Umstead park could gain entrance for cars

Graylyn Drive had been used by joggers and cyclists for years. Now it's being paved

RALEIGH -- As paving preparations begin for a dead-end dirt road that once was a busy parking spot for cyclists and joggers, state parks officials say they might turn the road into a new automobile entrance for Umstead State Park.

For years, Umstead lovers left their cars in the mud along Graylyn Drive and walked around a locked maintenance gate for quick access to bridle and bike trails inside the 5,779-acre park. Commuters stopped there for early morning runs on the way to work.

But that came to an end last year, when the state Department of Transportation banned parking on Graylyn after concluding that the short, narrow road -- which serves only three houses -- carried enough traffic to justify paving it. A DOT contractor graded Graylyn on Tuesday and is scheduled to lay asphalt early next week.

Umstead patrons have protested. Responding to a petition drive to restore easy access to Umstead's 34 miles of trails, state parks officials on Thursday aired two alternatives under review. One proposal involves paving a bumpy gravel road inside the park, making it easier for drivers to reach a trailhead parking area from Umstead's main entrance road off Glenwood Avenue.

Mountain bikers and runners who opposed last year's parking ban said they preferred a second alternative, which would unlock the Graylyn maintenance gate so park users can drive to the trailhead parking lot inside Umstead.

"This alternative provides for restored access at Graylyn, and that is what over 1,460 petitioners requested," said Margaret Cooper, 48, of Raleigh, who helped organize the petition drive.

After parking was banned on Graylyn in October, Dave Barbour started riding his mountain bike over city streets to Umstead from his home five miles away in North Raleigh. He said he hoped park officials will let cars enter the park at Graylyn.

"It would help me," said Barbour, 42. "It would be what I would use."

Charlie Peek, spokesman for the Division of Parks and Recreation, said residents are asked to comment by Oct. 10 on three Umstead access options: Open the Graylyn gate, pave the existing park road, or make no changes. The proposals also include trail and parking improvements.

He said parks officials have strained to meet the needs of city dwellers while stretching limited resources to keep Umstead beautiful and safe.

"Umstead is the most urban of our parks," Peek said. "We started opening our gates an hour early last year because we know people want to get out and jog before they go to work sometimes."

Georgia Khagen's running group likes to be on the trail by 6 a.m. -- an hour before the main gates open. She didn't like any of the options outlined Thursday.

"We need to get out there before the sun gets way up, because of the heat," said Khagen, 54.

DOT will spend an estimated $37,523.22 to pave 845 feet of Graylyn, part of a $365,000 program to pave 1.5 miles of dirt roads in Wake County this summer.

Graylyn had been low on the state's paving list for years, with engineers counting only about 24 cars and trucks each day. After homeowner Sammy Greenway showed DOT engineers how busy the little road could be on Saturdays and Sundays, DOT adjusted its daily car count to 370.

That made Graylyn a top candidate for paving.

"There's no doubt that the traffic counts taken for people going out there, parking and using the park -- that's what bumped it up to high priority," said Brandon Jones, DOT road maintenance engineer for Wake and six other counties.

The parking ban quickly eliminated most of the traffic that had been used to justify DOT's plan to pave the road.

Greenway, 59, a member of Umstead's park advisory committee, said Thursday that he welcomed park visitors for many years but grew concerned when traffic loads grew to dangerous levels. He sometimes cleaned up condoms, drug syringes and other litter left by some park patrons.

The narrow road will become busier than ever if the state converts it from a dead-end into a park entrance, he said.

"The more user-friendly you make it to vehicles, the less safe it is to the neighborhood's pedestrian use of that entrance," Greenway said.