Miller Park Upgrades & Stream Restoration

Overview

H.L. Miller Park is located in the heart of downtown Wake Forest, adjacent to several municipal buildings including the Wake Forest Town Hall and Wake Forest Police Department. The park is bordered by a municipal parking lot, which serves the Town Hall and hosts a weekly Farmer’s Market, and a large, developed parcel owned by Wake Electric Membership Corporation (Wake Electric).

The 2-acre wooded park features picnic tables and paved trails with three pedestrian wooden bridges that loop throughout the park.

There are two stormwater control measures (SCMs) situated in the park and two stream features that merge within the park. USGS named Spring Branch, a primary stream, initially flows from the South Franklin Street culvert onto the Wake Electric property before entering the park property in the north-eastern corner.  The other stream, a USGS unnamed tributary (UT), flows from the South Taylor Street culvert in the north-western corner and meanders between the park and Wake Electric properties before its confluence with Spring Branch within the park boundary. Below the confluence, Spring Branch flows to a culvert near the traffic circle of Elm Avenue and South Franklin Street.

There is significant erosion downstream of both SCM outfalls and several other outfalls in the park and the stream is incised with vertical banks that are eroding and contributing sediment to the reach. The overland erosion from the outfalls is undermining the existing paved trails, causing structural damage to the asphalt. The wooden pedestrian bridges are in poor condition as well.

The Town of Wake Forest (Town) has requested Kimley Horn to develop this proposal for a conceptual design to enhance and restore this highly visible and unstable stream to improve water quality and safety and renovate the park’s amenities and greenway system to provide greenway connectivity. The project areas differ between the stream restoration, greenway and park design concepts.

American Rescue Plan Act

This project is supported by a grant from US Treasury as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) CoronavirusState and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds award totaling $14.5 million.

Miller Park Phase 1 improvements are underway

February 24, 2025

J.M. Thompson Company, a contractor working on behalf of the Town of Wake Forest, has started work on Phase 1 of the Miller Park Upgrades & Stream Restoration Project.

Located at 401 Elm Avenue in downtown Wake Forest, Miller Park is situated at the intersection of South Franklin Street, Elm Avenue, and South Taylor Street. The two-acre wooded park features a picnic area and paved trails that loop throughout the park.

Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Phase 1 improvements are designed to restore an unstable stream that flows through the park and renovate the park’s amenities and greenway system to enhance connectivity. For more details, including construction plans, visit the Town’s IDT website or https://bit.ly/MillerParkImprovements.

Construction activities will intermittently affect traffic along South Franklin Street, Elm Avenue, and South Taylor Street. Notifications regarding road or lane closures will be shared through normal Town channels.

Phase 1 improvements are expected to be completed in late 2026. For more information, email CIP Manager Steven Meyer at [email protected].