Up & Coming Weekly

October 22, 2019

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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10 UCW OCTOBER 23-29, 2019 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM In the 1970s and 80s, Fayetteville's Rowan Street Park was a popular family gathering place for pic- nics, recreation and outdoor concerts. It won't be long before the park will regain its long-lost popu- larity — but for an altogether new reason. A glance at the park from West Rowan Street or Woodside Avenue. reveals a major construction project. City Council decided over the summer to build a skate- board park where the natural amphitheater used to be. Voters approved a $35 million parks and recreation bond referendum in 2016 and about $1 million of it is for this park. A preliminary sketch indicates it will have a concrete bowl for skaters to ride rapidly up and down to do tricks. ere also is to be a large "street skate" area with ramps and fix- tures to simulate skateboarding on public streets. e park will have a concession area and restroom facilities and viewing stands. Team Pain Skate Park Design & Construction of Winter Springs, Florida, is building the park. Combatting roadway deaths e North Carolina Governor's Highway Safety Program has awarded more than $18 million in grants to keep travelers safe on N.C. roads. "Re- ducing the number of traffic deaths and serious injuries is a top priority," said Mark Ezzell, direc- tor of the Governor's Highway Safety Program. Ninety-seven community-based grants will be al- located during the federal fiscal year from October 2019 to September 2020. e grants will address drunk driving, speeding and seat belt usage — the leading causes of traffic deaths and injuries. e grants will be used to train prosecutors and law enforcement officers and will continue support for DWI treatment courts in Cumberland, Robeson and Buncombe counties. More than $3 million is allocated to expand blood-alcohol testing, toxicol- ogy and field sobriety testing training. About $8.7 million — the largest share of the grant funding — will aim to reduce drunk driving. About 30% of the state's traffic deaths each year involve drunk driv- ers. A complete list of grant recipients is available online at www.ncghsp.gov. New Spring Lake fire station The town of Spring Lake broke ground last week on Spring Lake Fire Department's new Station 11. It will serve the northside of town at 2355 Lillington Highway/N.C. Highway 210. It will be the second firehouse for the department and will also serve the former Manchester Fire District in an adjoining unincorporated area of Cumberland County. The Manchester Fire De- partment was dissolved approximately 20 years ago. Cumberland County provides funding and contracts with the Town of Spring Lake to pro- vide fire service in the Manchester Fire District. UNC Pembroke street update A major reconstruction of the main gateway to the UNC Pembroke campus is open to traffic and pedestrians. e N.C. Department of Transporta- tion spent $5 million overhauling a mile of North Odom Street/Prospect Road off West ird Street. e improvements make the roadway safer and more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly. A median, two roundabouts and sidewalks were built. Bike lanes and 12 crosswalks were added. e round- abouts improve safety by slowing traffic and pro- viding a U-turn location. e wide, grassy median replaced an open center turn lane. It provides a refuge for pedestrians when crossing the road- way. "With so many of our students, faculty and staff crossing Prospect Road throughout the day, this was a much-needed project on our campus," said University Chancellor Robin Gary Cum- mings. "We are so thankful to the Department of Transportation for their efforts to help us increase the safety on our campus as we accommodate and continue the growth we are experiencing." e orange barrels will be removed after a few remaining touch-up items are completed. PWC solar weatherization project e N.C. Weatherization Assistance Program has awarded grant funds of $128,000 to three organizations that provide community solar resources for qualified low-income residents. NCWAP will provide $3,200 per home to Fay- etteville's Public Works Commission, Roanoke Electric Cooperative and Blue Ridge Energy for a pilot program covering a total of 40 homes. e funding allows NCWAP clients to participate in the community solar programs of these electric utilities. "is is an innovative approach that allows low- income households to support and participate in a clean energy resource that would otherwise be inaccessible," said Secretary Michael S. Regan of the Department of Environmental Quality. NCWAP will also provide weatherization ser- vices to these single-family households. Services can include energy-related health and safety issues like duct sealing, insulation, air sealing, lighting upgrades and refrigerator/heating/cool- ing system evaluations. PWC will use its funding to support the participation of 10 eligible house- holds in its Community Solar Weatherization Pi- lot project. Target benefits of the community solar pilot program will be approximately $365 per year per eligible household for no less than 15 years. Rowan Park revitalization by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS DIGEST JEFF THOMPSON, Reporter. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.

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