Residents protest proposed 60-space parking lot for new greenway

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County announced plans to build a greenway along South Prong Clarke Creek extending from Concord to Huntersville.

Neighbors in Asbury Park say they welcome the trail, but one part of the design caught them by surprise.

“It’s supposed to be sixty parking spaces, that’s a little bit many,” Doug Kennerly said.

Proposed plans call for a 60-car trailhead parking lot along Ferrelltown Parkway, which would sit alongside homes and a small farm.

In an online petition, those who live nearby argue a lot of this size isn’t a great fit.

“I don’t think anybody’s got a problem with the greenway it’s just the parking,” farmer Doug Kennerly said.

“Just give us the trailhead, we’re happy to have the trailhead but to surprise us with a 60 parking space parking lot we feel is excessive,” neighbor Suzanne Lambert said.

Neighbors also raised concerns about privacy and safety.

“We’re concerned with the amount of traffic that this could bring in, foot traffic, noise, that’s a lot of additional activity coming into a very quiet neighborhood,” neighbor Shelle Young mentioned.

They’re asking officials to pause this part of the project and consider a smaller lot or a different location. Most of all, they want a say in what happens next.

“We, as a community, have some ideas on what we would like to see,” Young says, “Can we get to the right people to have that conversation? We’re trying.”

The South Prong Clarke Creek Greenway project is currently in the planning phases with staff actively seeking input from neighbors and the community. A community engagement meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 5:30 p.m. at the David B. Waymer Recreation and Senior Center on Holbrooks Rd. in Huntersville. The meeting is intended to gather input and apply it to the project. This includes input on the amount of parking needed, which has yet to be determined.

Park and Recreation typically provides between 40 and 60 spaces at greenway trailheads.

The site was selected because it can be accessed directly off Huntersville-Concord Road without increasing traffic within the adjacent neighborhoods.

More information about the South Prong Clarke Creek Greenway and the community engagement meeting is available on Park and Recreation’s project web page. The director of the park planning division will be available at the community meeting for interviews.

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