Home Care In Carrboro, NC

Small, southern towns give us a glimpse of what life looks like with transportation alternatives

If you stand on the right road in Carrboro or Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on any given weekday morning you will witness a parade of pedaled transportation. Bucket bikes, bikes towing trailers carrying small children, and just regular old bicycles make use of the towns’ expanding cycling infrastructure as people head to school and work.

There is a similar journey for UNC students, staff, hospital workers, and others who use the Town of Chapel Hill’s free bus system. In 2022, Chapel Hill Transit clocked 3.4 million rides, and is one of the largest public transit systems in North Carolina, and one of the largest zero fare transit networks nationwide.

Investing in highway alternatives helps people who need to use the roads by reducing traffic and it provides critical options for people who need them — everyone wins.

Megan Kimball, Senior Attorney

These two neighboring communities committed years ago to providing residents and commuters with a range of transportation alternatives — a critical step if we are to address climate change in the South. Transportation is the largest source of carbon pollution in the country and has immense impacts on the health of our communities and environment.

Chapel Hill and Carrboro enjoy advantages that many communities in our region lack: They are smaller, wealthier towns that receive considerable support from UNC, allowing them to make choices to provide meaningful alternatives to driving. However, their successes provide a glimpse of what a world with transportation alternatives could look like.

Bike commuter lifestyle

“I bike pretty much everywhere in Carrboro and Chapel Hill,” says Carrboro Mayor Damon Seils. “If I’m going further, I’ll hop on the bus.”

For Seils, who has been vocal about making cycling a safer choice for all of us, cutting car traffic on his commuter bike is a climate solution that also carries plenty of personal perks.

“I just find it to be a lot easier and more convenient,” he says. “I don’t have to worry about parking, biking is often faster than sitting in traffic, and there are countless health and general emotional wellbeing benefits.”

Partially due to it being a relatively small and compact college town, Seils says the local community has embraced making it easier for people to get around without a car. He also attributes the appetite for alternate modes of transportation to Carrboro’s goal of an 80 precent reduction of climate-changing pollution by 2030.

“There’s definitely a core group of people here who are hardcore cyclists,” he says. “Outside of that circle, I’d say there’s another group of people who regularly cycle for transportation. The culture there is more about finding safety in numbers. I appreciate how when I’m on my bike in Carrboro and Chapel Hill, I just feel comfortable because I see so many other people out doing it.”

Mayor Seils works in the medical school at Duke University, where he is a communications specialist. But in his role as mayor and board member of the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization, he has overseen a lot of city planning, and staunchly advocates for planning from the perspective of someone who doesn’t drive a car.

“Infrastructure doesn’t come cheap, but even small steps can make a difference,” Seils adds.

What makes it work

There are currently 25 miles of greenways and 15 miles of bike lanes to help people get where they need to go in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. Several projects either on the horizon or underway will increase the number of safe options, including a greenway extension that will increase the towns’ connectivity.

But the excitement around equitable and climate-friendly transportation infrastructure is about much more than just bikes, which are not an accessible or practical solution for some residents.

Chapel Hill Transit provides free bus services for the community, students, and workers including a senior shuttle that provides transportation to various assisted living communities. Chapel Hill Transit was one of the first in the state to introduce a fleet of hybrid electric buses and recently added three fully electric buses with more planned.

The transition to electric and fuel-efficient municipal vehicles has also helped. The town’s vehicle fleet now emits 15 percent less emissions annually than in 2005. And although most personal electric vehicle charging happens at home here, 25 public charging stations are available in town.

Room for improvement

Transportation projects in this North Carolina community highlight multimodal systems working well, but there’s plenty of room for improvement.

Geoff Green, a local urban planner who writes about a variety of transportation and other topics for the Triangle Blog Blog, says the reason you don’t see more of these pedestrian-friendly projects in other places is money.

“There’s a lot of federal transportation funding, but the state directs the vast majority of it to highway building, so there’s just scraps left over for projects like greenways,” says Green. “In fact, if localities had more of a say in how to spend that money, I think you would see a lot of municipalities choose to build complete transportation systems, not transportation networks that really only accommodate cars.”

The North Carolina Department of Transportation administers the state’s transportation budget as determined by the legislature. An administrative policy directs the agency to spend at least 90 percent of the state’s transportation money on highway projects. Ten percent or less is available for everything else, including public transit, sidewalks, and bike lanes, as well as bigger-ticket items like airports, ferries, and rail.

