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• See Opinion/Forum pages on A6&7 See Sports on page Bl*
The Ch Ron IC EE
Volume 45, Number 7
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
THURSDAY, October 18, 2018
WSTA prepares
for Nov. 11
Date of Business
40 closing
announced
Tuesday
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The Winston-Salem
Transit Authority is offer
ing alternatives to driving
through the traffic created
when Downtown Business
40 closes down 8 a.m.
Sunday, Nov. 11. The N.C.
Department of
Transportation (N.C. DOT)
announced the date and
time on Tuesday, Oct. 16.
Business 40 will be
shut down from Peters
Carson-Wilkins
Creek Parkway to
Highway 52 starting next
month. A portion of the
highway between Main
Street and U.S. 52 is
expected to reopen by sum
mer 2019 and the whole
project is scheduled for
completion in late 2020.
This is expected to create
traffic congestion as driv
ers take detours through
city streets.
The City of Winston-
Salem received a $7.3 mil
lion NC DOT grant to help
enhance its bus services
during the closure. These
enhancements will begin
on Oct. 29.
“Unfortunately we will
certainly have some routes
that will be affected by the
closure of Business 40, so
this is our answer to that
issue and that problem,”
said WSTA’s Tina Carson-
Wilkins during a presenta
tion on the enhanced serv
ices at Carver School Road
Library on Friday.
The enhancements
include routes 80, 85, 95,
103, 104 and 107 having
two buses each that will
provide service every 30
minutes.
There’s a new Park &
Ride service, where com
muters can park their car in
a designated lot with bus
service. Park & Ride par
ticipants can register online
for the Guaranteed Ride
Photos by Todd Luck
Winston-Salem is preparing for the closure of
Business 40 from Peters Creek Parkway to Highway
52 that will start Sunday, Nov. 11.
Program, which will give
them a free ride home
using a local taxi service if
a personal emergency hap
pens, such as illness at
work or a sick child.
Park & Ride service
runs Monday-Sunday until
9 p.m. and will begin with
Route 83, whose lot will be
in the northeast corner of
the Peters Creek Walmart
See Biz 40 on A2
Photo by Tevin Stinson
Change on
development
upsets
residents
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
The City Council heard from residents who were
upset with a zoning amendment that allows for residen-
Members of the Big 4 Alumni Association catch up during the Family Fun Night celebration on Friday,
Oct. 12.
Lowder
Highsmith
Hurricane puts
dent in Big 4
Alumni reunion
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
When most people across the state hear anything
about the “Big 4,” most people think about college basket-
ball and the four North Carolina schools that compete in
the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference): NC State, UNC
Chapel Hill, Duke, and Wake Forest. But here in Winston-
Salem, the term takes on a different meaning.
The Big 4 - Atkins, Anderson, Carver, and Paisley
high schools - represent the four African-American high
schools in Winston-Salem as the result of past segrega
tion. Although they were all rivals then, since the
early‘80s the four schools have come together to celebrate
the rich history of the four schools’ past and uplift the
See Reunion on A2
tial development in Highway Business (HB) and General
Office (GO) districts.
This change to HB districts passed Monday night in a
5-3 vote, with Council Members D.D. Adams, James
Taylor and Derwin Montgomery voting against it, while
the GO change passed 5-2 with only Adams and Taylor
in opposition. The measure, which had been discussed in
city and planning board meetings for about a year, was
debated and voted on in the Oct. 1 council meeting, but
needed a second vote because it didn’t reach a six-vote
threshold needed for zoning changes.
This change allows multifamily and town home con
struction in HB and GO districts, and would eliminate the
need for such projects to go through the zoning process,
which includes a public hearing and approval by the City
Council. This is already allowed in major cities in the
state like Greensboro, Raleigh, Charlotte, Durham and
Chapel Hill. Local HB districts already had 73 land uses
See Zoning on A2
Board approves plans for Reynolds sports facility
Public comment splits between
those for and against the move
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Reynolds High School took a step closer to
opening its very own sports stadium last week
when the school board approved construction
plans for a 2,040-seat stadium.
In 2012 athletic boosters and other supporters
of the school and athletic programs joined forces
to create Home Field Advantage, a 501 (c) (3)
nonprofit with the mission to raise the funds need
ed to build an athletic facility near the school.
At that time the total estimated cost for the sta
dium was said to be $4.5 million.
After discussing the possibility of the stadium
a few times in recent weeks, the Board of
Education voted unanimously on Tuesday, Oct. 9
to approve plans which show the stadium being
placed near Wiley Middle School and the
Reynolds auxiliary gym, but not before residents,
students and others shared their thoughts with the
board either for or against the sports facility dur
ing the public comment portion of the meeting.
See Facility on A8
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