Chapel Hill, Carrboro lauded for green living

Chapel Hill and Carrboro will be rewarded for being green.

At the end of the month, the N.C. League of Municipalities will recognize the towns for meeting the goals of its Green Challenge.

The challenge awards points to towns which submit their environmentally friendly programs to the league for review.

Both will receive Advanced Level recognition, the highest possible designation. About 40 cities will receive either intermediate or advanced recognition this year.

Efforts toward a more sustainable community continue. At the Board of Aldermen meeting tonight, environmental awareness group N.C. Powerdown Triangle Peak Oil will evaluate Carrboro’s long-term sustainability plan.

Town officials listed several initiatives they said helped earn them Green Challenge recognition:

Fare-Free Transit

Local fare-free transit is a combined effort by Chapel Hill, Carrboro and UNC to pay the cost of transit and encourage people to use it instead of personal vehicles.

“Fare-free transit is a very distinctive, uncommon type of program,” said Margot Christensen, League of Municipalities spokeswoman. “It reduces the number of cars on the road and lowers the pollution and environmental impacts from traffic congestion.”

Green Fleet

Chapel Hill purchases fuel-efficient vehicles for government use through its Green Fleets policy.

The town also buys vehicles that can use alternative fuels like biodiesel or natural gas, said Chapel Hill sustainability officer John Richardson.

Tree Preservation

Both towns have ordinances and a budget in place for tree protection, preservation and planting, town officials said.

Each town has also been named a “Tree City USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation.

Lighting

The two towns both earned points for their lighting policies — Carrboro for its energy-saving Dark Sky lighting ordinance and Chapel Hill for LED street lighting which runs along the 100 block of East Franklin Street.

“We’re trying to focus more on conserving energy and exploring ways to lower energy consumption,” Richardson said.

Waste Management

Both Chapel Hill and Carrboro work on communitywide curbside recycling and waste management.

Their policies well exceed state requirements, said Carrboro planning administrator Patricia McGuire.

“Believe it or not, not all municipalities have that,” Richardson said.

Christensen said both towns are well-deserving of the recognition.

“Chapel Hill and Carrboro are both cities who are very active in looking for ways to save both money and energy at the same time,” she said. “They both set very fine examples.”



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