Elon Town Council met June 24 to a record turnout of citizen attendance to discuss the permanent closure of Aspen Avenue.

“This is probably the largest crowd at a meeting that I have personally experienced in my over six years on the council,” Mayor Emily Sharpe said.

In addition, the council made a proclamation declaring July as Parks and Recreation Month, approved capital funds and canceled two meetings in July.

Aspen Avenue

In March 2022, the council made a decision to close Aspen Avenue because of pedestrian safety and traffic regulation. 

The street is seven minutes away from Elon University in the Ashley Woods neighborhood and the closure borders between the town of Elon and the town of Gibsonville. 

The matter was reopened because the closure blocks a planned entrance into the Owen Parks subdivision, which is being built by property developer Matt Kirkpatrick. 

Council member Stephanie Bourland openly advocated for the permanent closure of Aspen Avenue, which received roaring applause from the citizens of Elon. 

“I think everybody knows I’m pretty opposed to opening this road,” Bourland said. “I'm trying to figure out what's going to be best for the community, for Elon and for people that live there. But right now, I just don't see any benefit to the town of Elon.”

Elon resident Judy Peacock attended the meeting and was also overwhelmingly opposed to the opening of Aspen Avenue. 

“Why is it imperative now that Aspen Avenue be connected to this developer’s neighborhood?” Peacock said. “It appears that Ashley Woods wants to be used for optics and marketing to sell Owen Park homes.”

Yet, there were citizens of both Elon and Gibsonville present at the meeting who were in favor of opening up Aspen Avenue for connectivity between the two neighborhoods. Elon resident Matt Clancy was one of them.

“I didn’t ask for your neighborhood to be here,” Clancy said. “It’s going to be reality; this is a long term solution that we need to consider for this entire community.”

Because of the differing viewpoints, Sharpe was hesitant to file a motion to close the street because no resolution was presented to the council. 

“One of the problems that we have with taking action tonight is that we don’t have an ordinance in front of us, nor do we have a resolution,” Sharpe said. 

Instead, the town’s attorney Bob Hagemann; planning director Lori Oakley; and Town Manager Richard Roedner presented potential options for the council. These options included permanently closing the road, closing it to a certain extent and opening the road.

After hearing the options from all sides, Sharpe and the council asked the town staff to bring forward options that will prohibit vehicular traffic — but allow for pedestrian traffic to promote connectivity between the neighborhoods. 

“We would like to explore options to closing the street for vehicular access,” Sharpe said. 

The council will hear more options from the town staff and aim to make a decision during either a special meeting on July 16 or the first meeting in August. 

Elon citizen and former member of the planning board Tom Bloom said he believes that council has taken the right steps forward. 

“They made progress in that they’re leaning towards vehicular closure and have pedestrian right away,” Bloom said. “That was my original goal, let us walk back and forth, but we don’t need more traffic on Brookview.”

Kirkpatrick’s attorney Amanda Hodierne declined Elon News Network’s request for comment because the matter is still unresolved. 

Parks and Recreation Month

Elon’s Town Council declared that July would be known as Parks and Recreation Month for the town of Elon. July is recognized as Parks and Recreation Month by the U.S. House of Representatives, and the full details of the proclamation are available on the town of Elon’s website. 

Capital Funds

The council approved the creation of two capital funds for the streets and sidewalks of Elon and the skate park, which was presented by Human Resources Manager Kathy Barham. A capital reserve fund was created for the streets and sidewalks of Elon and a capital project fund was created for the skate park.

Looking Ahead

The council’s next meeting will be a special meeting on July 16, while the meetings on July 9 and 22 have been canceled.