Table of Contents

Happy New Year!
Winter 2015

Table of Contents
Mayor’s Musings..............................1
Manager’s Report............................2
Finance............................................2
Police Department...........................3
Meet Your Neighbors......................4
Economic Development..................5
Planning...........................................6
Fire Department..............................6
Parks and Recreation.......................7
Public Works....................................8
As the new year begins, it’s a good time to take stock of our community, celebrate
successes and acknowledge challenges.
Davidson citizens are very involved in making our community a better place to live, work
and play:
• We can celebrate citizen engagement in Civics 101 (this year’s class begins in February);
Davidson Connections merchant/business meetings; open houses and public hearings
to discuss the Planning Ordinance, Parks and Recreation Master Plan, and the Connect
Our Future initiative; and other town events including National Night Out, the Burney
Award (congratulations to Eddie and Connie Beach!) and Veterans Day. (Davidson has
been named a Commemorative Partner in the 50th anniversary commemoration of the
Vietnam War -- an important opportunity to acknowledge and thank Vietnam veterans
and their families.)
• We enjoy popular community events that promote our local businesses and community
spirit including April is for Arts, Concerts on the Green, the Halloween march, and
Christmas in Davidson.
• MI-Connection continues to improve with increased numbers of residential and
commercial customers.
• The 2014 Citizen Survey showed high rankings from our citizens.

216 South Main Street
Monday-Friday
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
704-892-7591
www.townofdavidson.org
Citizens can be very proud of the great work of our town staff including:
• Our police department was reaccredited with the Commission on Accreditation for
Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), pioneered the use of body-worn cameras,
installed a medicine drop-box and conducted their annual Angel Tree to help families
in need. Davidson is recognized as a AAA Traffic Safe community.
• Our fire department responded to over 1,300 calls for service, successfully conducted
their annual Muscular Dystrophy Association “Fill the Boot” campaign, and helped
save the life of a citizen who was unresponsive due to cardiac arrest.
• Our public works department continues to help make our community a clean, vibrant,
and beautiful place, supporting pedestrian safety by
installing flashing beacon lights at the Griffith Street
circles and at Davidson-Concord Road/Robert
Walker Drive. New lights at McEver Field enhance
this great venue for baseball, where a 50+ year
reunion of past players was celebrated last July.
• Our Planning Department is very near completion
of a total re-write of our planning ordinance, the
instrument used to assist us in guiding and sustaining
our community through one of our consistent
challenges: new and increasing development.
We completed a fiscal impact analysis to help guide our
economic development decisions. We welcome new
businesses in auto service, food (we have
continued on page 3
www.townofdavidson.org
Mayor John Woods
1
Manager’s Report
Finance
Planning
and
property
rights
Audit
Often when I
meet people
from around
the country
who are
familiar with
Davidson,
Town Manager
Leamon Brice
they exclaim,
“Oh, what a
wonderful town!” I’m sure many of you
experience the same reaction. Davidson
has developed a reputation for being
a great community. But not everyone
understands exactly what makes -- and
keeps -- Davidson different. Some cite
an abundance of open space and natural
areas. Others point to the fact that we
don’t allow drive-thrus, or that we think
of the pedestrian and cyclist first. Most
folks don’t realize it is not any one of
these things that make the difference, but
a combination of a great many factors.
Many, however, are convinced that the one
item most important to them is the key
reason for the difference.
Davidson operates under the same basic
property rules as any other community
in North Carolina. Property owners
have rights, one of which is the ability to
develop their property, and the Town of
Davidson does not have the authority to
prevent development of any parcel. The
town does, however, have the ability to
control the pattern, form, and, to some
extent, timing of development.
Davidson has chosen to develop in a
manner that respects the pedestrian over
the car. The most important part of
the town is its people. The pattern of
development can create -- or destroy -opportunities to build community. Many
towns across the country have chosen to
accommodate the market and the car at
the expense of their sense of community. With this in mind, let’s think about what
is different between Davidson and other
communities.
