The Town of Chapel Hill is holding a pair of virtual meetings this week to give residents an update on the Estes Drive Connectivity Project.

The project, set to begin construction in later August or early September, is designed to improve bicycle, pedestrian, and vehicle traffic on the busy Estes Drive corridor from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Caswell Road.

The project is not new: town officials say it dates back to 2009, when Chapel Hill first received federal funding to improve bicycle access along Estes Drive. Later, the town identified Estes Drive as a priority for bicycle and pedestrian improvements as part of the 2013 Central West Small Area Plan, an outgrowth of the Chapel Hill 2020 comprehensive planning effort. The current plan is based in part on public comments that were gathered back in 2015 and 2016.

Learn more about the Estes Drive Connectivity Project here.

The current plan for Estes Drive involves the installation of raised bike lanes, a new sidewalk on the south side of the road and a ten-foot multi-use path on the north side of the road. The construction also includes potential roundabouts just east of MLK Boulevard, intended to improve vehicle traffic.

Town officials say connectivity along the Estes corridor is important, particularly after the Town Council’s recent approval of the Aura development at the corner of Estes Drive and MLK Boulevard.

This week’s public information meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 4, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. On Thursday, August 5, the town government will also host a virtual drop-in session from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., where residents can ask questions about the project.

You can register to attend Wednesday’s virtual meeting at this link.

You can register to attend Thursday’s virtual drop-in session at this link.

Featured photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees. You can support local journalism and our mission to serve the community. Contribute today – every single dollar matters.

The post Interested in Traffic on Estes Drive? Attend a Public Info Session This Week appeared first on Chapelboro.com.

The Finance and Operations Service Center of Excellence Mentor Program  completed a second successful cohort in September. Five pairs of Mentors and Mentees were honored at a luncheon on September 19.

2019 SCE Mentor Group participants: Devin Williamson, Marcus Wooton, William Lunn, Donald Hamm, Carly Perrin, Christine Shia, Cathy Hatley, Collette Brown and Bill Stockard. Not pictured: Alan Forrest.

Originally started as an SCE club in the Fall of 2017, the SCE Mentor Program was converted into a full SCE Committee at the end of 2018 under the guidance of Program Coordinator, Devin Williamson. Along with Devin, committee members Justin Case, Joanne Filley, Bea Muganda, Allison Reid and Donna Steltzenmuller helped expand the focus of the Mentor Program from the first cohort of 3 pairs in 2018.

Mentors and mentees met once a month during the six-month program, with some pairs meeting more frequently.

The current group of mentees almost unanimously characterized their participation as a success and said that they learned so much from the experience. All said they would recommend the Mentor Program to others in the SCE and some have even maintained a relationship with their Mentors and continue to meet outside of the official structure of the program.

The mentors interviewed for this story also had resoundingly positive experiences with the program. In the case of Collette Brown, she has unofficially taken two other mentees under her wing and continues to meet with her Mentor Program protégé, Christine Shia.

Williamson, the program coordinator says, “I’ve seen more and more growth in the colleagues that have participated, I’ve witnessed those participants develop a stronger connection with the rest of the office.”

There are plans for expanding the SCE Mentor Program in 2020 and so many participants on both sides of the Mentor/Mentee relationship speak to how rewarding the experience was and how the time commitment was less than they thought it would be.

If you are interested in participating as a mentor or a mentee in 2020, please fill out the interest survey before January 17, 2020.

The post SCE Mentor Program Completes Second Successful Cohort appeared first on Finance and Operations.

A reporter takes a hilarious look at Swedish culture and all things Sweden...(Read...)

Listen up, future homeowners: unless you want to sound like a politically-incorrect asshole during your next appearance on House Hunters (more of an asshole than you sound when you walk into the kitchen of a shitball house and gasp, “Ooooooo, granite counters!!!!” like a total rube), you’ll want to stop using the phrase “master bedroom.” That’s because, according to a survey of 10 major builders in the Washington D.C. area, the word “master,” when it immediately precedes the word “bedroom” is loaded with racist and gender-biased connotations, and should therefore only be used as a word herald in the phrases “Master Blaster,” “Master P,” or “Master Shake.”

Read more...