Chapel Hill and Carrboro Bicycle Stores are open during the Stay-at-Home time period.  Bicycles are essential for many, in order to get to essential jobs as well as for getting in daily exercise.  Shop owners are offering curbside service while reminding everyone to stay at least 6 – 10 feet apart during interactions and while cycling.

For hours and service contact the stores.  Services could be limited during this time.  Information can be found at each store’s website following.

The Bicycle Chain – Chapel Hill

Back Alley Bikes – Carrboro

The Clean Machine – Carrboro

PARcycles – Carrboro

Bolin Creek Trail between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Bolinwood Drive will be temporarily closed while soil and vegetation that contain coal ash deposits are removed.

In January 2020, construction resumed for completing the missing 500-foot section of the Bolin Creek trail connector east of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The trail construction has advanced to one of the final elements to be completed. This step includes the removal of soil and low-lying vegetation which contains coal ash deposits. The Town and environmental engineer Hart & Hickman anticipated this as part of this project.

In order to maintain safety for trail users, the Town is temporarily closing a portion of the Bolin Creek trail, located between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Bolinwood Drive (see image below). We will ask trail users to take an alternate route to safely detour the work site, using Bolinwood Drive and Hillsborough Street to walk around the closure.

In an effort to protect trees and their roots, we asked our contractor to use a piece of equipment called a vacuum excavator to carefully remove the soil with coal ash deposits. Our goal was to try and save as many large trees as possible. Upon removing the soil, we have discovered a significant amount of coal ash that is deeply embedded within the shallow roots of a number of trees. In order to take away the coal ash deposits from these areas, we will be removing 12 trees and replacing them in the fall when planting conditions are better.

We ask for the community’s help in staying out of the construction area until the remediation is complete. Assuming good weather and no unforeseen delays, we anticipate reopening this segment of the trail in May.

Town of Chapel Hill                                  April 9, 2020

Please take a few minutes to complete a quick survey regarding the NC Trails system.  If you have not been on trails, remember, that for now, it is best to practice the Stay at Home order. 

Thank you for taking the surveys.

NCDOT Survey on NC Trails:  https://www.ncdot.gov/divisions/bike-ped/great-trails-state/Pages/great-trails-survey.aspx

NCDOT Interactive Map Survey:  https://ncgreattrails.altaplanning.cloud/#/

Chapel Hill Transit continues to run Saturday routes and schedules during the Orange County stay at home order. EZ-Rider will offer premium service on Easter Sunday and construction activities will close the bus stop at N. Columbia Street at Rosemary Street.

Chapel Hill Transit maintains modified Routes and Schedules (similar to routes and schedules normally operated on Saturdays) during Orange County’s and the Town of Chapel Hill’s Stay at Home Declaration

The towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro joined Orange County in a Stay at Home Declaration beginning Friday at 6 p.m. in an effort to significantly reduce the spread of the coronavirus. During this declaration, Chapel Hill Transit will maintain modified routes and schedules routes and schedules (similar to normal Saturday operations) including Saturday routes CM, CW, D, FG, JN, T and V.

“Our team members are still hard at work during this pandemic,” said Brian Litchfield, transit director. “We are maintaining this service for customers that must travel to work or for essential needs such as food and supplies. We encourage all other community members to stay home & safe.”

The Stay at Home Declaration beginning at 6 p.m. Friday, March 27 will extend through 5 p.m. Thursday, April 30.

“This order is an unprecedented but necessary step for our community as we all work together to stop the further spread of this dangerous virus,” said Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger. “Our residents always rise to the occasion during challenging times, and we are confident they will again as we face this global health crisis.”

Under the Town’s order, all residents of the Town of Chapel Hill are to remain at home unless you are:

• Going to the doctor or vet (call first to see if you need to be seen or it can wait)
• Grocery shopping for yourself or others (limit to one trip per week or less if possible)
• Going to the pharmacy
• Exercising outdoors (like walking, running, or bicycling, or using greenways and trails; stay at least 6 feet away from the next person)
• Picking up takeout food or using the drive-thru (you can also order delivery)
• Caring for a friend or family member
• Obtaining necessary supplies or services
• Performing permitted business functions

While the stay at home order is in place:

• DO NOT go to work unless you are providing essential services
• Essential services are outlined in Section E Subsection 2 of the order
• DO NOT visit friends and family unless it is urgent
• DO NOT gather in groups in public places
• DO NOT visit people in the hospital, nursing home, or other care facilities
• DO NOT travel, unless essential

The complete text of the County’s Order and the Town’s Order adopting it are available at townofchapelhill.org/coronavirus

Chapel Hill Transit service changes on Good Friday and Easter Sunday

Chapel Hill Transit, will continue running Saturday routes and schedules, except for the weekend NU and U routes, on Good Friday, April 10. EZ Rider’s current service will not change on Good Friday.