For many years now, the Town of
Davidson has pursued a form and pattern
2
The General Statutes of North Carolina require each unit of local government to
have its accounts audited at the end of each fiscal year (July 1 to June 30). Tinsley
and Terry, CPAs, P.C. audited the town’s financial records for the fiscal year ending
June 30, 2014 and presented it to the board of commissioners on Dec. 9, 2014.
The independent auditor concluded, based upon the audit, that the Town of
Davidson financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2014, are fairly
presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. The town
has improved its financial position and maintained fund balance and long-term
liabilities within acceptable limits.
2011 Revaluation
In August 2013, the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners approved
the reappraisal review option outlined in Section 2/ii of North Carolina General
Assembly Session Law 2013-62 to correct property values from the 2011
revaluation. Since 2013, the County appraisal staff, along with Pearson’s Appraisal
Company, have been reviewing properties in all areas of the county for tax
assessment purposes. Review and appeals have been completed for 87% of the
properties in the county. PAS is expected to submit to the BOCC their last set
of recommendations March, 2015. The refunds, appeals, and increase bills will
continue through the calendar of 2015.
Citizens are encouraged to cash or deposit refund checks received. To date 237
checks of 800 issued by the town have not been redeemed. Please contact Finance
Director Cindy Jones at 704-892-7591 if you have lost or misplaced your refund
check.
of development that is unlike most
municipalities. The differences include
connecting streets, requiring a variety of
housing types, parking to be in the rear
of commercial establishments, requiring
buildings to be placed at the sidewalk and
the main entries to be on the street side
of the building, allowing mixed uses in the
same area and/or same building, requiring
sidewalks on both sides of the street and
narrow streets that reduce automobile
speed while improving pedestrian safety,
and the list goes on.
Davidson did not learn all these things
the first day someone sat down to write
a planning ordinance. These important
development strategies have been learned
over time, and we continue to learn. One
constant, however, has been to plan for
the pedestrian versus the automobile.
Despite learning this concept early on,
we have made mistakes. We allowed
some streets to be built too wide, parking
lots to be placed in the wrong places,
too many parking spaces in some cases,
cul-de-sacs, and individual mailboxes (a
story for another time). We continue to
learn that the more we accommodate the
automobile and sprawl, the less successful
www.townofdavidson.org
we will be in creating spaces that build
community and our quality of life.
Creating new developments that
encourage a sense of community requires
us to do things that sometime seem
contrary to common practice. To create
opportunities for people to meet on the
street, for example, people must get out of
their cars and walk. To create places where
people can walk, we need to constrict cars.
We must provide for everyday needs in
as close proximity as possible to citizens’
homes. I know you may be saying, “but
nobody can walk to all or even most of
the places they need to go.” This will
always be true if everything is designed
for you to drive. But if you can handle
even a few errands as a pedestrian or
cyclist, we will create less auto emissions,
become healthier, meet our neighbors, and
reinforce our sense of community.
In our development planning, we must
continue to find the balance between the
most important part of our community -the citizen -- and the automobile. The way
to do that is to follow our comprehensive
plan, which calls for mixed use, denser
continued on page 3
continued from page 1
Police Department
Traffic accidents in Davidson are on
the rise -- and the problem and solution
rests in your hands -- literally. In 2012
Davidson Police Officers responded
to 184 traffic accidents. In 2014 we
responded to 266 accidents. That’s an
increase of 44% over two years. The
majority of these accidents are due to
driver inattention. The one positive in
this bleak picture, is that very few of
these accidents involved a personal injury
due to Davidson’s 25 mile per hour
speed limit.
We believe that inattention is primarily
the result of cell phone distraction.
How dangerous is it for you as a driver
to engage in this “secondary behavior” while driving? The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration has
statistics that attribute more than one
million car crashes and 16% of fatal
accidents annually to motorists engaged
in a secondary behavior. Texting while
driving is considered the number one
distracted driving behavior. Texting
while driving takes a driver’s eyes off
the road on average 4.6 seconds. This
increases the chance of a crash by 23%. If a vehicle is traveling at 55mph, the
average driver does not look at the road
for approximately the length of an entire
football field (300 feet) while sending a
text.
