A water line replacement project has begun near the South Main Street/Walnut Street intersection. This section of Walnut heading east from South Main will be affected through Saturday. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

A water line replacement project could affect traffic this week at South Main and Walnut streets in Davidson. The work began Tuesday and is expected to continue through at least Saturday, according to Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities and Davidson Public works officials. Read the full story

Piedmont Natural Gas provided this partial map of the proposed pipeline route to Davidson Lands Conservancy. Click image to download a PDF.

Updated 1:02 p.m.
By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson College is protesting plans by Piedmont Natural Gas for a potentially damaging pipeline across land it owns in the northern part of town. In a letter to state regulators on Feb. 13, college officials said they have “significant concerns” about the project. The college also accuses the company of withholding information about the pipeline, which would begin construction in March.

The eight-mile pipeline would be part of a longer regional pipeline Piedmont is constructing to feed Progress Energy’s Sutton power station, in New Hanover County, near Wilmington. The gas company is seeking permits from the state Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as construction approval from the North Carolina Utilities Commission. Read the full story

These signs were installed on Concord Road last year when the NC DOT resurfaced the road. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By ROLEY ALTIZER

Since the spring of 2004, I’ve been obsessed with walking. From Dec. 14, 2004, (the day I started keeping records) to Dec. 5, 2011, I had walked 8,220 miles throughout town.

I started walking during the spring of 2004 as part of my rehabilitation after having brain surgeries—after I could be trusted to walk from McConnell to the Post Office and back.

I’ve always been an observant and analytical person, so during my years of walking I’ve made hundreds of mental notes about pedestrian safety here in town. Read the full story

Drivers stopped Thursday for a man crossing Concord Road at Faculty Drive, where a new sign has been installed. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Someone has hung a Christmas wreath on a telephone pole at the Concord Road crosswalk where Davidson College Professor Rob Whitton was struck by a car the night of Nov. 3. This week, the town began the first of a series of planned improvements prompted by the fatal incident, installing new warning signs in the middle of the road at Faculty Drive and three other crossings. Meanwhile, improved lighting also is in the works for Concord Road, town officials said. Read the full story

EnergyUnited will issue refunds this month to its members who, as part of the cooperative, are entitled to shares of the organization’s excess profits. The $3 million in “capital credits” will be distributed across EnergyUnited’s  service area, including about 7,000 members in areas south and west of downtown Cornelius and areas north and east of downtown Davidson. The average check: just over $26. Read the full story

Geese have become a problem at Roosevelt Wilson Park, the town says. (Jay Wilson/DavidsonNews.net)

The Town of Davidson has hired a Charlotte company called Goose Busters!to help with a perennial problem at Roosevelt Wilson Park: Too many Canada geese and what they leave behind. (Did you know geese can drop a pound of poop daily?)

Beginning Thursday, Dec. 1, and continuing three times a week for several weeks, the company will use trained herding dogs to shoo the birds away and will treat goose eggs to prevent geese from nesting in the park, which is off Griffith Street in Davidson. The town says the campaign won’t kill any geese. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

The N.C. Department of Transportation says repaving could begin soon on major roads across Mecklenburg County, including Grey and Davidson-Concord roads in Davidson and several back roads in Huntersville. Meanwhile, state engineers also are planning a resurfacing of N.C. 115 in north Mecklenburg, and Davidson officials and cycling advocates are lobbying for a road design that accommodates bicycles. Read the full story

Residents met commissioners in a meeting room at Ada Jenkins Center. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Davidson residents quizzed commissioners Tuesday night at the latest in a series of informal “Commissioner Chats,” this time at Ada Jenkins Center on Gamble Street. Topics ranged from Town Hall communication and the privacy of citizens’ email addresses to the town’s new $201 trash collection fee and persistent natural gas odors on some West Side streets. Read the full story