Greenways in Sparkle City

[westsider28]

So, Fairforest Creek Trail. Really impressive scope to this project.  I believe they said there will be one more public input meeting before they do the nitty-gritty (environment report, etc) to get this ready to go to bid.  Road crossings vary by road type (from just a crosswalk to full signal).  I'll try to explain stuff as I go, starting from Arcadia Mill:

I think Powell Mill Road crossing would be a crosswalk, maybe with flashing signals?

Vanderbilt and West Main is a big convergence point for trails.  Alignment there is very important, so it's not fully figured out yet.  I think WO Ezell crossing would be a HAWK signal.

They decided to use the existing stoplight across John B White.

Just past Stewart Park is where things get tricky, but first let me go to the Airport.

That particular street they're using is due to an FAA buffer zone that prevents them from going closer to the runway (yes, even though there are homes closer).

Apparently I forgot to take a photo of one map.  The trail goes around the SPARTA maintenance property, then around toward Hwy 295 where it will bridge.  Again, FAA buffer zones for takeoff/landing explain the somewhat roundabout routing near the runway.  I believe a full traffic signal is proposed near Dawkins, which would be great.

Back to the section between Highland and CC Woodson.  The preferred route is the lower one that crosses Church and continues to follow the creek.  This alignment requires SCDOT to approve a full traffic signal at Irwin Ave Ext and CSX to allow the trail to go under their trestle.  Apparently, CSX is very difficult to work with (maybe even more so than NS), so keep your fingers crossed.

The connection to Caulder Circle would allow access to the Mary H Wright Greenway heading north.

There are also plans to go south / southeast along the creek to connect to Duncan Park below the dam, and continue on below Hwy 295, past Old Canaan soccer complex, and eventually past Carolina Country Club to Croft State Park.  I believe they said they had survey data and willing property owners down to Carolina Country Club Road, then it gets messy.  I think they said that section could potentially start next year, if funding comes together (this would be separate from the RAISE section, which is fully funded).

Anyway, very exciting to have such significant additions to our trail system on the way!

[NotNotSanti]

Thanks SO MUCH for posting this, Westsider! I would have loved to attend. Being 5,000 miles away didn't help!

Impressive indeed. Add to this the Saluda trail, and very soon, this will become a dream for those who want to ride their bicycles or go on a good run in peace.

Exciting!

[westsider28]

Bridge installation is underway for the River Birch Trail extension behind Willy Taco.  Check PAL's IG for a video.  Should be open by June (not sure if that's just this section or if it includes the Heywood sidepath).

[westsider28]

Here are some photos of bridge foundation work at Lawson's Fork Creek near East Main.  I could see steel footers poking out of the ground.

[Spartan]

On 2/24/2023 at 8:11 PM, westsider28 said:

So, Fairforest Creek Trail. Really impressive scope to this project.  I believe they said there will be one more public input meeting before they do the nitty-gritty (environment report, etc) to get this ready to go to bid.  Road crossings vary by road type (from just a crosswalk to full signal).  I'll try to explain stuff as I go, starting from Arcadia Mill:

I think Powell Mill Road crossing would be a crosswalk, maybe with flashing signals?

Vanderbilt and West Main is a big convergence point for trails.  Alignment there is very important, so it's not fully figured out yet.  I think WO Ezell crossing would be a HAWK signal.

They decided to use the existing stoplight across John B White.

Just past Stewart Park is where things get tricky, but first let me go to the Airport.

That particular street they're using is due to an FAA buffer zone that prevents them from going closer to the runway (yes, even though there are homes closer).

Apparently I forgot to take a photo of one map.  The trail goes around the SPARTA maintenance property, then around toward Hwy 295 where it will bridge.  Again, FAA buffer zones for takeoff/landing explain the somewhat roundabout routing near the runway.  I believe a full traffic signal is proposed near Dawkins, which would be great.

Back to the section between Highland and CC Woodson.  The preferred route is the lower one that crosses Church and continues to follow the creek.  This alignment requires SCDOT to approve a full traffic signal at Irwin Ave Ext and CSX to allow the trail to go under their trestle.  Apparently, CSX is very difficult to work with (maybe even more so than NS), so keep your fingers crossed.

The connection to Caulder Circle would allow access to the Mary H Wright Greenway heading north.

