Some 148 acres of multi-use trails in Wake County's most popular park June 1 to make way for an entertainment development from the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority.
Trail users are devastated.
"When I heard that they were closing, I was very upset, very sad," said Tres Bruce, a mountain biker who's been riding the trails twice weekly since 2002.
" the population is becoming less healthy, mentally and physically," said Matt Kerney, co-founder of running group Trail:30. "Spending time outside, moving around helps that. So it makes zero sense to do what they're doing."
A public hearing held at the airport in January , all of whom lambasted the proposed development.
Kerney's group, along with Triangle Off-road Cyclists (TORC), will in protest on May 31. He welcomes anyone, even non-bikers and non-hikers, to come by in support. They also plan to speak before the Wake County Commissioners May 19 at 2 p.m. and are urging others to do the same.
Why is this happening?
For the past 40 years, RDU leased 181 acres off Interstate 40 and Aviation Parkway to Wake County for just $1 a year. That lease expires this June, and when it does, a 26-year-old policy kicks into gear.
In 1999, the Federal Aviation Administration codified that require airports receiving federal grants to lease their land at no lower than market rate. have also recommended airports be more self-sustaining.
While TORC that the market rate stipulations have an for "community use" spaces, RDU spokeswoman Stephanie Hawco said that applies only to land bought with federal grants. These acres were bought with local money, she said.
There is nothing preventing the airport from selling the land, however. Wake County Parks Director Chris Snow said he would be willing to negotiate a purchase; after all, it is their most popular park, he said. There's only one problem: The airport doesn't want to sell the land.
In July of last year, the airport authority put out a seeking potential developers for the property. That RFI included language that the "Authority will not consider any sale or disposition of Authority-owned real property."
"The airport has never expressed an interest in selling that land," Snow said. "It would have to be for sale before we could buy it." dated to last September valued the land at $2.4 million.
But according to a public records request by 深夜福利, not only are the 148 acres of trail not for sale, there aren't even lease negotiations for them. Snow hopes to keep the sliver left by the shore.
"We are still hopeful that we're going to be providing recreational amenities at Lake Crabtree, just not everything that people have grown accustomed to over the years," he said. "Our goal is to keep as much of Crabtree as we can."
The most recent draft lease for those remaining 33.19 acres on the shore of Lake Crabtree would require the county pay $238,932 annually to RDU. That rent would increase by 3% every year. Every five years, RDU may choose to increase the rent that year by 10% of the land's total market value instead of the 3% increase.
Wake County鈥檚 budget proposal for 2026 $239,000 to renew the lease.
Alternative Solutions
Kerney, the trail activist, said development is "unnecessary" and unwanted. If development is inevitable, though, he says it should at least be well-integrated into the land.
"Instead of destroying the whole park, why not cut out a small piece that doesn't really affect the trail system and lease it to a trail related business, like a restaurant that was trail-themed, or maybe even a bike store," he said. "That would benefit everybody."
The airport authority it aims to keep the development "consistent and appropriate with the natural surroundings of the site," attracting support of local officials like County Manager David Ellis. The RFI includes language to "Ensure recreational users are considered in the development."
But Kerney remains worried. Surrounding trails are already crowded, he says, and shutting this one down might be a slippery slope to losing more.
Parks Director Snow said Wake County for the loss of Lake Crabtree Park's trails by expanding its mountain biking paths to Umstead Park and a trail between the two parks called .
The whole area is "centrally located, very easy to get off Interstate 40," he said. That's one reason why losing Lake Crabtree's trails devastates so many hikers and bikers.
What gets lost in the numbers, though, is the love people have for this space.
"This is my sanctuary," said Bruce, the mountain biker who's been riding these trails for decades. "Raleigh and this whole area is supposed to be known for their green spaces, and we're losing one of the best ones."
The next closest mountain biking trail is far away for him and many others, he said. For many of them, they're not just losing a park. They're losing a home.
