The Committee owes several individuals and groups a special thanks for help, work and guidance along the way so far, including, but not limited to:

•The Raleigh City Council
•The Raleigh City Parks and Greenway Advisory Board
•The 446 people that signed our online petition to put the project forward
•All of the paddlers that attended public meetings to show their support
•The Carolina Canoe Club for past financial and moral support
•Tom Freeman, US Army Corps of Engineers
•Former Raleigh City Councilman Roger Koopman
•Sig Hutchinson
•Tom Blue and Ellis & Winters
•Cindy Szwarckop and Stewart Engineering
•Risa Shimoda John Anderson and McLaughlin Whitewater Design Grou
•Kathy Capps, Vic Lebsock and Seth Yearout-Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department
•Our own inimitable committee chair, Elizabeth Gardner

Paddlers await the vote of the Parks and Greenway Advisory Board

The Raleigh Parks and Greenway Advisory Board voted unanimously Thursday evening to advance the Falls Whitewater Park Project to a vote before the Raleigh City Council. This was a great leap forward toward approval of the project. Should the City Council subsequently approve, the Falls Whitewater Park Committee plans to begin fundraising activities to have the park built.

Introducing the motion to approve the park, the volunteer Parks and Greenway Advisory board touted the history of Raleigh’s attraction and accomodation of a diverse variety of recreational opportunities for its citizens and visitors and highlighted that the padlding community was one of those groups it welcomes to become a part of recreation in the Capitol City.

About a dozen Carolina Canoe Club members attended to Board meeting in the Raleigh City Council chambers simply to see and hear the vote occur. The group collectivly thanked the Board for their vote with a standing ovation and verbal “Thank You!”.

Scheduling of the vote by the Raleigh City Council will be announced on our website once the date and time is known.

The City of Raleigh’s Parks and Greenways Advisory Board votes on the park on Thursday night. The meeting is at 5:30 pm at Jaycee Park on Wade Ave. in Raleigh.

We will not have a chance to speak but we do need to have a show of support at the meeting. If you can come, please wear a white shirt and let’s try to sit together. If it passes Thursday night then we go to city council. If you’re curious about the design/plans: www.fallswhitewaterpark.org.

Falls Whitewater Park Committee Chair Elizabeth Gardner commented: “Proud, thrilled, amazed, awed, humbled. Those are just a few of the feelings I had last night. I want to thank all of you who came to the meeting. It made a big impact on the board to have all of you there. It took a lot of time and the effort that you made to be there did make a huge difference.
We had fantastic speakers. Paddlers and non-paddlers got up and spoke. I was awed by the expertise showed by folks who talked about the environmental impact, economic impact, potential for swiftwater rescue training and education at the park. I was thrilled when representatives from Duke University, NC State University, Great Outdoor Provision Company and Paddle Creek got up in front of the board. I was humbled when a 14 year old girl got up and spoke about what paddling means to her. I felt so proud to be part of our very special paddling community.”

The Parks and Greenway Advisory Board will vote on the plan at a future meeting which we will notice on this site. If approved, the project would be taken before the Raleigh City Council.

3/3/11

City of Raleigh:

I can think of no better allocation for a park than for a white water recreation facility at Falls Lake dam. I myself relocated to the Raleigh area seventeen years ago from the great white water state of Idaho to assume a teaching position for the Physical Education Department at North Carolina State University. The piedmont and coastal plane as well as the seasonal weather of Eastern North Carolina offers some great opportunities for flat water paddling and or rare occasion these some of the local stream provide some white water opportunities. However, I am one of local Triangle residents who leaves the area on most weekends to pursuit white water recreation endeavors as a result I spend a significant amount of money in places other than the Triangle area.

Revenue income would be one of the major benefits if the City of Raleigh were to construct a white water park it would provide an opportunity for white water paddle sport enthusiasts to participate in a popular adventure activity without having to leave the area. There is a large paddle sport community here in the Triangle area and most of those paddlers travel hundreds of mile on the weekend for the opportunity to pursuit white water adventures and spend their money in those locations. Building a paddle park in Raleigh would keep local paddlers home for the weekends rather than traveling to far off paddling destinations, they would spending their money here and stimulating the local economy. A paddle park would also draw non- resident paddle sport enthusiast to the Raleigh area where they to would spend their money on, accommodations, dining, shopping and fuel also helping to bolster the local economy. There would also be opportunities to develop local business adjacent to the park increasing tax revenues. The City of South Bend, Indiana converted an old canal into a whitewater park and it has become an destination for paddle sport enthusiasts and the anchor for a pedestrian shopping mall, a fine example of a recreation facility contributing to the local economy.

