Weigh In On RDU Airport Authority’s Plans to Develop Lake Crabtree County Park This Wednesday

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Good morning, readers.

Since the 1980s, Wake County has leased the land located between I-40 and Lake Crabtree from the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority for $1 per year. 

Local governments and nonprofit groups have poured millions of dollars into building a dense network of trails and other amenities. Bikers, hikers, dog walkers, and other outdoor enthusiasts frequent the dense forest of Lake Crabtree County Park. It’s a near-perfect example of what local governments and their partners can achieve for the community through planning and working collaboratively.

“Nothing compares to how accessible and effective this land is,” says Dave Anderson, a board member of the all-volunteer nonprofit Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (TORC), one of the groups that has partnered with the county to maintain and enhance the park’s trails.

But, this year, the lease with the county is up, and the Airport Authority plans to develop the property as part of its long-term master plan to raise capital to grow and improve the airport. 

It will create “a unique and innovative entertainment destination which will be appealing to the greater Triangle Region,” according to public documents, and could include restaurants, hotels, and retail. And it will be developed “in a manner consistent and appropriate with the natural surroundings of the site,” ensuring that recreational users are considered in the process. 

With the Airport Authority’s plans to develop 136 acres of the park leaving just a sliver of shoreline along Lake Crabtree undisturbed, critics of the proposal, many recreational users themselves, say they really aren’t being considered that much in the plan at all. And once the forest is gone, it’s gone forever.  

Members of the public are invited to weigh in on the plans for Lake Crabtree County Park this evening at 5 p.m. at 1000 Trade Drive. More info here. 

Have a good Wednesday.

 —Jane

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