New Year, New Greenway

My husband and I celebrated the new year yesterday afternoon with a walk along the city's newest greenway, joining many other locals enjoying the 2.3 mile Middle Crabtree Trail from Kiwanis Park near Wake Forest Road east along Crabtree Creek to Raleigh Boulevard.

The new section links the half-mile Fallon Creek Trail between Kiwanis Park and Oxford Road with the 2.5 mile Buckeye Trail between Raleigh Boulevard and Miburnie Road. Besides enhancing recreational opportunities, the new trail gives us residents of the Five Points area and the new developments along Atlantic Avenue an off-road route to the Wake Forest Road-Six Forks Road commercial corridor. Now when we need something from Kroger or Borders, we can leave the cars parked and ride bikes instead.



Work on the section is not quite complete. Finishing touches are still being put on the elevated wooden walkway west of Capital Boulevard (above).



The section under Atlantic Avenue remains a muddy, incomplete mess.



But the trail is generally passable, and the impressively long boardwalk and overlook in the swamp near Raleigh Boulevard is finished.

Here are some other photos I took during our walk:



Imagine riding a bike or walking to a night out at the Longbranch - the new greenway makes it possible.



The trail offers protected passages under elevated train tracks.



The creek is muddy and polluted, but it's still home to wildlife, including these two turtles on the end of the log.



Signs of beaver activity abound.



Can you spot the kingfisher? Look closely at the top of the dead tree in the center of the photo, about a third of the way up from the bottom.



It's a shame city planners allow commercial enterprises like this car dealership on Wake Forest Road to build so close to the water's edge. The toxic runoff from paved lots degrades the banks and pollutes the stream - one reason why Crabtree Creek is listed among the state's impaired waters.

My hope is that by giving Raleigh residents a new view of Crabtree Creek, the greenway will make us more sensitive to what we're doing to the waters in our midst.

Click here for a PDF map of the greenway system.