Natural selection

Carrboro’s Greenway Commission should reconsider constructing a sizable sea of cement next to Bolin Creek.

Some Carrboro citizens petitioned against the construction of a 10-foot-wide paved path along Bolin Creek at the commission’s meeting Monday, June 21.

But citizens who favor the pathway were there too, arguing that it will open the creek to persons with disabilities.

The commission thus needs to strike a balance between affording equal access to disabled persons and the degradation of the natural landscape.

Extending mobile access to all citizens of the town is extremely important.

Disabled persons have every right to equal access to all community parks and greenways.

But people with disabilities have multiple options in the area: 10-foot-wide paved woodland trails exist in Southern Village, Lower Booker Creek Trail and Linear Park.

Bolin Creek itself features a 1.5-mile paved stretch in Chapel Hill, connecting Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Franklin Street.

Wheelchair users and parents with strollers already take advantage of this stretch for exercise, leisure and rehabilitation.

Mountain bikers ride Bolin Creek’s rugged paths for sport, joggers run the unrefined tracks to protect their knees and hikers wander the wooded trails for pleasure.

The issue is how much of Bolin Creek should remain natural.

With an ample 1.5-mile stretch already accessible, maintaining the creek’s natural ecosystem should be Carrboro’s priority.

The upheaval of trees and increased erosion and runoff are detrimental long-term side effects of the pathway. Soil runoff and habitat destruction ultimately depreciate the quality of the community.

With paved options already available, Carrboro should think twice before altering Bolin Creek’s terrain.