news-record.com

GREENSBORO — Paving and lighting of the first phase of the $26 million, 4.8-mile Downtown Greenway is complete.

Landscaping will be installed this fall and a ribbon-cutting will be held this winter or next spring, but residents of the nearby Warnersville community have already begun to use the paved, 12-foot-wide path.

“People are excited,” said April Harris, executive director of Action Greensboro, the organization overseeing the project. “They are surprised by the fact that the greenway is more than just an asphalt trail.”

The greenway, which will circle the center city, will provide space for walking, biking, skating, running and socializing.

Harris said work on the next section should begin before the end of the year. It will run 2,000 feet from Lee Street to Spring Garden Street.

The first phase, which cost $1.3 million, runs from the ramp at Freeman Mill Road through the Greensboro College sports campus south of Lee Street to South Eugene Street, a distance of 1,800 feet.

The project will include benches and public art.

A series of chairs by North Carolina artist Gary Gresko has  already been installed. Made of teak and iron, the seats feature the words Triumph, Endurance, Hope, Strength and Faith burned into the backrests.

Warnersville residents chose those words to describe their neighborhood.

Next spring, Providence, R.I., artist Brower Hatcher will create a major piece of public art for the southwest corner of the greenway at Lee Street and Freeman Mill Road.

An archway, it will stand 22 feet high and 35 feet wide and will focus on the importance of transportation and education in the city’s history.

Brower will work with local artist Frank Russell and students from Jones Elementary School to create small sculptures made from recycled materials to embed in the larger work.

The greenway, which will take five to 10 years to complete, will be paid for using health and transportation grants, foundation money and local bond funds.

Contact Donald W. Patterson at 373-7027 or don.patterson@news-record.com