Policy Reports
Raleigh’s Neuse River Greenway: Nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live next to it

March 26, 2008

Key facts:

• Greenways are linear parks that benefit users with opportunities for exercise and enjoying nature.



• Raleigh is constructing the Neuse River Greenway from Falls Lake Dam to the Johnston County line.



• Since greenways are commonly owned public property, they are more susceptible to crime, litter, and degradation than privately owned property.



• Public-opinion surveys about greenways do not ask the opinions of residents who will live with a greenway essentially in their own backyards.



• The John Locke Foundation’s Neuse River Greenway survey asked homeowners who live directly adjacent to the proposed Neuse River Greenway for their views about this new greenway.



• The survey found that most of these homeowners believed that the new greenway would not be an asset to their neighborhoods, would increase crime, and would lower their property values. A large majority was unwilling to pay higher property taxes to pay for the greenway.



• These negative consequences (costs) would be forced on homeowners by the City of Raleigh without any countervailing compensation. Users of the greenway, on the other hand, would receive benefits without incurring costs commensurate with the benefits received.

Download PDF file: Raleigh’s Neuse River Greenway: Nice place to visit, but you wouldn’t want to live next to it (275 k)

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