Car and Driver Magazine recently
conducted an experiment on the dangers
of texting and driving compared with the
dangerous activity of drunk driving. In
the experiment, cars were equipped with
a red light to alert drivers when to brake.
The test measured how long it would
take for a driver to hit the brakes when
sober, when legally impaired at a blood
alcohol level of .08, when reading an
e-mail and when sending a text. Sober,
focused drivers took an average of 0.54
seconds to brake. For legally drunk
drivers four feet needed to be added.
An additional 36 feet was necessary for
reading an e-mail; but sending a text took
an additional 70 feet.
How can you help us combat this bad
habit?
Develop a Good Habit: Keep the phone
out of your hands while driving -- no
one should text and drive. If you need
to text or talk on the phone, pull over
to a safe location before activating your
phone.
Give Clear Instructions: Give teen
drivers simple, clear instructions
not to use their wireless devices
while driving. According to Cellular
Telecommunications Industry
Association, the easiest way to say it is:
“On the road, off the phone.”
Become Informed and Be Active:
The Davidson Police Department
will be glad to present our “Driving
While InTEXTicated -- Driving While
InTOXicated” presentation to your
school or group. This presentation
includes an opportunity for participants
to experience our “FATAL VISION”
goggles -- goggles that approximate
varying levels of intoxication -- up to
a fatal level of intoxication. We ask
all drivers to “take the pledge” not to
text and drive! You can also pick up a
magnet for a vehicle bumper, provided
free, courtesy of AAA Carolinas
Foundation for Traffic Safety that says: Life has no redial. Stay off of the phone!
Bumper magnets available at town hall
Please follow the monthly Town Manager’s Report by signing up for it at www.
townofdavidson.org/eCrier. www.townofdavidson.org
great restaurants!), healthcare, and retail
services. We celebrate the presence of
MSC Industrial Supply Co. and the CHS
Behavioral Health Hospital. We support
a successful business incubator partnering
with PiES (Project for Innovation, Energy
and Sustainability), achieving the Centralina
Council of Government’s Excellence
Award for “Growing the Economy.” New
employers mean new jobs and expanded
services.
Davidson’s citizen-led nonprofits continue
to illustrate our community’s care for a
broad variety of human needs in the region.
Davidson LifeLine is in full operation
supporting mental health challenges and the
important community discussion of suicide
awareness/prevention. E2D (Eliminate
the Digital Divide) continues its effort
to eliminate the digital divide, offering
internet access to students and their families
in full partnership with MI-Connection. DavidsonLearns provides life-long learning
to all citizens.
Our challenges include our courageous
focus on the sustainability of our
community, continuing the improvement
of the MI-Connection system, preparing
for the expected increase in development
pressures, expanding population issues, and
responding to disappointing legal challenges
to critical tenets of our community values.
I wish you a most successful 2015 and,
as always, welcome the opportunity to
meet and discuss our great community.
Manager’s Report, continued from page 2
development at the Circles @ 30,
downtown, and in other nodes around
the periphery of town, while protecting
the natural areas in other parts of town
until future town boards decide it is
time to develop there. The town cannot
prevent development, but we can strongly
influence its form, pattern, and timing. We must build up so that we can walk,
rather than out so we must drive. In doing
so, we will preserve and foster the strong
sense of community that makes Davidson
different, even as we develop and grow.
As I stated earlier, these concepts are
contrary to common practice. But I
would ask which community that follows
common practice would you prefer over
Davidson?
3
Meet Your Neighbors
This quarter we are highlighting McConnell, a family-oriented neighborhood, close to
downtown Davidson and Davidson College,
full of homes of varying size, sidewalks,
parks, playgrounds, fields, a dog park and
lots of green space. It originally started as
a community in partnership with the college
in an effort to provide affordable housing
to faculty and staff in a neighborhood setting. McConnell now has a wonderful mix
of families with young children, seniors,
Davidson College employees, and is very
social – Halloween is a thrill for trick-ortreaters, and the residents boast an annual
picnic, progressive dinners, happy hours,
and a book club.
the neighborhood. Tim is currently an
associate professor of mathematics and is
also part of the college’s MOOC (massive
open online course) initiative. His parents,
Jan and Myron Chartier, live at The Pines.