The deck is basically stacked against more inclusive types of projects that serve everybody

Megan Kimball, Senior Attorney

In addition, a state law passed by the legislature prevents NCDOT from spending state funding on standalone bicycle or pedestrian projects and places extra limitations on spending for public transportation, putting the onus on communities to find other sources of funding for these more equitable types of transportation, which localities are often unable to do.

“North Carolinians want more choices for getting around,” says Senior Attorney Megan Kimball, who advocates for equitable and climate-friendly transportation and land use planning out of SELC’s Chapel Hill office. “Investing in highway alternatives helps people who need to use the roads by reducing traffic and it provides critical options for people who need them — everyone wins.”

Moving forward equitably

Historic federal infrastructure legislation passed in 2021 provides $1.2 trillion for projects that address mounting infrastructure challenges. The Biden administration’s Justice 40 Initiative envisions directing federal money straight to communities of color.

Across the Southeast, SELC is working to ensure these funds are put to use in a way that protects the environment, helps cut climate pollution, and puts equity first.

“Communities know their needs best,” says Kimball. “There is no one-size fits all answer — transportation solutions that work in wealthier communities like Chapel Hill and Carrboro won’t work everywhere. That’s why it’s so important to give local communities the flexibility — and funding — to choose the transportation solutions that work for them.”

Our region’s singular focus on building out infrastructure for personal automobiles has left many people with limited access to jobs, doctors, healthy food options, and other essentials for everyday life. This car-centric approach has also divided many communities of color, often destroying neighborhoods and taking away generational wealth.

SELC is thinking big when it comes to providing safe and clean transportation for all. Kimball is taking the lead on organizing a statewide advocacy network called Clean Connected Communities, which will unite people to increase state investment in more climate-friendly and equitable transportation projects, among other things.

“There’s a future in which people in North Carolina – from the mountains to the coast, in both rural and urban communities – have access to a cleaner, more connected transportation network, resulting in the reduction of climate-changing emissions and improving public health, equity, and economic development,” says Kimball.

Join us in working together toward transportation solutions below.

Interested in joining Clean Connected Communities?

While voters could go to their most convenient polling location during early voting, which closed Nov. 4, she said voters must attend their assigned precinct site on Election Day.

Orange County is conducting voting at 40 locations, with one on UNC's campus at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History. Other locations close to campus include the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and First Baptist Church. Voters can determine their assigned precinct and voting site on the Orange County website.

All polling sites will be open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Anyone standing in line by 7:30 p.m. will still be permitted to vote.

Verifying registration status

If a voter is unsure if they’re appropriately registered to vote where they live, they can verify their voting information using the voter lookup tool provided by the N.C. State Board of Elections.

“If officials on Election Day cannot verify your eligibility to vote — you're not listed on the poll books — then you have to vote a provisional ballot,” Raper said.

Provisional ballots are used when a voter’s qualification or eligibility to vote is called into question. This could occur if a voter attempts to vote at the incorrect precinct, doesn’t present an acceptable form of ID — or if they’re not properly registered.

With this process, voters can cast their votes, but they won’t be counted and the election results won’t be finalized until the registration status of the voter is confirmed.

Arriving at the polling site

When voters arrive at their assigned polling site, they can expect to be checked in by a voting official. Voters will sign an authorization to vote form and receive a ballot. They’ll then go to a voting booth and mark the ballot with a provided pen, Raper said.

Voters can request help at any time from precinct officials within the polling site. Those who are unable to enter the polling place without assistance because of age or disability can participate in curbside voting, which will be marked by signs at the polling location.

Raper said the precinct officials will be wearing either maroon or orange aprons. She said there will be five to seven precinct officials at every polling site.

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Once the ballot is marked, it will be placed into a DS200, which is the vote-scanning equipment that Orange County uses to analyze ballot data, Raper said. As soon as a voter’s ballot is submitted, they are free to leave.

Raper said all the voting sites in Orange County have the same equipment and process.

Looking forward

Results for these elections can be expected to be determined late Tuesday night. The next election being held in Orange County will be on March 5, 2024 — the general election primaries.

A Charlotte-based restaurant chain has closed one of its Triangle locations – but another restaurant is moving in.

