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The Daily Tar Heel

Letter: Protect the Bolin Creek in Carrboro

TO THE EDITOR:

When I saw the Bolin Creek documentary (featured in your Jan. 23 article) at the ArtsCenter, I was floored.

How often do we hear of a project that doesn’t make sense, but then don’t speak up?

By raising many crucial issues, filmmaker Charlie Morris has done local nature lovers a favor! After this film finished its premiere, the near sell-out audience gave it prolonged applause.

Here are some numbers for the debate over this plan to pave a road for road bikes through these woods:

Of its ultimate 4.8 mile length, there will be 1.7 miles through the Bolin woods we love between Homestead and Estes.

This will pave an area nearly as large as two football fields; the treeless cleared minimum 30-foot width will be over 6 acres. Is this construction really a “green” way? Mountain bikes are already doing fine here!

Orange County has sacrificed sales tax revenue by standing up to developers who want to put parking lots next to creeks. After our local governments disapproved, the two closest Wal-Marts ended up just over our county lines in opposite directions.

Now our own Carrboro town government is paradoxically considering putting much of this pavement close to this beautiful creek. The continuing run-off of chemicals from the asphalt into the creek will endanger wildlife, especially delicate amphibians.

Concerned readers can sign the petition at http://bolincreek.org/blog/. Better yet, watch this documentary yourself at one of the upcoming showings announced in the article!

Bob Proctor

Professor

Mathematics

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