Tanya, Tim, and family love that Jan and
Myron moved to Davidson to be closer
to them. Tanya does part-time contract
work, but right now really enjoys her
time with their kids, and being able to
travel with Tim when he’s presenting at
conferences and performing together in
their math and mime show. Tanya loves
downtown Davidson, the town green,
town-sponsored events like Concerts
on the Green, our greenways, and the
Davidson Farmer’s Market. Her family
loves Christmas in Davidson and goes all
three nights. She especially appreciates the
opportunities children have to perform
and she enjoyed being part of the live
nativity in December.
Natasha Marcus, non-practicing lawyer
and former candidate for NC House, also
lives in McConnell with her husband,
Rob, a Charlotte lawyer, and daughters -Madison, age 17 and a senior at Pine Lake
The Chartiers moved to Davidson,
and specifically McConnell, 11 years ago
because of Tim’s job at Davidson College. Tanya appreciates how there are parks and
green space throughout the neighborhood,
the proximity to the St. Alban’s
neighborhood, that they can sled when it
snows, play outside in the summer, how
runners come through their neighborhood
because it’s part of certain race routes,
the social activities on the McConnell
green, and that it’s a welcoming place (she
remembers that Vivian Rogers Cannon
greeted them when they first moved in, as
a part of the welcoming committee). Even
though it’s a fairly large neighborhood,
everyone knows each other. She also
enjoys caroling at Christmas and trick-ortreating on Halloween with the family, and
her very active book club.
Children Noah, age 12 and a 6th grader at
the Community School of Davidson and
Mikayla, age 8 and a 2nd grader at CSD,
are always able to find other kids with
whom to play outside, and Tanya loves
that they can safely roam and explore
4
Prep and Ellie, age 14 and a freshman at
the Community School of Davidson high
school. They moved here in 2007 from
Greensboro and Natasha appreciates the
diversity of her neighbors and the close
relationships she’s developed with them.
Their house is 1.1 miles from downtown
Davidson and her kids love to walk all
over, safely and independently. Natasha
appreciates the friends she’s made all over
town, at Davidson Elementary when they
first moved here, at the Lake Norman
Y (in neighboring Cornelius), the Ada
Jenkins Center, Summit, the Davidson
Farmer’s Market, and the library. Natasha
grew up in a small college town that was
walkable, just like Davidson, and loves
the intellectual pursuit going on here and
the spark that Davidson College provides. www.townofdavidson.org
She is grateful to the people in McConnell
willing to be involved in their very active
HOA. In addition to effectively managing
the HOA, they plan activities to bring
everyone together.
On the topic of the
McConnell HOA,
Ron Walters serves
as their president. He
is an Information
Technology Leader at
Ingersoll Rand. He
and his wife, Jen, and
their kids, Luke, age 14 and an 8th grader
at Bailey Middle School and Lilly, age 11
and a 5th grader at Davidson Elementary
moved to Davidson from Maryland in
2008 (they’ve lived in eight states), and
have lived in McConnell four out of their
six years in Davidson. Jen is a jewelry
artist who works and sells her creations
at Sanctuary of Davidson on Main Street.
Ron says that they love the maturity of
McConnell and that even though there are
200 homes in the neighborhood, it feels like
a small community within Davidson, where
they have a green and other green space,
people know each other, and are a close
knit group of residents. He really enjoys
the work he does on behalf of the HOA,
organizing projects like redoing the green
and pond areas and planting 60 trees with
Trees Davidson, local group focused on
Davidson’s tree canopy.
Carrie and Jon Heyl moved to McConnell
from Greensboro in
2007 because Jon’s
law firm opened an
office in Charlotte. They had lived in
the Charlotte metro
region before and
knew they’d prefer
living in a small college town like Davidson.
