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Features
Slam poet Taylor Mali
entertaining, yet cocky
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Sports
‘Dogs place third in BSC
volleyball
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Campus
Burning the midnight oil:
art students at work
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Volume 36 Issue 7
The University Of North Carolina At Asheville
October 24, 2002
Phase IV e5q>ands Asheville park
Park
River
Broad
French
plan
park
phase
master
COURTESY OF JIM ORR
The Department of Parks and Recreation is currenly adding more recreational space to the French Broad River Park.
French Broad park to offer recreatonal space to students
Sara Miller
News Reporter
“This place provides safety,” said
Chris Holmberg, a senior biology
major. “I mostly ride mountain
bikes, but now and then, it is fun to
get
1 the track with s
friends and get a little race going
without the worry of getting hit by
The French Broad River Park
doubled in size when Asheville’s
Department of Parks and Recre
ation began expansion projects. To maximize space, the land
Their current project. Phase IV, within the track was used for sev-
entails the construction of recre- eral different sport spaces,
ational space for the park. Inside the track, there are six
“In any given night, you (can) go volleyball courts, according to
down there, and every single one of Orr.
the components
of the park
being used,”
saidjim Orr, su
perintendent of
parks. “Phase
IV, we’ve deter
mined, has be
come the most
popular park.”
The French
Broad River, lo
cated off the
Amboy Road
exit of Interstate
240, sits on 14
acres of land.
The new sec
tion of the park,
temporarily
named Phase
IV, was donated
three or four
years ago, and
adds 18 acres to the park.
The French Broad River Park
spreads across large areas of green
space, and offers visitors relaxation
with gardens, picnic tables, a ga
zebo and fishing/observation deck.
Phase IV provides more recreational
areas.
Before the project began, the 1.3-
mile racetrack on the property was
in poor condition, according to Orr.
The Department of Parks and Rec
reation re-paved the track, and now
the track provides cyclists and pe
destrians with a place to ride, walk
and run.
“This place provides
safety. I mostly ride
mountain bikes, but
now and then, it is fiin
to get out on the track
with some friends
and get a little race
going without the
worry of getting hit
by cars.”
- Chris Holmberg
senior biology major
“I used to play
volleyball be
hind Mills
Hall, but the
balls always
rolled down the
hill,” said Selissa
Taylor, a junior
sociology ma-,
jor. “The
French Broad
courts are so
You don’t al
ways have to run
through the
woods to find
the ball.”
A roller-
hockey rink,
basketball court
and large play
ground facility
iso lie within
the track.
Next, the Department of Parks
and Recreation intends to add a
multi-use sports field and a paved
trail in the park, according to Orr.
The sports field, not yet complete,
already houses several different sport
leagues, including soccer, women’s
and men’s softball and ultimate
Frisbee leagues.
“We are used to muddy, rocky
fields that are strategically placed
right beside briars in case we should
ever throw a Frisbee out of bounds,
said Shane Ambro, a junior history
Greenway to connect
UNCA with downtown
COURTESY OF ASHEVILLE.COM
The park will support more athletic activities, such as inline skating.
and music major and ultimate
Frisbee player. “Any field is better
than no field. But when they finally
finish working on the park, I think
it will be really nice.”
The Department of Parks and
Recreation plan
center, more green space, picnic
pavilions and a wetland interpreta
tion and education trail, according
to Orr.
“It will have a wetland area.. .that
will have a raised boardwalk, so that
people can walk across without
walking through it,” said Orr. “It
will look at native vegetation and
species that are in and around that
area that we can’t disturb.”
They will also develop a new build
ing for public bathrooms, storage
and office space for outdoor educa
tion, according to Orr.
“Each (new piece) has it’s own
budget and it’s own timeline from
start to finish,” said Orr. “Once
that whole area is completed, we
will probably name each section.”
Prior to construction, the Depart
ment of Parks and Recreation held
six open meetings to invite com
munity ideas.
“Since we were given the prop
erty, we had a period of time to
decide how we were going to
and how we were going to design
it,” said Orr. “We had a lot of
public input, and then we also had
to do some fundraising.”
Grants, donations and money
build a welcome from Rmdraisers paid for construc-
n. Phase IV will cost approxi-
itely $2 million, accordij
Orr.
The Department of Parks and
Recreation uses its own tools,
workforce and funds for most (
erations.