There are also plans to go south / southeast along the creek to connect to Duncan Park below the dam, and continue on below Hwy 295, past Old Canaan soccer complex, and eventually past Carolina Country Club to Croft State Park.  I believe they said they had survey data and willing property owners down to Carolina Country Club Road, then it gets messy.  I think they said that section could potentially start next year, if funding comes together (this would be separate from the RAISE section, which is fully funded).

Anyway, very exciting to have such significant additions to our trail system on the way!

 

Thanks for posting this. Did they say anything about when they would be doing design on the West Main/WO Ezell portion of the trail into downtown? Is there a website for this level of project information?

 

[westsider28]

13 hours ago, Spartan said:

Thanks for posting this. Did they say anything about when they would be doing design on the West Main/WO Ezell portion of the trail into downtown? Is there a website for this level of project information?

I don't recall any info about the West Main portion, but I forgot to ask about it specifically.  Unfortunately, there's no website that I know of with project info (as usual with public projects in Spartanburg).

[Sparkleman]

Does anyone know the exact plan to connect the Rail Trail to Glendale? A lot of dirt and trees are being moved on Country Club Rd and the power poles are being moved back some 10-15 feet but it is happening on both sides of the road. Surely the path will only be on one sid eof the road, but its hard to tell as there are obstacles on both sides.

Any help here?

[westsider28]

47 minutes ago, Sparkleman said:

Does anyone know the exact plan to connect the Rail Trail to Glendale? A lot of dirt and trees are being moved on Country Club Rd and the power poles are being moved back some 10-15 feet but it is happening on both sides of the road. Surely the path will only be on one side of the road, but its hard to tell as there are obstacles on both sides.

Any help here?

The path will be on the North side of the road for the entire length.  Here's a plan document from 2019: https://spatsmpo.com/DocumentCenter/View/658/Country-Club-Rd-S-47_Boards_5_7_19-AECOM

[westsider28]

Rebar and forms are in place and look ready for concrete pouring of the bridge footers for the River Birch Trail extension over Lawsons Fork:

[westsider28]

Concrete footers in-place for both bridges on the River Birch Trail extension:

[westsider28]

Update on the River Birch Trail extension in the Post & Courier.  Seems like the timeline has been pushed back a bit, as usual with these things.  Bridge placement will be in early-May, trail completion to Heywood will be in mid-July.  Widening of the Heywood sidewalk to 10-feet has been pushed back to 2024.  Still, good to see progress happening.

[NotNotSanti]

I wasn't aware that widening the sidewalk was part of it! Thanks for the update.

[Sparkleman]

Will there just be a crosswalk there at Myrtle Dr. to connect with the part of lower Drayton Trail?

[westsider28]

On 5/3/2023 at 3:32 PM, Sparkleman said:

Will there just be a crosswalk there at Myrtle Dr. to connect with the part of lower Drayton Trail?

Do you mean Beverly Road (off of Heywood)?  I believe that's the plan, with the trail being on-road on Beverly (since it's a low-traffic dead-end street).

You probably heard that the River Birch Trail bridges have been placed.  Here's a few photos from a week-ish ago:

[westsider28]

Ramps up to the Lawson's Fork bridge are done, and the new portion of the River Birch Trail has been (very recently) paved!  Saw at least a dozen people already walking on it this morning, lol.  Interestingly, PAL is trying to raise $5000 by June 11 to "complete the River Birch Trail".  Not sure what's missing.  Seems like it could open any day now.

[westsider28]

On 4/21/2023 at 12:10 PM, westsider28 said:

Update on the River Birch Trail extension in the Post & Courier.  Seems like the timeline has been pushed back a bit, as usual with these things.  Bridge placement will be in early-May, trail completion to Heywood will be in mid-July.  Widening of the Heywood sidewalk to 10-feet has been pushed back to 2024.  Still, good to see progress happening.

Post & Courier article about the completion of Phase 3 of the River Birch Trail.  Official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be June 29.  This was interesting:

"Later this fall, [PAL] hope[s] to widen the Heywood Avenue sidewalk to eight feet and put in signage along the trail and Beverly Road, which connects Heywood to the Lower Drayton Mills Trail.

'It’s an accelerated schedule thanks to a change in project scope' [emphasis mine], Ringo said. The widening is expected to cost around $200,000 and PAL has started raising money for it."

The goal is to get everything opened by the end of the year, which would be great.

