Difference between revisions of "American Tobacco Trail"

Revision as of 00:02, 16 July 2010

The American Tobacco Trail facing north near Fayetteville Road

Navigation

Earth: United States: North Carolina: Durham: American Tobacco Trail

Connections

North: through downtown Durham to South Ellerbee Creek Trail
South: currently ends about half(?) a mile north of the north end of the New Hope Valley Railway

Sections

going from north to south

Downtown section: south from Trinity Ave., through downtown Durham on sidewalks and back-streets, and connecting to the South Durham section
south Durham section (6.5+ miles): south from underneath the Durham Freeway (NC-147) bridge to just north of I-40
I-40 and associated connections (how to get between the current official trail ends)
south of I-40: south from Massey Chapel Road

Plans are underway to build a bike/pedestrian bridge over I-40 to connect with the #South of I-40 section; in the meantime, there is a quite workable detour for safely crossing I-40.

About

The American Tobacco Trail (ATT) is bike-and-pedestrian pathway running from the south edge of downtown Durham, NC and forming an essential part of the planned East Coast Greenway.

ATT Category: images of the ATT

Nomenclature

There seems to be some disagreement as to whether "American Tobacco Trail" refers to the entire planned 22 miles of north-south trail in the area, or just the section south of Durham (referred to as the "South Durham section" of the ATT, when ATT is presumed to mean the whole thing). HTYP prefers to designate the "American Tobacco Trail" as referring only to the section of trail south of Durham, as this matches signage on the trail as well as most maps.

Future Plans

The ATT is an essential part of the East Coast Greenway, a connected series of bike/pedestrian paths which will eventually the entire length of the United States east coast from Maine to Florida. "East Coast Greenway" signage is already in place along the South Durham section and possibly other completed portions of the ATT.

Businesses

Useful businesses located near the trail:

East Coast Chinese Food: inexpensive family-run Chinese food made to order, located (of all places) inside the Kroger in the shopping center at the end of the ATT. Very good, especially for the budget-minded. Lunch specials are cash-only, but there is an ATM about 20 feet away. They are informal and don't seem to have any problem serving sweaty, greasy bikers hot off the trail. Downside: the shopping center, despite their location right next to the ATT, does not seem to have a bike rack. We chained our bikes to the same chain used to secure a shaded picnic table outside Kroger, where they were kept under passive/unofficial observation by Kroger employees on break or waiting for their rides. --Woozle 17:16, 1 June 2007 (EDT)
Tobacco Trail Bicycle Rentals: at Solite Park just off the ATT where it intersects with Fayetteville Road

Links

Reference

Wikipedia
official ATT page at the Triangle Rails to Trails Conservancy web site
American Tobacco Trail Project - Phase E Pedestrian Bridge Over I-40: "This project includes the completion of the American Tobacco Trail from NC 54 to the Chatham County Line and will include a bridge across I-40 west of the I-40/Fayetteville Road interchange. The trail will be paved and will include several signals at roadway crossings along the route."

Blogs & Commentary

nicomachus.net ATT Archives: photos and text, with a few reader comments

Articles

2007-08-03:
- The American Tobacco Trail: "Where it is and where it's going"
- A week of ATT: "To celebrate the publication of our ATT map, we've featured the American Tobacco Trail daily in the pages of The News & Observer or on the Get Out! Get Fit! blog this week."
2007-08-02:
- Find what you need on ATT
- Spine of the greenway: "The American Tobacco Trail is on its way to connecting the Triangle"
- American Tobacco Trail: brief article with photo essay
2004-02-20 It's not easy getting green: greenway systems in Cary and Chapel Hill, and their plans for eventual hook-up with the ATT

