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Conservation Notes for November 20

Conservation notes are revised every week, or as received!

Support the Complete Streets Concept

    

(From http://www.completestreets.org/)  The streets of our cities and towns are an important part of the livability of our communities. They ought to be for everyone, whether young or old, motorist or bicyclist, walker or wheelchair user, bus rider or shopkeeper. But too many of our streets are designed only for speeding cars, or worse, creeping traffic jams.

Now, in communities across the country, a movement is growing to complete the streets. States, cities and towns are asking their planners and engineers to build road networks that are safer, more livable, and welcoming to everyone.

Instituting a complete streets policy ensures that transportation planners and engineers consistently design and operate the entire roadway with all users in mind - including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

 

Congress once again postponed reauthorization of the transportation bill by passing a continuing resolution, which will extend the funding for current programs through December 18th.    Help us keep up the momentum by telling your Senators and Representative to co-sponsor the Complete Streets Act of 2009!

 

Here's a really good opportunity to pitch for the next round of local greenway construction projects.

 

The Winston-Salem Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, MPO, has up to $2.4 million tentatively available for allocation to pedestrian and bicycle projects to be built during the next two fiscal years.  Projects must be submitted by a local government within the Winston-Salem MPO area, and a 20% funding match from the sponsoring local government is required.  To be considered, project requests must be submitted to the MPO by the requesting local government no later than Monday, Jan. 11.

 

The MPO itself is sponsoring four public meetings November 30 through December 14 to explain the process and the eligibility criteria and receive comments.  Here are the times/places:

(All meetings are drop-in events from 5 to 8 p.m.)

• Monday, November 30:  West Forsyth YMCA, 1150 S. Peace Haven Rd., Clemmons 27012.
• Monday, December 7:  Winston Lake YMCA, 901 Waterworks Rd., Winston-Salem 27107.
• Wednesday, December 9:  Kernersville YMCA, 1113 West Mountain St., Kernersville 27284.
• Monday, December 14:  Central YMCA, 775 West End Blvd., Winston-Salem 27101.

 

Greenways, bike facilities, and sidewalks are all eligible for project funding. 

  

 Yadkin Riverkeeper News

Please click below to download the Yadkin Riverkeeper fall newsletter.

Video of the Winston-Salem Climate Action / 350.org Event

 

A video of the Winston-Salem Climate Action / 350.org event held on October 24 can be found on Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtneagTAg1o.  A copy will be send to our President Obama , Senators Burr and Hagan, and our energy leaders.  The Foothills Group of the Sierra Club thanks the many folks who helped organize and participated in the global warming awareness event.  Our special thanks to Robert Smith who produced the video.

 

 

North Carolina Coastal Federation News

Yadkin Riverkeeper Fall 2009 11.4.2009.pdf

  

The NC Coastal Federation is now on Facebook!  Join the conversation to protect our coast!  You can now follow the N.C. Coastal Federation and news about our coast on the federation's official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/NC-Coastal-Federation/185345054061?ref=ts.  You can also follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nccoastalfed.  Tweet us @nccoastalfed.

 

Compromise Tree Ordinance Passed by City Council

Your calls, e-mails, and personal notes to your City Council member made a difference! The Compromise Version of the Tree Ordinance negotiated by the Homebuilders, Real Estate Community, Chamber of Commerce, Neighborhood Alliance and the Foothills Group of the Sierra Club passed in July.

In a long awaited vote on July 20, and after more than four years of Foothills Group effort, the City Council unanimously approved the Tree Ordinance for Winston-Salem. This is a landmark event, the first tree ordinance on the books for our city! It means that in new commercial and residential developments, a percentage of healthy mature and maturing trees will need to be saved and new trees will need to be planted and maintained.

Of course it’s more complicated than that. So, over the next few years the Sustainability Committee has been charged with oversight of this ordinance. How effective its implementation is over time will be reassessed after three years. This will be an evolving ordinance, one that, hopefully, will become stronger in the future.

Many Foothills folk worked hard and long, studying, talking, and compromising to get this Tree Ordinance on the books. Thanks to Gus Preschle, Elyse Jung, Henry Fansler, and John Calhoun for their encouragement, advice, and time spent at meetings. Thanks, also, to Laura Phail and Malcolm Brown who served as Tree Committee Alternates and sounding boards. And thanks to so many of our members who wrote and called their City Council members, attended meetings, and worked to get the word out.

You know why we need to protect and plant trees.  The next step is to let the County Commissioners know that you care about clean air and water, control of stormwater, reduced noise, animal habitats, energy savings, and shade and community beauty

The Compromise Tree Ordinance, in a nutshell, provides the following:

* New developments must preserve and plant trees (schools specifically included)

* Residential and non-residential developments of five acres or less must preserve 10% of existing healthy trees

* Residential developments zoned RS and RM-5 of more than 5 acres must preserve 12% of existing healthy trees.

* Where the percentages can't be met (not enough trees), then developers must plant up to the required percentages with large variety trees.

* In new parking lots, large variety trees (not crepe myrtles) will be planted in significantly larger planting areas

* Trees to be saved will be protected from root damage and trunk and crown disturbance during construction

* National standards (ANSI A300) will be adopted to ensure proper maintenance of existing trees and newly planted trees.

* Topping of any trees required by the ordinance will be prohibited

Questions? Call Gus Preschle at 336-201-2026, Henry Fansler at 336-473-0283, or Elizabeth O’Meara at 336-766-330