Presentation of Plan and LVM showing

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:34:44 -0400

Results of Second Public Meeting

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:37:02 -0400

The second public meeting of the Falls Whitewater Park was held last night by the City of Raleigh with the City and McLaughlin Whitewater making presentations. This public meeting followed a short meeting of the Steering Committee earlier in the day. About 30 people were in attendance at the meeting, about 20 of which were local paddlers. The presentation was folowed by public questions. From those apparently favoring the project: Questions about specific swiftwater rescue yeaching features, flow and diversion patterns and wave/hole characteristics. From those apparently opposing the project: Questions about cost, value and demographic use of the project and concerns about “illegal activity” along the river corridor and what the park facility would mean to those activities.

The current draft of the plan proposes 2-3 wave and/or hole features in the river-right channel. These would be best at flows (in THAT channel....not to be confused with net river flow) of 300-1000cfs. All 3 features would be downstream of the Falls of the Neuse Bridge and upstream of the current City canoe launch.

The island to the left side of the river-right channel would be extended using, probably, faux rock wit ha natural appearance to selectively divert water to the right (i.e. none at low flow, some and moderate flow, and little at high flow). Access to the features and the course would be from paths leading off of the city’s greenway trail. A large put-in area will likely be created under the new Falls of the Neuse Raod Bridge which will have its south landing moved southward considerably. A scan of the public handout from the meeting can be viewed here. We hope to update this file with the actual Powerpoint presentation made by McLaughlin in the near future.

There will be another public meeting Mid-October 2010 (TBA) with plans to complete design development drawings mid-November 2010.

Update: July 16: A copy of the entire Mclaughlin presentation from the meeting has been provided and can be viewed here.

Update # 2. July 20:A copy of the minutes from the public meeting can be viewed here.
A copy of the minutes from the earlier 7/14 steering committee meeting an be viewed here.

Second Public Meeting

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:24:01 -0400

Please join the City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation Dept, Stewart Engineering and McLaughlin Whitewater as they present an update on the Falls Whitewater Park feasibility study A Question and Answer session will follow the presentation.

FALLS WHITEWATER PARK COMMUNITY MEETING
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14th, 2010
7PM to 8:30PM
Campbell Lodge at Durant Nature Park
3237 Spottswood Drive, Raleigh, NC 27615

If you have any questions in advance of the meeting, please contact: Vic Lebsock at victor.lebsock@raleighnc,gov or 919-996-4786 or Cindy Szwarckop at cszwarckop@stewart-eng.com or 919-866-4823

Fourth Steering Committee Meeting

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:05:20 -0400

The fourth meeting of the (now) Falls of the Neuse Whitewater Park Steering Committee was held on April 12. Minutes of that meeting can be viewed here.

Third Steering Committee Meeting

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:19:24 -0500

The City’s Steering Committee held its third meeting on March 8. The minutes of that meeting can be accessed here.

The results of exercise of the Steering Committee at the meeting to prioritize design criteria for the project can be accessed here.

Second Steering Committee Meeting

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:41:39 -0500

The second meeting of the full project steering committee was held at the offices of Stewart Engineering in Raleigh on February 15, 2010. The minutes of that meeting are here. The Powerpoint presentation by Stewart Engineering and McLaughlin Whitewater presented at the meeting are here.

Minutes of First Steering Committee Meeting

Wed, 3 Feb 2010 09:08:16 -0500

The minutes of the first steering committee meeting and a PowerPoint presentation by McLaughlin Whitewater have been distributed. These files can be viewed at the following links:
Minutes
Presentation

Trail Groundbreaking

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:56:16 -0500

The Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department announced the groundbreaking ceremony for the Upper Neuse River Greenway trail. This trail will follow the path of the Neuse River along the corridor of the whitewater park and thus the two will be able to synergize efforts and benefits. The ceremony will be held at the Falls Lake Canoe Launch opposite Paddle Creek on Falls of the Neuse Road.

Neuse River Foundation Rescinds Support

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:19:56 -0500

The following message was emailed to the Falls Whitewater Park Committee on January 19, 2010:

“This was an issue supported by our former Riverkeeper and which I am concerned about supporting given the lack of solid plans and potential impact to the system – can you please remove our organization from the list of supporters until we can discuss further and I feel comfortable that both the health of the River and the interests of her citizens can be protected?

Thank you,
Alissa Bierma
Upper Neuse RIVERKEEPER®
Neuse RIVERKEEPER® Foundation
112 South Blount Street, Suite 103 Raleigh, NC 27601”

We have updated the previous notice of support with this information.

Steering Committee and First Public Meeting

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:22:12 -0500

The Falls Whitewater Park Committee had its first formal meeting with the City of Raleigh’s Steering Committee for the project on Tuesday. The Steering Committee includes paddling representatives, the US Army Corps of Engineers, staff of Raleigh Parks and Recreation, Stewart Engineering and McLaughlin Whitewater. This introductory meeting focused on an overview of background of the project, an introduction of participants and a focus on purpose and scope of the project.

Following the Steering Committee meeting a public open house was held. Over 100 nearby residents and local paddling enthusiasts were invited to the open house. Approximately 50 people attended the open house including about 25 local paddlers. Representatives of the Committee talked with visitors, answered questions and recorded comments, suggestions and concerns about the project.

Additional open houses are currently proposed for March and June 2010 to provide status updates.