The Carrboro location of sports bar Hickory Tavern has shut down. Bru’s Public House has purchased the business with plans to open in the space. The new restaurant will be the second location for Bru’s Public House and will serve the same menu as its Raleigh location.

Financials of the transaction were not released.

The new Bru’s Public House is located at 370 E. Main St. in Carrboro on the ground floor of the Hampton Inn & Suites in the East Main Square shopping center.

Bru’s Public House opened in Wade Park in the fall of 2021. The restaurant, located in the Wade Office Park, is in close proximity to PNC Arena and Carter-Finley Stadium – making Bru’s Public House a prime spot for sports fans.

The restaurant is hoping to pull in sports fans in Carrboro as well, with UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus close by. Bru's will be adding technology to allow every seat in the Carrboro dining room to have a view of a television.

The Carrboro restaurant is also in the same parking lot as Cat’s Cradle, a popular music venue – Bru’s hopes to pull customers before and after shows as well.

The restaurant space is currently being renovated, with an opening expected in February.

Bru’s Public House serves appetizers, sandwiches, pizza, salads and wings – along with a full cocktail bar, wine and craft beer. The restaurant will be open seven days a week starting at 11 a.m.

“We’re excited to be joining such a vibrant hospitality neighborhood,” said Denise O’Dwyer, owner of Bru’s Public House.

O’Dwyer also owns RallyPoint Sport Grill in Cary.

Hickory Tavern has 20 restaurants across the Carolinas. The Carrboro location was the first in the Triangle for the group when it opened in 2014. A Morrisville location at Park West Village closed last fall. Hickory Tavern’s remaining restaurants include a location in northwest Cary, Holly Springs and Pinehurst.

Lauren Robinson’s car was towed at Carr Mill Mall on Nov. 4. Robinson, a UNC junior, said she parked at Carr Mill, shopped inside the mall with some friends, and crossed the street for 20 minutes to do some more shopping nearby.

When she finished up her shopping, she discovered her car had been towed.

“They would have had to call [the towing company] immediately when we went across the street to have it towed in that time,” she said.

Robinson said it was about an hour-long process to retrieve her car.

Carr Mill Mall announced in an Instagram post on Nov. 8 that it would be implementing a new camera system to monitor its parking lots, encouraging patrons in the lots to stay on site.

The mall, located at 200 N. Greensboro St. in Carrboro, has three parking lots located on Weaver Street and Greensboro Street. The Greensboro Street lot is the largest, located on the north side of the mall in front of Harris Teeter.

Some business owners at Carr Mill recently received a bulleted list titled “Carrboro Parking, A short explanation of recent history” from Nathan Milian, the mall’s landlord.

The document states that the closing of a municipal parking lot on South Greensboro Street amplified the “already enormous strain on Carr Mill’s customer parking lots.” The lot was closed in 2022 to construct a new branch library and civic building on the property.

In 2022, the Town of Carrboro conducted a parking study, in which Milian provided a summary statement for the mall. He said in the statement the mall had sufficient parking but that he was concerned about future parking adequacy if public spaces were to be taken away with new developments.

A Carr Mill Mall business owner who asked to stay anonymous for the sake of their business, said, while they believe the closing of the Greensboro Street lot is the reason for the heightened parking security at Carr Mill, they haven’t seen that strain. The anonymous owner added that they did not receive notice of the installation of the cameras inside the mall or in the parking lot.

“I think in general, cameras are a good idea for safety, but I just don’t know that this purpose is solely out of safety,” they said.

David Bradley, the owner of Golden Fig Books at Carr Mill Mall, said that some of his customers have been upset with the increased enforcement of parking policies.

“We have had people have bad experiences and say that’s going to affect if they’re able to come back,” he said.

Jon Hartman-Brown, the Town of Carrboro’s director of economic development, said that while the Town is aware of citizen complaints and concerns about the surveillance and enforcement, there is limited ability for the town to take any action because Carr Mill Mall’s lots are privately-owned.

The towing company employed by Carr Mill Mall, Barnes Auto & Towing, is about a 15-minute drive from the mall, Robinson said. The company said they cannot comment on the details of their relationship with any private employer, including any specific information about the mall.

“It seems unnecessary to use such an extreme measure because they’re not giving you a warning, they’re not giving you a ticket — they are just towing your car,” Robinson said.

