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Greenway may follow an old rail line to Stokesdale

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Thursday, August 26, 2010

(Updated 1:03 pm)

By Taft Wireback
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — Hikers, joggers and bicyclists got a boost Wednesday from regional planners who began blazing a trail that someday could link the center city to both the mountains and coast.

The Metropolitan Planning Organization unanimously agreed to extend the Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway from its current end at U.S. 220 in Summerfield northwest across the county through Stokesdale.

The new pact says the governments of Greensboro, Guilford County, Summerfield and Stokesdale will cooperate on a feasibility study of the extension in partnership with state environmental officials and such nonprofit groups as the Piedmont Land Conservancy and the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

Planners are starting from scratch with only a general idea that the greenway should follow — where possible — the course of the former Atlantic & Yadkin rail line to Stokesdale, said Peggy Holland, coordinator of Greensboro’s bicycle and pedestrian program.

Beyond that, the “A&Y” could go north to Rockingham County or west to Forsyth County, Holland said.

It might also include spurs for mountain biking and horseback riding.

“That’s the sort of thing we’ll consider in the feasibility study,” she said, adding the first step likely will be public meetings to gather comments.

Part of the extension also will carry the Mountains-to-Sea Trail between Forsyth County and Greensboro’s lake region. The cross-state trail — in the works for years — will someday be an off-road path from Jockey’s Ridge on the Outer Banks to Clingman’s Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Planners foresee the A&Y also intersecting the Piedmont Greenway , a 19-mile pathway planned through Triad Regional Park to Winston-Salem. .

The A&Y’s course has been plotted in a broad-brush way from Summerfield through Stokesdale but might change depending on the availability of land, Holland said.

The MPO is the transportation planning agency for much of Guilford County outside High Point.

“Atlantic & Yadkin Greenway” is the new name joining formerly separate projects that include the Battleground Rail Trail, part of the Bicentennial Greenway and the Lake Brandt Greenway.

The most recent leg from Pisgah Church Road and Battleground Avenue south to Markland Drive opened last week.

Planners envision the southernmost leg of the A&Y tying into the Downtown Greenway, the four-mile loop around the center city now taking shape.

But the A&Y’s last, southern leg has been stymied because that part of the rail line is still in use.

Contact Taft Wireback at 373-7100 or taft.wireback@news-record.com

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InventorNC

August 26, 2010 - 8:28 am EDT

A trail for - and by - us? Marvelous!
I would only wish for a hiker-only trail. Bikes would introduce significant danger to hikers, especially those with young children. In addition the trail would have to be relatively smooth for bikers, more like a city sidewalk than a path with loose rocks and other natural features.
One more point: why involve governments with all their expense and red tape? For years and years the members of private outfits such as the century-old AMC, Appalachian Mountain Club have cut and maintained beautiful trails through woods and up mountains with no or minimal government involvement. AMC managed to put together the over-2000 mile long Georgia-to-Maine trail and have kept it up beautifully. I am certain that they or a similar outfit could manage to stitch together a hiker's trail of but a few miles here on our counties.

Let's use our brains and experience and reduce government expenses - and involvement!

aliluyya

August 26, 2010 - 10:25 am EDT

Inventor, I understand your concern, but a little common courtesy and everyone abiding by common rules greatly lessens the danger when it comes to bikers and hikers travelling on the same paths. Simple stuff, like walk to the right side of the path. Bikers wanting to pass can ring their bells and notify walkers with "on your left" as they pass. worked perfectly this weekend. the bikers that passed us even said "Thank You" when we moved to the right to give them more room.
and no, paths don't have to be paved for bikers to use them. I see the most bikes on the Big Loop trail @ BurMil, which is not paved at all. many bikers want to have "off-road" places to ride. that trail is very thin (one person wide) and I've never had any trouble sharing it with bikers or families. When bikers are coming, we simply step to the side to let them pass. Then we're on our way. Kids are never too young to learn how to share. Adults can always benefit from a lesson in sharing as well. It's an issue of learning to respect others and everyone cooperating. Bikers ring the bell and announce themselves, walkers move to the right, kids understand they have to follow the rules just like everyone else (meaning they aren't running wild, not paying attention to their surroundings), the person who can yield the easiest does just that, and everyone can share the same walkway or trail. There are signs posted that spell out these rules, so they aren't a mystery.

InventorNC

August 26, 2010 - 8:39 am EDT

Regarding a path in the area of an active rail line, the busy Metra commuter line in Chicago hosts several paths alongside the rails with just a fence between the two.

If it matters, I question whether our railroad is anywhere as busy as the Metra;

I do believe we can make our path work if we want to.

casper

August 26, 2010 - 9:12 am EDT

Wow, how wonderful. Millions of tax dollars wasted on something that less than 1 percent of the population will ever use. Liberalism is a mental disorder.

newtogso

August 26, 2010 - 9:49 am EDT

So 1% is the magic threshold for qualifying as a worthy tax-supported effort? I didn't realize that. I'm guessing our veterans make up less than 1% of our population, perhaps we shouldn't have VA hospitals? I'm guessing less than 1% use sidewalks to walk to work, so let's get rid of sidewalks. And I'm guessing less than 1% of our local population visits our state parks, so let's get rid of those too.

Panacea

August 26, 2010 - 10:04 am EDT

casper doesn't want to pay for anything unless he himself uses it.

aliluyya

August 26, 2010 - 10:40 am EDT

Isn't it amusing when the apathetic project their disdain for life onto others? It must be a great mental strain for them to imagine that many people get out of their house, exercise, take in the natural beauty all around us and enjoy life alongside their friends & neighbors.

GBoro's greenway system is a huge asset to the area. We use it all the time, at many different places throughout the city. We have hiked parts of the Mtns-to-Sea trail in the mountains and here in the piedmont. Everywhere & every time we go, there are lots of other people enjoying the natural beauty of our state.

I think the new Trek store is open, right beside what will one day (hopefully soon) be part of the greenway. The greenway, in fact, was the deciding factor in putting the Trek store in GBoro. That store will bring jobs and people spending $ in the Boro. Treks are superb bikes and don't come cheap. This store is interested in becoming part of the Boro's strong biking community. Who knows, that shopping center could be revived by the greenway passing by it. Foot and pedal traffic is very good for retail stores. Car traffic just whizzes on by, esp in that section of Battleground.

I, for one, am proud to see GBoro using tax $ in a way that benefits all her residents equally.

Muley

August 26, 2010 - 11:09 am EDT

Let's not forget about the Horseback riders in the area. The old RR in Stokesdale has been a riding path for years. Hopefully it will continue to be so.