News

2008-04-28 American Tobacco Trail design update set for Tuesday night
2006-09-07 Catch up on rail-line trail
2006-09-06 Durham bridge will be removed: it has apparently been decided to remove the "crumbling, unsafe" Apex Street bridge (closed to automobile traffic in 2001 because of safety concerns) over the ATT and replace it with a pedestrian ramp down the eastern side, thus giving the residents of "historically black, low-income" St. Theresa's neighborhood easier foot-access to both the trail and Forest Hills Park. (The bridge is on the ATT stretch between Enterprise and Otis streets.)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[File:2008-08-19 ATT 100 4221.web.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The [[American Tobacco Trail]] facing north near [[US/NC/Durham/roads/Fayetteville|Fayetteville Road]]]]__TOC__
 ==Navigation==
-[[category:Durham, NC]][[Earth]]: [[United States]]: [[North Carolina]]: {{instate|Durham|NC}}: [[American Tobacco Trail]]
+[[category:US/NC/Durham]][[Earth]]: [[United States]]: [[North Carolina]]: {{instate|Durham|NC}}: [[American Tobacco Trail]]
-==Overview==
+[[category:trails]]
-[[category:US/NC/Durham/ATT]][[category:trails]]The [[American Tobacco Trail]] (ATT) is a series of connected bike-and-pedestrian pathways running north-south through [[Durham, NC]] and forming an essential part of the planned [[East Coast Greenway]]. The term "American Tobacco Trail" also often refers specifically to the [[#South Durham]] section, which was the first completed stretch of the ATT.
+===Connections===
+* '''North''': through [[/downtown|downtown Durham]] to [[South Ellerbee Creek Trail]]
+* '''South''': currently ends about half(?) a mile north of the north end of the [[New Hope Valley Railway]]
+===Sections===
+''going from north to south''
+* '''[[/downtown|Downtown section]]''': south from Trinity Ave., through downtown Durham on sidewalks and back-streets, and connecting to the South Durham section
+* '''[[/south Durham|south Durham section]]''' (6.5+ miles): south from underneath the [[Durham Freeway]] ([[NC-147]]) bridge to just north of [[I-40]]
+* '''[[/I-40|I-40]] and associated connections (how to get between the current official trail ends)
+* '''[[/south of I-40|south of I-40]]''': south from Massey Chapel Road
+Plans are underway to build a bike/pedestrian bridge over I-40 to connect with the [[#South of I-40]] section; in the meantime, there is a quite workable detour for safely [[/I-40|crossing I-40]].
+==About==
+The [[American Tobacco Trail]] (ATT) is bike-and-pedestrian pathway running from the south edge of downtown [[Durham, NC]] and forming an essential part of the planned [[East Coast Greenway]].
 * [[:Category:US/NC/Durham/ATT|ATT Category]]: images of the ATT
 ==Nomenclature==
-There seems to be some disagreement as to whether "American Tobacco Trail" refers to the entire planned 22 miles of north-south trail in the area, or just the section south of Durham ("South Durham section"). Most of the quasi-official documents found thus far seem to consider this the name of the entire trail, so we are going with that convention for now.
+There seems to be some disagreement as to whether "American Tobacco Trail" refers to the entire planned 22 miles of north-south trail in the area, or just the section south of Durham (referred to as the "South Durham section" of the ATT, when ATT is presumed to mean the whole thing). HTYP prefers to designate the "American Tobacco Trail" as referring only to the section of trail south of Durham, as this matches signage on the trail as well as most maps.
-==Sections==
-''going from north to south''
-* [[West Ellerbe Creek Greenway]]
-** '''Phase II''' (to be completed): from Westover Park (between Guess Road and Maryland Ave.), under [[I-85]] alongside Club Blvd., and (eventually) up to [[South Point on the Eno]].
-** '''Phase I''': north from Trinity Ave. through most of Watts-Hillandale, to Westover Park
-* '''Downtown section''': south from Trinity Ave., through downtown Durham on sidewalks and back-streets, and connecting to the South Durham section
-* '''[[#South Durham]] section''' (6.5+ miles, plus additional sections) (a.k.a. the American Tobacco Trail): south from underneath the [[Durham Freeway]] (147) to just north of [[I-40]] where Fayetteville Road crosses over.
-* '''The [[#South of 40]] section''': south from Massey Chapel Road
-===South Durham===
-[[Image:000 0070 2007-08-01 abandoned log cabin just off ATT.web.jpg|thumb|Abandoned log cabin in the woods about 1/4 of the way from the Cornwallis Rd. intersection to the MLK intersection, off the west side of the trail.]]
-This is a converted former railroad right-of-way beginning at the south edge of downtown Durham and stretching to a "temporary end" just across NC-54 and I-40 from [[Southpoint Mall]]).
-Intersections (from memory):