They have two daughters -- Kate (right),
age 16 and a junior at Hough High School
and Lindy (left), age 14 and a freshman at
Hough. If you frequent Davidson College
football, soccer and basketball games, you
have likely seen Carrie selling tickets -- she’s
the Assistant Director of Ticketing at the
college. Carrie appreciates that she can
get everything she needs here in town and
how she can go anywhere in town and see
someone she knows.
4
Economic Development
Downtown Catalyst Project
Imagine shops, restaurants, and offices lining the west side of Main Street, south
of Mooney’s Corner in front of town hall. That possibility is being studied by the
Development Finance Institute (DFI), a program of the UNC School of Government. Their team is providing specialized finance and development expertise to the Town of
Davidson to determine the potential for a partnership to develop the area. It’s called
the “downtown catalyst project” for its capacity to connect the North and South Main
retail districts, animate downtown, and invigorate development on South Main Street. Why is the town considering this project? At first, our historic downtown Main Street
was our only retail area, then the South Main area developed, and then in the early
2000s, development began at the Circles @ 30, based on plans that date back to the
1980s. With all of the retail, office and restaurant space we currently have in town, we
are at a 98% occupancy rate, with no room for growth. Our citizen surveys show that
citizens want more shopping and employment opportunities in town.
Our planning principles mandate placing buildings up close to the street with parking
behind but the configuration of Davidson Town Hall and its parking lots do not
adhere to this principle. We believe we should “walk the walk” that we require
developers “to walk” and that we know increases our town’s livability. Our 2010 comprehensive plan, with over 150 citizens’ input, calls for a “better mix
of appropriate commercial uses downtown,” “a viable economy that is diverse and
sustainable,” and “jobs for residents of Davidson.” The comprehensive plan also
designates downtown as a mixed-use node, and it and connects the South Main
commercial district to the historic “postcard” area of Main Street. Currently, we have
a gap from town hall to Catawba Avenue, so pedestrians typically don’t walk to South
Main. One of our goals is to bridge this gap. That includes active, pedestrian-scaled
building frontage and public spaces to draw people down the street. Market demand
analysis shows we can support more retail, office, and residential space downtown. We
recognize there is a need for more parking downtown and would like to address this
issue also through this project. DFI is currently working on pre-development services, including market analysis,
feasibility, and determination of demand for specific land uses. The potential land uses
include residential, retail, commercial, office, and parking. After reporting to the board of commissioners in October and December and
incorporating their input into the subsequent the feasibility analysis, the DFI team
will develop a preliminary program and pro forma, evaluate options for financing and
structuring a partnership, develop preliminary renderings, and facilitate public feedback.
We want to hear from you; please attend our public open houses. Do you see the need
for this or not? If so, what would you like to see on this town-owned land? We have
several opportunities for citizens to learn about and give feedback on this project, the
first of which is Thursday, February 5 at 7:00 p.m. at town hall. We will announce
opportunities for public input through our eCrier emails, social media, the monthly
manager’s report, and press releases.
DFI will work with the town throughout the spring to identify potential developers,
generate a request for proposal for development, and negotiate development
agreements. Their goal will be to attract appropriate private investment while
minimizing public investment. The team will rely on input from multiple stakeholders
to produce a plan for the highest and best use for the town-owned property while
maintaining Davidson’s small town feel.
www.townofdavidson.org
Upcoming events:
Feb. 5: Davidson Connections at 9:00
a.m., Davidson Town Hall; Davidson
Catalyst Project Info Session, 7:00
p.m., Davidson Town Hall
Mar. 5: Davidson Connections, 9:00
a.m., location TBA
Apr. 2: Davidson Connections, 9:00
a.m., location TBA
Apr. 7: Helping Others Help
Themselves Job Networking
Event, 11:00 am to 2:00 p.m. at
9820 Northcross Center Court in
Huntersville (www.LKNJobSearch.
com)
Apr. 17: April is for Arts Gallery
Crawl (6:00-9:00 p.m.), “Meet the
Artist” and master plan session for
public art (7:30 p.m.), Davidson Town
Hall
Apr. 18: April is for Arts, sculpture
dedication (11:00 a.m.), Art on the
Green (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)
Apr. 19: Art on the Green (noon to
4:00 p.m.)
