Information Items:
At Monday's dinner meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Burgess raised a citizen's concern for accessibility to and from the Foxcroft and Olde Foxcroft neighborhoods during this event.
The sixth annual SouthPark Racefest Half Marathon will be held this Saturday, April 14. The event also offers a 10K and a 5K using most of the same streets. Expected attendance is 2000 runners for the three events cumulatively. The ½ marathon will start at 8 am on Barclay Downs between Carnegie and Morrison and continue through the South Park, Olde Foxcroft, Foxcroft and Myers Park neighborhoods before concluding on Morrison. The route map is attached. Other than subtle adjustments of the start and finish lines, the route is unchanged from previous years. This event has not presented any noticeable accessibility issues or citizen complaints during recent years. The route is constructed to allow accessibility from alternate points when participants are present. The Foxcroft neighborhoods are in the middle of the 13.1 mile route allowing police to work traffic through the gaps between participants.
Events of this magnitude cause inherent inconveniences to the affected and adjacent neighborhoods. Preparation for this event began during a Special Events Application Review performed by City events staff that was requested by City Council last year. A number of recommendations regarding event frequency, planning and communication were discussed by the Council Public Safety Committee and later adopted by the Council on July 24, 2006.
The cornerstone of the changes is a multifaceted communications program to alert the public of pending events. After implementation of this program during the Thunder Road Marathon last December, less than 8 complaints in total were fielded by 311, 911, CMPD, CDOT, and the City Manager's Office.
All affected neighborhood associations and businesses have been briefed on the expected impact of Saturday's race. The event was featured in the Street Use Notice and has been distributed to the homeowners associations and interested individuals. Information on the event will be broadcast on the Government Channel. Race delay signs have been posted along the route. Also, the Geo-Notify System will be used to provide telephone notification to individual households during the afternoon and evening on Thursday, April 12 and Friday, April 13.
Mayor Pat McCrory, Chief Darrel Stephens, and Ruth Perez, of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, will join community leaders and representatives of the Colgate-Palmolive P.O.W.E.R. program for the 2007 kick-off of the Mayor's Youth Employment Program. In addition to remarks from students and guest speakers, the program will be presented a check for $10,000.00 by Colgate-Palmolive, which will be used to provide matching funds for local businesses interested in employing a youth participant in a summer internship. The event will be held Monday, April 16 at 9:00 am at The Performance Learning Center, 1400 North Graham Street. Council members are invited to attend.
Customer Questions about Wastewater Plant Construction
Staff Resource: Doug Bean, 704-391-5070 - dbean@ci.charlotte.nc.usCity Council was recently copied on a March 29 letter from Mr. Yevgeny (Evan) Frolov. Mr. Frolov is the president of the Homeowner's Association at the Village on the Park and has signed up to speak at the April 23 Council meeting. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities is using part of the condominium's private road (Cranford Drive) to access Briar Creek for improvements underway at the Sugar Creek Pump Station Project. The easement will also be needed for future work on the Briar Creek Relief Sewer Project. Mr. Frolov's concerns are that the contractor and/or subcontractors are operating outside the construction easement. He was also concerned about unidentified vehicles being parked along the private road, and dirt and gravel left by the construction vehicles.
Utilities staff met with Mr. Frolov on March 15 and again on April 4. The contractor has cleaned the area and reminded his staff and subcontractors to stay only on the easements. The contractor will also take additional steps to monitor and limit construction traffic on this road. Utilities will repave any damaged sections of the private road in the construction and existing sewer easement. This will occur after both projects are complete and with the input of the Homeowner's Association at the Village on the Park.