[westsider28]

Was happy to see this note in the H-J article about the City budget: "council amended the budget to designate $250,000 of ARPA funding to resurface the Mary Black Rail Trail and extend the Mary H. Wright Greenway."  The section of the Rail Trail between St Andrews and Forest specifically needs repaving badly, so hopefully that's the plan.

[westsider28]

The next public meeting about the Fairforest Creek Trail (being funded by the federal RAISE grant) is Thursday, August 24 at 5-7pm at CC Woodson.  Thankfully, PAL has also launched a website (https://dantrailproject.com/) where you can look at the trail alignment and make comments.

[westsider28]

Saw a City bid solicitation for "Construction of approximately 2,300 L.F. of 10’ wide new asphalt trail, and resurfacing of 3,600 L.F. of 10’ wide existing asphalt trail" in Duncan Park.  I assume the new trail would connect the existing paved trail up to Union Street.  Bids are due by 8/29.  Good to see that in-progress.

[westsider28]

Found an announcement of South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism (SCPRT) grants that included this project:

• Edwin M. Griffin Paved Trail Expansion, PAL (Play. Advocate. Live Well.), Spartanburg
  Project total: $777,546 | RTP Grant total: $100,000

I'm not familiar with this project.  Perhaps could be paving some of the unpaved Cottonwood trails?  I know some of those have had significant erosion issues, so it would be important to stay well back from Lawson's Fork Creek.  Anyone know for sure?  I wish trail planning (and public infrastructure planning in general) in Spartanburg was more transparent...

[westsider28]

Went to the Fairforest Trail meeting last night.  Routing has been tweaked a bit since last time.  You can see it on the website (https://dantrailproject.com/).  Biggest difference is the section from Forest Street to the Airport now largely goes along Crescent Ave. (rather than along the creek) for cost and environmental reasons. 

Also, the Main Street sidepath is divided into 2 separate projects.  This one goes from Dollar General to the Coca-Cola plant, while the City is heading up the section from the Coke plant to the RR tracks downtown.  The City's portion should happen first and will include on-street buffered bike lanes (on the portion closest to downtown, I believe).

I learned that there are a lot more hoops to jump through with a project using federal funds (as you might expect).  They're at "30% design" stage right now.  Construction will hopefully start about a year from now.

I also learned that the County is in the process of putting together a "Vision Zero" policy.  I was a bit skeptical, as these policies tend to not lead to many tangible improvements in other communities, but the guy I talked to seemed optimistic.  Hope something positive comes from that.

[westsider28]

From last weekend, Country Club Road construction.  The bulk of the dirt-moving is near the assisted living facility and Hilton Street in Glendale (which will be the new path of CCR).

[westsider28]

Wildflower Way, a newly paved trail following the currently Loblolly Trail inland of the Cottonwood Trail, has been announced and will begin construction soon.  Phase 1 will happen this Fall, with Phase 2 to the parking lot on Beechwood coming next year.  It will be constructed in tandem with a Spartanburg Water project and will involve clearing of invasive plants, to be replaced by native wildflowers.  https://www.spartanburgconservation.org/news/wildflower-way-coming-soon-to-the-edwin-m-griffin-preserve

[timbach]

Work began this week on the project to widen the sidewalk along Heywood Avenue to connect the River Birch Trail to Beverly Road (and thus the Lower Drayton Mills Trail). Seems like it's going to be a pretty quick project since they're already pouring concrete for the section closest to Beverly Road.

[westsider28]

At Monday's meeting, City Council will vote on whether to allocate ARPA funds for a few greenway projects:

$230,190 for trail improvements at Duncan Park - "installation of approximately 2300 feet of 10-foot asphalt trail & asphalt resurfacing of 3,600 feet of 10-foot existing asphalt trail."  Council will also decide whether to award the contract for the work to Community First Developers, LLC.

$250,000 to complete Mary Black Rail Trail & Mary H. Wright Greenway improvements. (see below for details)

Mary Black Rail Trail repair and resurfacing Project:
• Repair and resurfacing of approximately 2 miles of existing asphalt trail.
• City crews are responsible for repairing the existing asphalt trail & removal of trees near Public
Works Facility
o Work started the week of October 16th, completion by the end of October 27th.
o Resurfacing will be completed by mid-December.

Mary H. Wright Greenway Expansion Project:
• Expansion of existing trail from Marion Avenue to 10-foot protected trail on the east side of Hudson
Barksdale Boulevard to Caulder Avenue.
o Working with SCDOT for the encroachment permit