A white water park would provide for excellent teaching and training facility for local residents and students enrolled in near by colleges and universities. The park can be constructed and managed to provide for a safe and structured learning environment to learn, practice and master skills in a variety of paddle sports. I was a member of the 2000 USA Wildwater Team (C2) and my partner and I work out all winter with flat water training sessions on one of the local lakes; we had to travel 4-5 hours from Raleigh every weekend to practice on whitewater locations. Since my arrival at NCSU the outdoor education program has grown from a program with 4 basic skill courses to an Outdoor Leadership minor program with 12 basic skills courses. Our program at State offers bothwhite water canoeing and rafting courses; and we are currently writing curriculum for a whitewater kayaking course. These are some of the most sought after courses offered by the Physical Education Department. Currently we travel to West Virginia for these course because of the availability of reliable stream flows for white water paddling. Using a local white water facility would keep our field trip money in the local area as well as introducing novice paddlers to a local paddle sport recreation area. Depending upon hours of operation this park would then become a recreational location for all of those students. The proximity of Falls Lakes to NCSU makes it a prime recreational opportunity for our paddle sport enthusiasts students. Many of these students may well become local residents upon graduation and recreational opportunities are one of the benefits people look for when relocating to a new area.

Swiftwater Rescue and safety Training for local Emergency Services is yet another benefit of the construction of a white water park. Providing these professionals with a safe and realistic training in a controlled environment should be an important consideration for the city managers. The past flood situations on the Coastal Plain and the ravages of Hurricane Katrina on the City of new Orleans and Gulf Coast are prime example of a need for this type of training for our local safety service personnel.

The benefits of a white water recreation center here in Raleigh far out weight the costs of construction. With rising cost of fuel local paddlers will be more willing to “pay to play” at a recreation facility, when compared to the cost of drive four to five hours away from home for a weekend of recreational pursuit. I know that I would, so would most of my students at NCSU. This in a excellent opportunity for the city to provide quality recreation and teaching/training facilities for its residents.

Sincerely

Terence S. Dash
Outdoor Leadership Coordinator
North Carolina State University
Box 8111 Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
(919)515-1392
terry_dash@ncsu.edu

“The short response is the Corps proposes no change in policy regardless of the future status of the proposed park.  I’ll summarize and try to be as succinct as possible.  I’ll likely provide too much information for some, but please bear with me as it is my intent to clear the air:

The Corps has a policy that boats are prohibited 500 feet from the tail waters as measured from the Conduit Wing Wall.  For a multitude of reasons the situation at Falls is different from the standard Corps model.  We at the Falls office requested, and was granted a waiver from the general policy.  At Falls the policy distance was reduced from 500 feet to 150 feet.  Our Rangers and staff have worked with the paddling community to promote water safety on the river and it’s our observation the paddlers enjoy the area with a focus on safety and treat the other non-boating visitors (fishermen) who use the area simultaneously, with respect.

At a previous steering committee meeting I was asked about the exact location of the put-in relative to the course.  Should it be upstream of the bridge/at the bridge/ or downstream of the bridge?  My response as I recall it was I stated the put-in for the park should be as close to the bridge as possible to make the draft design workable.  The design must first be well thought-out.  Let’s do what’s smart.  Considering the closer we get to the conduit, the greater scrutiny by the Corps.  Keep in mind the 500 foot general prohibition is in the vicinity of the bridge.  As other Corps personnel will be evaluating a final draft, should the project get to that point, they may not be as receptive to the deviation as we at the Falls office have successfully lobbied for.  The role of the local Corps office in this developmental stage is to provide guidance for the team to develop a draft plan that has the greatest likelihood of endorsement by Corps reviewers at our headquarters level.

To that extent, my comment solely addressed access to the proposed course only. The reasoning behind my statement; I would recommend against making a large capital investment for a course in an area which has a exception to allow boating activity. Additionally the development of that specific portion of the river would likely create conflicts with the fishermen.  Furthermore, it’s a location which I believe my agency reviewers would not favor.

Deferring to a further downstream location where it is presently proposed.

Should the course be constructed, we do not readily see a condition developing which would cause the Corps to prohibit paddlers from accessing the historic locations where they have enjoyed the river and co-existed with other non-boaters recreating there. One of our project’s purposes is to promote the safe, multiple use of public lands and waters for recreational activities.

Regards,

Tom

T.E.Freeman
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Operations Manager
Falls Lake”