Rails to Trails

[dtowndreaming]

I can’t read the article but doesn’t the fact that they issued an intent to award mean they have a plan to source the additional funds?

[transplant08]

6 hours ago, gman430 said:

A construction bid for a key trail that would connect Cleveland Park to Greenville's Laurens Road pedestrian bridge and a Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail extension has come in nearly $1 million over budget, calling into question how the city will pay for the project in a race against the clock: 

https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/greenville/2022/07/22/swamp-rabbit-trail-extension-high-cost-threatens-trail-connection/10090311002/

Take some of those tower funds and finish the trail extension.

[NewlyUpstate]

2 hours ago, dtowndreaming said:

I can’t read the article but doesn’t the fact that they issued an intent to award mean they have a plan to source the additional funds?

Essentially, they only had 1 company submit a bid by the deadline. The city wants to make it work with this firm instead of going through the extensive process of rebidding the work.

They are working with this company on ways to reduce cost. This exercise is typically called Value Engineering and not something all that unusual to run into during bidding.

The bigger issue is the fact that they only got 1 bid, because then you don't know if that bid is truly a reasonable starting spot

Edited July 22, 2022 by NewlyUpstate

[gman]

I hope this gets done. "Steep, abandoned rail line marked for 31-mile trail connecting SC, NC." https://www.postandcourier.com/spartanburg/news/steep-abandoned-rail-line-marked-for-31-mile-trail-connecting-sc-nc/article_9a3cbae2-0c40-11ed-a167-0b5cdc75b47a.html

[dtowndreaming]

Looks like city council is meeting on Monday to consider appropriating funds to cover the overage. They brought the cost down to $1.2m.  

[Galley]

The overage was approved.

[vicupstate]

Cleveland Park pedestrian  bridge

[SVL]

So this is happening Friday night...

https://greenvillesc.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2905

[Horatio Nelson]

28 minutes ago, SVL said:

So this is happening Friday night...

https://greenvillesc.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2905

Exciting, it looked like the bridge was pretty much done for a while now, I was wondering when they would lift the final stretch. 

[Galley]

This has been postponed one week due to weather.

[SVL]

On 9/9/2022 at 5:42 PM, Galley said:

This has been postponed one week due to weather.

The weather is looking good so we should have a bridge in place by tomorrow morning.  I'm probably a little more excited than I should be for this.  

[gman430]

The new bridge is installed and looks good. The graffiti is still there though. 

[Galley]

The bridge over Lauren Road is scheduled to be installed overnight on the evening of the 28th.

[Danmire]

Bridge is up

[gman430]

A new, mile-long portion of Greenville County's extension of the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail between Holland Park and Think Tank Brew Lab is now open to the public.

The addition is part of the county's planned five-mile extension of the trail's Green Line, which will eventually connect Cleveland Park downtown to the Clemson University Center for Automotive Research.

The newly opened trail portion is not yet connected to the Laurens Road pedestrian bridge, but Ty Houck, director of Greenways, Natural and Historic Resources for Greenville County Parks, Recreation and Tourism, said he hopes the connection will be completed by early next year.

Houck said the best way to access the currently unconnected one-mile extension is through access points at Holland Park on Laurens Road and Think Tank Brew Lab on Airport Road.

[bikeoid]

Here's where the new trail goes, 2/3 mile of old railroad bed and nearly 1/3 mile of connector trails on both ends. 

Swamp Rabbit trail green line along Laurens Road

[GMoxley]

7 minutes ago, bikeoid said:

Here's where the new trail goes, 2/3 mile of old railroad bed and nearly 1/3 mile of connector trails on both ends. 

Swamp Rabbit trail green line along Laurens Road

Thanks! Anyone know when the orange line extension will open?

[Danmire]

Orange Line looks to be back open.  They have moved the construction fence.   

[gman430]

5 minutes ago, Danmire said:

Orange Line looks to be back open.  They have moved the construction fence.   

Yeah, it was open last weekend when I rode my bike through there. 

Edited October 27, 2022 by gman430

[Danmire]

I hope they eventually do a connection to the orange line that follows the dashed red line rather than having to go along Washington street,  It'd be safer,

[Horatio Nelson]

Walked down the open part of Lauren's Road Swamp Rabbit Trail. If the rest of it is like this it's going to be great.

[gman430]

Mixed use development slated to cost $100 million: 

https://upstatebusinessjournal.com/business-news/greenville-sc-developer-planning-major-project-along-swamp-rabbit-trail-extension/

Edited November 3, 2022 by gman430

[vicupstate]

Legacy Park Connector to SRT

[NewlyUpstate]

Regarding the SRT / SC-253 intersection: https://bikewalkgreenville.org/2022/12/13/an-update-from-scdot/

Quote

New Technology

The goal of the radar technology being deployed at the intersection will be two fold over the existing push buttons present at the Sulphur Springs intersection. 

1. The radar unit being used for detection on the trail will be able to distinguish between cyclist and pedestrians through the rate of movement.  We can set the level for detection based on the speed approaching the crossing.  This will allow us to recognize an approaching cyclist and start the process to provide a green light to the cyclist as they arrive at the crossing.  Walkers or Joggers will still need to push the button at the crossing to start the process.  This is being done to facilitate usage by cyclist who frequently will not push the button for a walk symbol and to cycle the signal at Sulphur Springs. 

2. The radar unit being used for detection on SC 253 will be able to detect and track vehicles from a distance a bit over 300′ from the intersection.  This will allow the software running the signal to extend the “All Red” time should a vehicle being tracked show no signs of slowing to stop. While this will not help with vehicles that may run a red light after the trail has a green light, its benefit comes from the car that runs the red light within the first second or two of the light turning red and delays the trails green time.   

This is a substantial commitment the County and State is making so that the trail infrastructure is as advanced as we can provide to make clear who has the Right of Way at the intersection.  Anything Bike Walk Greenville can do to assist with providing education about the signal and the need to adhere to the signal once installed would be greatly appreciated. 

Schedule

We are currently soliciting pricing and a delivery schedule from 3 vendors per our procurement policy.  Once we have those back and a contract in place I will be able to give you a more definitively timeline.  I think the hope is still spring 2023 if the timeline on the material delivery has not exceeded our expectation. 

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by NewlyUpstate

[bikeoid]

Status updates from Dorothy Dowe's newsletter -

 

 

Quote

 

Swamp Rabbit Trail Laurens Road Extension – Rain and cold weather have affected paving and concrete pours. The Haywood Road and Laurens Road bridges, as well as the "Paperclip" portion of the trail near Cleveland Park are expected to be completed by the end of February. The County has paved the trail between the Laurens Rd Bridge and Think Tank Brewery and between the Haywood Rd Bridge and Verdae Blvd. They have indicated they will pave the remaining sections of the trail after the city completes the two bridges.

Swamp Rabbit Trail Laurens Road Extension Underpass/Overpass Study for Verdae Boulevard Crossing – The City's consultant is studying the feasibility of an underpass and an alternative bridge option to keep the trail in railroad alignment. Both a bridge and a tunnel option will be fully explored. Following the feasibility studies, order of magnitude costs will be evaluated for both options to determine a path forward for design. This project was funded by Council in FY 22/23 utilizing tourism tax revenue in the amount of $2 million.