Umstead State Park will keep shortcut closed

The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation decided Tuesday against a change that would have opened a shortcut into William B. Umstead State Park.

The state took up the issue after hearing from hikers who used a neighborhood pedestrian entrance from Graylyn Drive to access the park’s trails.

Residents balked at the use and the vehicles it brought to their neighborhood. They complained and in Sept. 2008 got the state Department of Transportation to post “no parking” signs and block off the entrance, which leads to a maintenance road.

Lewis Ledford, director of the state parks, said the decision to keep the access closed was based on concerns about security and the cost of establishing it as a permanent, public entrance.