Orr said all the funds will go
ward materials, allowing for more
development with a lower
“Everything else that you see down
there is done by our crews,
majority, 99 percent, of the funds
we raise are basically for material,”
said Orr.
For example, Orr said the park’
new mulch trail would have
anywhere from $10,000
$20,000.
However, since they used their
own means, the Department of
Parks and Recreation with the help
of volunteer labor completed the
trail for $300.
The money paid for the cost of
truck time for 9 loads of mulch,
according to Orr.
Jessica Hensley
News Reporter
The Broadway Connection project
will provide a greenway trail from
UNCA to downtown via Broad
way. ,
think the connection will make
life easier for UNCA students,” said
Meghna Shastri, a junior manage-
major. “If I want to go down
town between
classes, I can walk
instead of driving. It
will save gas and my
parking space.”
The new route will
allow students to
walk to and from
their classes.
The greenway trail
/ill begin below the
road level near the
creek. Then, it will
wind toward the in
tersection of W.T.
Weaver Boulevard
and Broadway Av-
“Greenways are
corridors of natural
land and/or water
)gnized for their
ability to connect
people and places to
gether. Through greenways, people
connect to nature; people connect
parks; home connects to work,
school and shops; and city connects
itryside,” said the Asheville’s
Department of Parks and Recre-
Web site. “Trails are paths
used for walking, running, bicy
cling or other forms of recreation or
transportation.”
UNCA and the Department of
Parks and Recreation will work to
gether to build the greenway. The
ation will use their own staff and
partner with other departments;
according to Superintendent oi
Parks Jim Orr.
UNCA and the Department oi
Parks and Recreation recently
worked together to construct the
new entrance to UNCA with help
from a grant through the City En
gineering Department of the De
partment of Transportation
(DOT).
“Since the entrance was a
greenway, we got involved with it,
but itwas all done
“I think the connec
tion will make life
easierforUNCAstu-
dents.Iflwanttogo
downtown between
classes, I can walk
insteadofdriving.lt
will save gas and my
parking space.”
- Meghna Shastri
junior
management major
by outside c
tractors,” said
Orr. “Our land
scape architect
and a lot of city
volved, but the
money came ba
sically from the
Sometimes,
when the state
gets involved with
construction, the
costs can become
more expensive.
The state alsc
requires the con
struction project
regulations, ac
cording to Orr.
However, because each of the
teams provided funds, the construc
tion cost less and came to comple
tion more quickly.
Orr said the Department of Parks
and Recreation completes most
projects with fewer economic de
mands and little state interference.
The entrance breaks down intc
two pieces. The DOT funded the
new one, which cost $400,000.
The older one primarily operated
Department of Parks and Recre- See GREENWAY Page 12
Wetlands provide
research opportunities
Christina Clayton
News Reporter
The restoration of the Tulula
Wetlands, a project that began in
1994, provides many students with
opportunities for undergraduate
research.
“Undergraduates have played a
key role in the research, and several
have published their research find
ings in national journals,” said Jim
Petranka, a biology professor.
“The work has provided many
students (with) opportunities to
gain research experience as under
graduates before moving on to
graduate programs in ecology and
conservation biology.”
With help from the North Caro
lina Department ofT ransportation
(DOT), the Center for Transpor
tation and the Environment (CTE),
other state and federal agencies and
environmental consultants, the
UNCA team developed and imple
mented restoration plans.
According to Kevin Moorhead,
associate professor in the depart
ment of environmental studies and
director of research for the Tulula
Wetland Restoration Project, ovei
50 students have worked at Tulula.
Some conducted senior research
projects, and others collected data
used to evaluate ecological condi
tions of the site.
According to the Tulula Wet
lands Web site. Native Americans
probably occupied the Tulula Wet
lands before European settlers re
moved them in 1838. The Wetlands
went through several owners before it
fell into the hands of the Graham
County IndustrialAuthority in 1986.
Then, the Industrial Authority be
gan developing the land into a goli
course. Ownership passed to the
TalliJah Valley Golf Course and
Country Club, Inc and then to a
family for use in cattle grazing.
“During the attempted golf course
construction, approximately 40
percent of the wetlands were se
verely degraded,” the Tulula Wet
land project Web site reported.
“From logging and grazing, from
channeling Tulula Creek to facili
See WETLANDS Page 12
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