Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM 26 UCW SEPTEMBER 4-10, 2019 Hope Mills News & Views Meetings For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Town Clerk Jane Starling at 910-426-4113. Most meetings take place at Town Hall or the Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Center. • Board of Commissioners, Monday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m., Town Hall, Luther Board Room. • Festival Committee, Monday, Sept. 9, 6 p.m., Town Hall, Front Confer- ence Room. • Historic Preservation Commission, Wednesday, Sept. 11, Parks and Recreation Center. • Lake Advisory Committee, Tuesday, Sept. 17, Parks and Recreation Center. • Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, Monday, Sept. 23, Luther Board Room, Town Hall. • Appearance Commission, Tuesday, Sept. 24, Parks and Recreation Center. • Veterans Affairs Committee, Thursday, Sept. 26, Parks and Recreation Center. Events • Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo, Thursday, Sept. 5, 5 p.m.-8 p.m., Munici- pal Complex. • Good 2 Grow Farmers Market, Saturday, Sept. 7, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., between Town Hall and Parks and Recreation Building. Activities • Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Club at Sammio's, second Tuesdays at noon and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For details, call 910-237-1240. • Hope Mills Parks and Recreation Senior programs at Parks and Recre- ation Center. Senior programs are for those ages 55 and up who are resi- dents of Cumberland County. Various activities, especially Zumba classes, are scheduled Monday through Sunday throughout the day. For details on times and days, check the schedule at townofhopemills.com. You can call the recreation center at 910-426-4109 or e-mail Kasey Ivey at kivey@townof - hopemills.com. Promote yourself : Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. CALENDAR NEWS Hope Mills to keep sprouting downtown sidewalks by EARL VAUGHAN JR. EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff Writer. COMMENTS? EarlUCWS- ports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. The goal of making the town of Hope Mills more accessible to pedestrian traf- fic by adding sidewalks came a step closer to reality recently as the town was awarded anoth- er grant from the Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization. "We typi- cally get a grant every year through them called the transportation alternatives grant,'' said Chancer McLaughlin, development and planning administrator for the town. Work is already underway on sidewalks in the area of Rockfish Road near the town's municipal complex. The new grant, which is $445,540, will extend sidewalks the length of Main Street starting at the intersection of Johnson Street/Fountain Lane and Main Street down to the intersection of Trade Street with Lakeview Road and Main Street. The grant covers 80% of the sidewalk cost with the town providing the other 20%. There are existing sidewalks on the side of Main Street closest to the lake, but on the oppo- site side they stop at Johnson Street just past the railroad trestle. In addition to the new sidewalks, the grant money will help cover the cost of adding a new crosswalk about halfway between the two intersections as well as enhancing the existing crosswalk at the Trade and Main intersection. McLaughlin said the new crosswalk will be a so-called raised mid-block structure made of brick. The existing crosswalk will be modified in a similar matter. He described it as a "traffic-calming" struc- ture, similar to a speed bump, but a little more decorative with brick construction material. The ultimate goal of the new sidewalks is to follow the guidance of the Southwest Cumberland Land Use Plan, which has specific suggestions for adding sidewalks in the Hope Mills area. McLaughlin said this will continue the aim of con- necting the Town Hall and Municipal Park area on Rockfish Road with the restored Hope Mills Lake on Main Street to make it a pedes- trian-friendly zone. The long- term goal once all the sidewalks are completed is to give those people who are interested and able the ability to conveniently walk from the municipal complex to the lake, thus hopefully decreasing the need for cars in what is already a highly congested area. "There is not much public parking at the lake, so we are trying to create a better balance between vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic while keeping it safe,'' McLaughlin said. While work continues on the Rockfish Road sidewalk and is yet to begin along Main Street, McLaughlin said it's too early to establish a definite timetable on when the entire project will be finished. Raised crosswalks, similar to this one, will be added on Main Street but will be constructed with brick to be more decorative. The stretch of Main Street opposite Hope Mills Lake where side- walks will be extended