Erwin Road

(Component 5 of New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan)

Map · Photos · Description & Special Features · In the News · Master Plan Text

The Committee submitted comments on the Patterson Place development proposal, which would have affected Components 2, 4 and 5 of the New Hope Creek corridor. The proposal was rejected by the Durham Planning Commission on April 9, 2019. More information available on City of Durham website here. Committee comments: Oct. 2018, Nov. 2018, Feb. 2019, April 2019 and May 2019.

Photos

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Description and Special Features

In the News

Links to news stories:

Text from 1991 New Hope Corridor Open Space Master Plan

Existing Land Use & Ownership

Large, privately-owned agricultural tracts between Mt. Moriah Road and Interstate 40
Eastowne Office Park

Future Land Use

The potential for development in the Mt. Moriah Road/Erwin Road vicinity is very high. Permitted development is controlled by the Chapel Hill zoning ordinance and the area is zoned R-1 and rural transition (RT). Major Transportation Corridor Restrictions on development apply along the north (Orange County) side of Interstate 40.

Significant Resources

In this component, two vegetation sites were identified by Harrison (Appendix E of the Master Plan), one of which also was described in the Orange County Inventory.

Presently, the large amount of fill on the Interstate 40 roadbed precludes creating a connection from east to west along Dry Creek, a condition that will continue until Interstate 40 is widened or modified in a way that offers the opportunity to build an acceptable pedestrian underpass.

At present, Interstate 40 can be crossed only at the bridge at Erwin Road. A trail and underpass as described in this component would provide a connecting link between the Chapel Hill and Durham greenway systems.

Recommendations for Protection & Use

Obtain a pedestrian easement within the 1250-foot-wide Major Transportation Corridor Overlay Zone for a path along the northeast side of Interstate 40.
Acquire the area of uplands immediately southwest of the Erwin Road/Interstate 40 overpass to use as an open space anchor (Area E-4).
Acquire floodplain lands along both sides of Dry Creek to use as a wildlife habitat area.
Develop a bicycle and pedestrian trail between the greenway trail systems of Durham and Chapel Hill utilizing the Erwin Road overpass and, in the event that future plans permit, employing a pedestrian underpass at Dry Creek (going under Interstate 40).