On Easter Sunday, April 12, Chapel Hill Transit will not run any routes. EZ Rider will provide premium service, by reservation only.

1. Columbia Street and Rosemary Street bus stop closed for construction activities, beginning Tuesday, March 31

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NC-DOT) plans to repair the curb and pothole at the northbound bus stop on S. Columbia Street between Rosemary and Franklin streets. The stop will be closed during construction planned to begin, Tuesday, March 31 through Friday, April 3, weather permitting.

This closure will impact the Saturday JN and T routes going northbound. Chapel Hill Transit customers will need to use the next closest stop to board the bus.

For the Saturday JN route, the closest stops are:

• S. Columbia Street at Abernethy Hall and
• Rosemary Street at Pritchard Avenue

For Saturday T route, the closest stops are:

• S. Columbia Street at Abernethy Hall and
• Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. at North Street

Transit agencies trimming service to match ridership needs, further reduce COVID-19 risks

Research Triangle Park, NC (March 27, 2020) – Because many people use multiple bus routes to get around the Triangle, the area’s public transit agencies are working together to cut down on unnecessary trips and reduce risks to customers and bus operators even further as more riders shelter at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Only essential trips should be made on transit now for those needing to get to health care and other critical sector jobs and to access necessities such as food and medical care.

Providing transportation during the pandemic is an essential public service, and each agency is committed to maintaining access for those with jobs at hospitals, senior living facilities, grocery stores, take-out restaurants, gas stations and other locations critical to sustaining society and keeping the public safe.

Starting Monday, March 30:

• GoTriangle will move to Saturday-level service Monday through Friday and Sunday-level service on the weekends. Please find those schedules here. For GoTriangle, this means the agency’s core routes will maintain 30-minute frequencies during the week and go to hourly on the weekends. Also Monday, GoTriangle will suspend service on the WRX, FRX and ZWX.
• GoCary will move to Sunday-level service every day, but add trips to increase the service span from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Please find more information here.
• GoDurham, which already suspended all service after 9:30 p.m., will reduce frequencies Monday through Saturday on Routes 4, 7, 10B and 20 and suspend service on Route 5K. Please find a list of those reductions here.
• Chapel Hill Transit has been running Saturday-level service since March 19 and remains free to the public.
• GoRaleigh plans to move to a weekend schedule with a few exceptions. Routes serving hospitals and other essential facilities (Route 2 Falls of Neuse, Route 4 Rex, Route 15 WakeMed, Route 19 Apollo Heights) will continue to operate with weekday frequencies. Please check goraleigh.org for more information.
• GoWake Access will be available to provide trips for essential activities between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. in areas where GoRaleigh, GoCary and GoTriangle are not operating in Wake County. GoWake Access will waive all fares for riders through April 30. Reservations must be made Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. and 24 hours in advance of the needed trip. To reserve a trip, please contact GoWake Access Transportation at 919-212-7005.

Given the uncertainty each day brings, transit customers should sign up to receive service alerts based on the routes they use primarily. Sign up for any agency’s alerts at bit.ly/triservicealerts.

All agencies have suspended fares (Chapel Hill Transit is always free) and instituted rear-boarding only except for those with ADA needs to reduce risks for our bus operators. Anyone riding public transit in the face of the shelter-in-place declarations in Wake County, Orange County and the City of Durham should do so only for essential travel as defined by those entities.

Each agency is monitoring ridership on each route and may adjust plans accordingly. Please check bit.ly/gotrianglecovid19 for updates.

As always, please call our Regional Information Center at 919-485-7433 if you have any questions.

Information also is available on Twitter (@goraleighnc, @gotriangle, @godurhamtransit, @chtransit and @waketransit) and on Facebook (@gotriangle, @goraleighnc, @chtransit and @godurhamtransit).