Apr. 19: Concert on the Green (6:00
p.m.) Davidson College Symphony
Orchestra and Jazz Ensemble
May 2: Town Day
The Davidson Board of
Commissioners meet the second and
fourth Tuesdays of the month at 6:00
p.m. at Davidson Town Hall.
Please check www.
davidsoncommunitycalendar.org for a
more comprehensive listing.
New Businesses:
The Cedars at Davidson, a bed &
breakfast located at 857 Concord
Road, is now open.
Rebound Physical Therapy is located
at 126 S. Main Street. Their entrance
is behind Main Street Books next to
Summit. They are currently open and
accepting patients.
5
Planning
Fire Department
The Planning Department reviews
all development proposals as they
make their way through the various
administrative boards and agencies,
including the planning and design
review boards, and Mecklenburg
County. One of the most frequent
questions we get is, “What’s the
status of Project X?” While all of
this information is readily available
on the department’s website
(http://www.townofdavidson.org/
developmentprojects), we’ve highlighted
some of the larger projects below:
When to call 911
Davidson College: The college has two
large-scale projects currently under
construction. First, the three-story
addition to the Martin Science Building
along Concord Road will provide
extra classrooms and laboratories for
an expanding science department.
Construction is underway with an
expected completion date of July 2016.
Secondly, the Baker Sports Complex
is also undergoing a renovation
and expansion. Featuring a new
entrance plaza facing Concord Road
and upgraded interior facilities, the
expansion should be completed by fall
2015.
Two Harbour Place: A new three-story
office building is nearing completion
on the northwest corner of Griffith
and Jetton Streets adjacent to the traffic
circle. Valspar will be the primary
tenant with construction expected to be
complete in late February.
Davidson Retirement Residence:
The proposed four-story retirement
residence with independent living
suites is working through the final
administrative reviews. Construction
should begin by March or early April.
Main Street Restaurants: Two new
restaurants on Main Street are set
to open in long vacant storefronts.
Kindred, located at 131 N. Main Street,
is set to open in February. Mestizo, a
contemporary Mexican restaurant, will
be located along the same block, feature
an outdoor patio adjacent to the Post
Office plaza, and will open this spring.
6
In an emergency, call 911 immediately from any wired or wireless phone.
An emergency is any situation that requires immediate assistance from the police, fire
department or ambulance. Examples include:
• A fire
• A crime, especially if in progress
• A car crash, especially if someone is injured
• A medical emergency, such as someone who is unconscious, gasping for air or not
breathing, experiencing an allergic reaction, having chest pain, having uncontrollable
bleeding, or any other symptoms that require immediate medical attention
Important: If you’re not sure whether the situation is a true emergency, officials
recommend calling 911 and letting the call-taker determine whether you need emergency
help.
When you call 911, be prepared to answer the call-taker’s questions, which may include:
• The location of the emergency, including the street address
• The phone number you are calling from
• The nature of the emergency
• Details about the emergency, such as a physical description of a person who may have
committed a crime, a description of any fire that may be burning, or a description of
injuries or symptoms being experienced by a person having a medical emergency
Remember, the call-taker’s questions are important to get the right kind of help to you
quickly.
Be prepared to follow any instructions the call-taker gives you. Many 911 centers can tell
you exactly what to do to help in an emergency until help arrives, such as providing stepby-step instructions to aid someone who is choking or needs first aid or CPR.
Finally, do not hang up until the call-taker instructs you to.
If you dial 911 by mistake, do not hang up -- that could make 911 officials think that an
emergency exists, and possibly send responders to your location. Instead, simply explain
to the call-taker what happened.
For more information, please visit www.911.gov or http://www.nena.org/911-tipsguidelines.
CharMeck Alerts
Register for CharMeck Alerts
to receive emergency alerts and
notifications via phone, email and/or
text. Go to www.CharMeckAlerts.org
to select your preferences. Be sure
to select “Town of Davidson” under
the towns category. Contact Public
Information Officer Cristina Shaul at
cshaul@townofdavidson.org or 704940-9602 with questions.
