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T fie Nuys & Observer The changes are expected to form an important link in the town's trail system and make it safer for to cross busy MLK Boulevard and head downtown or west to Carrboro. Cyclists and pedestrians now go down the hill, past a dangerous gas station driveway, to cross at the traffic light. Concerned residents say there are better ways to safely route people than a concrete trail next to a creek in the resource conservation district — land set aside to protect water quality. "A river's riparian area is a delicate place, and there is usually a minimum area along every creek or river that should not be messed with, in order for the body of water to stay healthy," Umstead Drive resident Sue -Anne Solem recently emailed town leaders. The fear is that stormwater will race down the hill, crossing the concrete unabated, and push more sediment downstream, residents said. That could erode the creek, increase the potential for flooding and harm aquatic life, they said. Repairs to the Bolin Creek Greenway in recent years show what could happen, Mt. Bolus Road resident Will Raymond said. Floodwaters in 2013 damaged the trail's edges, destroying handrails and retaining walls, and creating a large landslide in one section. Town leaders seem determined to move full speed ahead anyway, Raymond said. "The town doesn't listen to the experts. They don't listen to the residents," he said. "I guess we're doing to have to find chunks of asphalt in the creek before the town starts believing this was a bad idea."