-* '''Enterprise St.''' in [[Forest Hills]]; not busy
-* '''Otis St.''' (neighborhood through-street, but usually pretty quiet)
-* '''[[US/NC/Durham/roads/Fayetteville|Fayetteville Rd.]]''' (busy; traffic light and pedestrian crossing light/button)
-* '''Riddle Rd.''' (more fast than busy; button activates flashing yellow light to warn drivers)
-* (street behind school; not too busy, but vehicles do come along regularly)
-* '''Cornwallis Rd.''' (much like Riddle Rd.)
-* '''Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway''' (very busy; the crossing signal will "forget" your button-press if you do it too early in the cycle, so keep trying. The Hypertwins think that the city should put in a pedestrian/bike crossing a little way uphill of [[Cardinal Self-Storage South|Cardinal Self-Storage South]] instead of making everyone cross at the intersection.)
-* '''Fayetteville Rd.''' (again) (busy; traffic light, pedestrian crossing light/button makes tone when it's safe to cross)
-* several suburban offshoot streets, mostly not too busy but with no signals
-To reach the current "temporary end" of the trail 6.5 miles south of Durham, you have to turn right several yards short of the end of the straight-ahead part of the trail (which mainly goes to the small ATT parking area at the shopping center entrance off Fayetteville Rd.) to get to the final section of trail. The turn is not clearly marked as being the official continuation of the Trail; you have to look closely at the signpost (which is on the left, opposite the turnoff) and notice the little arrow pointing to the right.
-This stretch runs around through [[Southpoint Crossing]], a gated community and shopping center (the trail runs behind the shopping center with a hill separating it from vehicular traffic) and over to NC Highway 54, a busy road with 5+ lanes.
-Plans are underway to build a bike/pedestrian bridge over I-40 to connect with the [[#South of I-40]] section; in the meantime, there is a quite workable detour for safely [[/I-40|crossing I-40]].
-===South of 40===
-This stretch begins a block south of [[Southpoint Mall]] on Massey Chapel Road and continues unpaved for 13 more miles through the northeast corner of [[Chatham County, NC|Chatham County]] (eventually to be paved) and into [[Wake County, NC|Wake County]]. It is effectively broken into 3 sections, however, by the absence of bridges at Northeast Creek and Panther Creek; both crossings currently have undecked railroad trestles which are in the process of being re-decked for ATT usage.
-The trail's southbound terminus is currently on New Hill / Olive Chapel Rd., 22 miles south of Durham. "A 20-mile multiuse trail" beginning at this point and continuing on south "is in early discussions. It would extend to [[Harris Lake County Park]] and on to [[Raven Rock State Park]] on the [[Cape Fear River]]. Its working name: ATT South", according to the map accompanying a [http://www.newsobserver.com/707/story/657194.html 2007-08-02 article] in ''[[The News & Observer]]'' (p.5E).
 ==Future Plans==
 The ATT is an essential part of the [[East Coast Greenway]], a connected series of bike/pedestrian paths which will eventually the entire length of the United States east coast from [[Maine]] to [[Florida]]. "East Coast Greenway" signage is already in place along the South Durham section and possibly other completed portions of the ATT.
@@ Line 66: / Line 41: @@
 ** [http://www.newsobserver.com/707/story/657194.html American Tobacco Trail]: brief article with photo essay
 * '''2004-02-20''' [http://www.newsobserver.com/lifestyles/tio/story/406690.html It's not easy getting green]: greenway systems in {{instate|Cary|NC}} and {{instate|Chapel Hill|NC}}, and their plans for eventual hook-up with the ATT
 ===News===
 * '''2008-04-28''' [http://www.bullcityrising.com/2008/04/american-tobacc.html American Tobacco Trail design update set for Tuesday night]
-* '''2007-06-06''' [http://www.bullcityrising.com/2007/06/act_now_help_co.html Act now: Help connect the North-South & W. Ellerbe Creek Greenways]
 * '''2006-09-07''' [http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/483365.html Catch up on rail-line trail]
 * '''2006-09-06''' [http://www.newsobserver.com/news/durham/story/483095.html Durham bridge will be removed]: it has apparently been decided to remove the "crumbling, unsafe" Apex Street bridge (closed to automobile traffic in 2001 because of safety concerns) over the ATT and replace it with a pedestrian ramp down the eastern side, thus giving the residents of "historically black, low-income" St. Theresa's neighborhood easier foot-access to both the trail and [[Forest Hills Park]]. (The bridge is on the ATT stretch between Enterprise and Otis streets.)
-==Maps==
-[[Image:2007-ATT-1.png|200px]]
-[[Image:2007-ATT-2.png|197px]]
-[[Image:2007-ATT-3.png|200px]]
-[[Image:2007-ATT-4.png|200px]]