The Davidson Fire Department visited children at
Davidson Presbyterian Church in December (photo
courtesy of Karen Houston)
www.townofdavidson.org
Parks and Recreation
Public Works, continued from page 8
New Classes Announced and Popular Programs Return at Parks and
Recreation
Registration is now open for the 2015 Winter/Spring Session. The Parks and
Recreation department strives to meet the holistic well-being of the community and
citizens. We use seven dimensions of wellness in our programming for adults and
youth: physical, environmental, emotional, intellectual, occupational, social, and
spiritual. This season we are offering after school and school-day-out programs, minicamps during spring break, and birthday parties.
Our preschool age programs include Little Kids Play Clay, Little Explorers, Piano
Presto and T-Ball. Older children can participate in Science Club, Bella K’s “Selfie
Style,” Clay Club, Red Cross Babysitter Training, Beginner Sewing, or Modern
Manners for Successful Kids. For physical fitness fun sign up your child for Fit Camp
for Kids, Archery, Fencing, Baseball/Softball, or one of our free bike clinics. Adults,
come try something new, or renew with Tai Chi for Life, Small Garden – Large
Yields, Adult Clay Workshop, Creating an Edible Landscape, or Common Scents:
Blending Essential Oils for Health. To support a new year’s resolution participate in
Get Organized Davidson, Paddle Yoga, Kickin’ It, Positive Paws Doggy Manners, The
Exclusive Boot Camp, or So You Want to Remodel/Build. Sign up today for one of
our free community classes: Soil to Soul, QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), Citizen
CPR, Composting, Native Landscaping, Davidson Senior Scholars or Bike Clinic for
Adults and Teens. If you are looking to get out as an individual, group or family, join
us for an Outdoor Adventure or try the Lake Davidson Paddleboard Tour. Visit www.townofdavidson.org/dpr for descriptions of the programs, to register, and/
or to view many other programs that are being offered this season. Call our office at
704-892-3349 and we’ll be happy to help you register or answer any questions you may
have.
Davidson Parks and Recreation Spring Events
Find more information by visiting the Town of Davidson Community Calendar at
www.davidsoncommunitycalendar.org
• Arbor Day: March 20
• Kids Bike Clinics: March 4 and April 1 -- Davidson Parks and Recreation
• Earth Day Fair: April 25 -- Davidson Farmer’s Market 9:00 a.m. to noon
• Bike Month: May
• Town Day: May 2 -- Bike Clinic for Adults and Teens
• Bike to School Day: May 6
• Bike to Work Week: May 11-15
Watch for our Summer Camp offerings starting March 1st! We encourage you to sign
up to receive email announcements at the Davidson Parks and Recreation eCrier site
www.townofdavidson.org/ecrier or call our office at 704-892-3349 and we’ll be happy
to add you to the list.
There will be an exhibit in the town hall lobby to honor the late
Roy Alexander, the Executive Director of the Davidson Lands
Conservancy and friend of Davidson. David Boraks, the curator
of art in the town hall lobby is creating an exhibit of photos and
words on Roy and his great work -- look for it this week.
Roy Alexander, photo
courtesy of David
Boraks
www.townofdavidson.org
currently working on building a section on
the north side of Concord Road, from Baker
Drive to Grey Road.
Challenges
Understanding the use of rights-of-way on
streets and private property is important
knowledge for Davidson property owners.
Property owners usually do not own land all
the way to the asphalt roadway along their
property. There is typically a publicly owned
right-of-way that is wider than the asphalt
roadway, and maintained by the owner. This
right-of-way may include sidewalks and
utilities. Public right-of-way is available for
sidewalk construction, but the town must
obtain an easement to build sidewalks on
private property.
In many cases, large trees and underground
utilities present significant obstacles for
sidewalk construction. Also, residents may
have installed landscaping, hardscape, brick
walls, etc. in the public right-of-way. It is
important for residents to understand that
they may not be compensated for the loss
of landscaping installed in the public rightof-way. Conversely, when the town does not
have sufficient right-of-way to build sidewalk,
we negotiate easements with property
owners.
