Council approves soccer park plans

Every area child who loves playing soccer can look forward to lots of new space in the future.

The Chapel Hill Town Council passed three resolutions unanimously Monday night, bringing construction for Southern Community Park closer to reality.

The 72-acre park, located adjacent to the Southern Village and Dogwood Acre developments off U.S. 15-501 South, will cost about $3.7 million to complete. Council members will use about $2.8 million from county parks bonds.

The council decided to designate a first phase of park development, to amend the park’s special-use permit application to add 60 parking spaces and to continue the permit review to May 9.

“We’re looking at our policy goals versus a reality check,” said council member Sally Greene.

Park plans originally allotted only 65 parking spaces.

But community needs, particularly those involving the three proposed soccer fields at the park, might influence the council to add the 60 spaces.

“We want to provide as much parking as possible with the least expense,” said Bill Webster, assistant director of the town’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Parking is a central issue in park planning because soccer teams from all over Chapel Hill will be using the fields at the same time.

Webster said children won’t take a bus to the park. They will be picked up and driven to the fields.

“People are going to park on the street to get to the fields,” said council member Bill Strom. “To me, this (resolution) is putting parking where it’s needed.”

But Coleman Day, a resident who lives 100 yards from the site of the proposed parking lots, said the council should not vote to expand parking spaces. “Sixty-five is more than adequate,” he said. “The limited number could encourage them to walk.”

Day said the Scroggs Elementary School parking lot, only minutes away from the park, should provide adequate space to park visitors.

Money available after design and preconstruction costs totals about $2.5 million — $900,000 less than what is now required to build the entire park at one time.

The shortfall has caused parks department officials to ask that the park be built in phases.

The first phase of the plan would use the existing construction budget of about $2.2 million.

Phase one would see the construction of all essential elements at the park, including the parking lot, sewer and water extensions, restrooms, sidewalks and the soccer fields, among other fixtures.

The soccer fields would not come with light options during this phase because of the funding crunch.

“We have great sympathy for folks who want the lights,” Webster said. “It’s a dollars issue.”

Eventually, having lights at the park would help alleviate the problem of having many teams at the fields at the same time by allowing the fields to be open later, which also would reduce stress on parking lots.

 

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