TheThe supper club is here to stay, and it’s anything but boring, especially in the Triangle. The latest version involves Speakcheesy, a multi-course cheese and wine dinner put on monthly by the Cheese Shop, at Belltree Cocktail Club (100 Brewer Lane) in Carrboro.

Michelle and Stevie Lee Webb recently opened the Cheese Shop inside Glasshalfull’s wine shop, serving as the Triangle’s only cut-to-order cheese shop. Find anything but the usual offerings in the grocery store cheese section, including small batch and farmstead cheeses from local, domestic, and imported producers — plus charcuterie, specialty butter, and imported pantry provisions. Customers can also walk in and taste cheeses before buying them, like at an ice cream shop, and nine times out of 10, listen to Stevie recall a fascinating story behind the cheese.

Speakcheesy was one of the earliest ideas the duo had in mind when bringing the Cheese Shop to a reality. “Originally, we wanted to put the shop within another business — so we would have a cheese shop in the back of a restaurant or a bar” says Stevie. “So if you have a cheese shop at the back of something, it becomes a Speakcheesy,” he says.

Stevie comes from a cooking background — he trained under Prue Leith from The Great British Baking Show. “When we started doing wine and cheese pairings and classes, we would have these amazing cheeses and amazing wines that went with them, and we kept thinking, ‘what other amazing things can we do with these cheeses for each course,’” he says.

Speakcheesy, which Stevie and Michelle are in the process of trademarking, is an opportunity to collide the worlds of cheese and wine in one sitting, far beyond a regular cheese pairing class where things tend to be a little predictable. “I always considered what I was doing a lot like Michelin-starred dining or dining in Europe, in particular,” Stevie says. “A meal was not a success unless it lasted at least two hours.”

“From a business perspective, I have a joke that a cheese shop just can’t sell cheese,” says Michelle. “You’re not going to survive by just being a cut-to-order right now — so Speakcheesy was a really interesting thing. We know the cheese, and we know the accouterments, but we need to find some really strong partners, and I don’t think this would happen successfully in a lot of other parts of the country where it’s so competitive and cutthroat in the restaurant industry,” she adds. The duo teams up with Paula de Pano of Rocks + Acid wine shop for their pairings. “One thing you certainly get from us and Paula de Pano and Nick Stroud (of Belltree Cocktail Club) is that they love what they’re doing and they love their products,” says Stevie. “We’re not trying to do things we don’t know how to do,” says Michelle. Find the right person, bring the local people in — partner, partner, partner,” she says.

While the cut-to-order shop is at Glasshalfull, the Speakcheesy landed at Belltree Cocktail Club, down the street, as a way to shake things up and find a venue that’s just as interesting as the dinners. The cocktail bar is a hidden gem in Carrboro, attached to popular 30-year-old Carolina Car Wash. Entering the building for a Speakcheesy dinner feels like traveling into a different world — and no two dinners are the same. “We quickly realized that our senses of humor, creativity, and love for what we do mirror each other,” says Zach White, of Belltree Cocktail Club.

The most recent Speakcheesy, which sold out within a couple of days, took guests through Italy with six Italian cheese dishes paired with de Pano’s Italian wines. “As Speakcheesy grows, and we get a bit bolder, the dishes will get more interesting,’ says Stevie. “We are going to push the boundaries a little more each time,” he notes. During Speakcheesy: the Italian edition, the menu had hot dishes like handmade ravioli in a bath of decadent meat broth with Cravero Parmigiano Reggiano, but it was the gorgonzola dolci gelato, in collaboration with Chapel Hill’s Portico 31, that really turned heads.

“Wine and cheese have always been natural pairings, especially when they both come from the same region,” says de Pano, who is currently leading the wine portion of Speakcheesy dinners. “The ‘what grows together, goes well together’ adage rings very true,” she adds. “I find that they both have a lot of flavor complexities that complement each other as well, expressing their inherent terroir. Cheeses also have their own background and histories that make them unique in their own way, the feed that the animals eat, the climate, and the traditional know-how of both the dairy farmers and cheesemakers contribute to the end product, just like wine.”

Speakcheesy Secret Supper: a six-course Iberian wine and cheese dinner will take place on June 21, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. — get tickets here. The Cheese Shop’s cut-to-order shop is open Wednesday through Friday, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Follow @cheeseshopnc for news on upcoming events and future information on Speakcheesy dinners and more.