Regardless of the ownership, our tree canopy
is very important, and we make every effort
to minimize impact to existing trees. When
the health of a tree is in question, we typically
hire an arborist to make recommendations.
Ultimately, we must balance the health of
the tree canopy with the pressing need for
sidewalks.
Benefits
As urban design shifts away from the
completely automobile-focused designs of
the past decades, the health and economic
benefits of pedestrian-friendly design have
become more apparent. With 50 years of
existing automobile-centered infrastructure
in America, we still have plenty of education
and updating to do -- but we continue to be
committed to pedestrian-friendly design as a
key component of our town. We recognize
and understand our residents’ need for autobased travel, but are focused on making sure
everyone has the option to walk and bike
safely.
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Public Works
Walking and Rolling in Davidson
One of Davidson’s core values, included in
our mission statement, says “Citizens need
to move easily throughout the town and
region, so government will provide a variety
of options, such as sidewalks, bike paths,
greenways, connected streets, and transit.” Our residents have consistently supported
this value in the 2012 and 2014 national
citizen surveys.
As the town has grown, and traffic volume
has increased, it has been challenging to
maintain our historic pedestrian orientation.
Development that has occurred since
2001 is regulated by our current planning
ordinance, which requires sidewalks on one or
both sides of the street. However, many of
our older neighborhoods were built without
sidewalks, and we have high traffic volume
roads (Concord, Main, Griffith) with sidewalks
on only one side. By filling these “gaps” in
our pedestrian infrastructure, we provide a
safe option for residents of all ages to walk or
bike to the town green, Davidson Elementary
School, McEver Field, River Run Soccer Field,
businesses, restaurants, places of worship, and
other locations in our community.
Prioritizing
Sidewalk construction costs in new housing
developments range from $25 to $50 per
linear foot. For existing neighborhoods,
the cost can be as high as $150 per linear
foot -- there are obstacles and constraints
that are not present in a new development
site. Davidson has approximately 8 miles of
missing sections of sidewalk, which is typical
for a town our size. The cost to fill all the
gaps is approximately 6.5 million dollars, about
75% of the annual town budget. The town
has historically budgeted $150,000 per year
for the installation of sidewalks in existing
neighborhoods. In 2013, the town hired
Alta Planning + Design, a national leader in
pedestrian and bicycle planning, to work with
our staff and residents on the Davidson Walks
and Rolls Active Transportation Plan to ensure
that Davidson is a livable community with the
necessary walking and bicycling infrastructure,
culture and programs to achieve this vision.
It was adopted in November 2013 and is on
our website at: www.townofdavidson.org/
pedestrianmasterplan.
• Beaty St. from Griffith to N. Main
(construct/improve)
• Main St. from Beaty to south town limits
(construct/improve)
• Main St. from Glasgow to Chairman Blake
(widen)
• Griffith St. from Spinnaker Cove Dr. to
Beaty St. (construct)
• Concord Rd. from N. Main to Downing St.
(construct)
• Potts St. from S. Main to the existing
sidewalk (construct)
• Watson St. from Delburg to Griffith streets
(construct)
• Davidson-Concord Rd. (construct)
• Jackson St. from S. Main to Delburg
(construct)
• Griffith St. from Beaty to Main (construct)
• Griffith St. from Portside to Spinnaker
Cove Drive (construct, bridge retrofit)
• Delburg from Beaty to Watson (construct)
• Jackson St. from S. Main to Delburg
(construct)
• Jetton St. from Davidson Gateway to Potts
(construct)
• Grey Rd. from Concord Rd. to Wolfe Ave.
(construct)
• Concord Rd. from N. Main to DavidsonConcord Rd. (improve)
• Main St. from Glasgow to Chairman Blake
(widen)
The plan identified the street sections below as The sidewalk section along Watson Street,
from Delburg Street to Griffith Street,
has been completed by town staff. We are
continued on page 7
To print out your own copy, including a listing of what can
and cannot be recycled, please visit www.townofdavidson.org/ priorities:
GarbageSchedule or get one at town hall.
The Town of Davidson
P.O. Box 579 • Davidson, NC 28036
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