Mary Black Rail Trail

[westsider28]

You may or may not know, but Partners for Active Living has been spearheading a plan to turn a 7-acre sliver of land that Duke Energy is leasing to the City (between Glendale Road and the Rail Trail) into a park.  As you can see on the map, the land is basically half open space (near power lines) and half wooded.  There have been several community input meetings for ideas.  A preliminary design has now been put together:

It's still early on, so the funding isn't there for this yet, but I like the plan.  What do you think?

[roads-scholar]

Seems like a creative way to improve a slice of real estate that probably cannot be utilized for much else.

[spartanburgh]

Seems like a creative way to improve a slice of real estate that probably cannot be utilized for much else.

I think its a fantastic idea!! I hope it gets funded and built soon.

[Spartan]

That's very cool! I'm didn't even realized that land was back there.

[drexel]

You may or may not know, but Partners for Active Living has been spearheading a plan to turn a 7-acre sliver of land that Duke Energy is leasing to the City (between Glendale Road and the Rail Trail) into a park.  As you can see on the map, the land is basically half open space (near power lines) and half wooded.  There have been several community input meetings for ideas.  A preliminary design has now been put together:

It's still early on, so the funding isn't there for this yet, but I like the plan.  What do you think?

Looks great. But city has a commitment to fund a new westside park first. Plus, Duncan Park is only 2 blocks away and under utilized. I think it would have been safer, easier maintained, and draw more people to have the skate park, dog park, and a playground all in one location.      

[Spartan]

^Good points, but having a real plan in place can set you up for funding in the future and can provide opportunities to apply for grants. It's the first step in an unfortunately slow process.

[westsider28]

The first residents of the 314 South townhouse apartments are moving in.  Leases have been signed for 5 of 16 units so far (construction of some units is still being completed).  From looking at photos, they look pretty nice.  And I guess $1200 for 1200 sq ft (split between 2 people) is a pretty good deal for a nice location.  Good to see these finishing up and tenants moving in.

[westsider28]

Partners for Active Living recently posted a map and some renderings that show what the Rail Trail extension into downtown will look like.  This is going to be awesome!  I can't wait!

[Spartan]

Awesome! Any information on when they plan to start construction?

[hub-city]

I love the buffer.  It's not just an extra painted line on the side of the street (like Broad Street)...

[westsider28]

Yeah, this is some serious bicycling infrastructure.

 

Spartan, unfortunately it will be a while before construction starts.  They're getting some federal funding for it, and that process apparently takes FOREVER.  When I asked someone at PAL about it in early June, they said 18-24 months.  So, end of 2015 at best.

 

But it will be worth the wait.

[Spartan]

Ah, probably a CMAQ grant or something. For what it's worth, 1-2 years is light speed when dealing with federal funds.

[westsider28]

I was just looking at construction bids, and found something on the Rail Trail - Skate Park connector.  This has been in the works for at least 5 years and should really help access and connectivity, so I'm glad to see it's moving forward.  It will be a ramp and staircase to connect the Rail Trail directly to the Skate Park without having to go all the way around the corner of Henry and Union. (Here's more info)  Looks like construction should begin in January.

[westsider28]

A sign has been erected at the Henry Street trailhead which shows the future Rail Trail extension through DT to Barnet Park.  It shows the future path of the trail and renderings of how it will look.

I listened to a City podcast today, and they said that the project could go to bid as early as Spring 2015.  They also mentioned that there are some developers interested in sites nearby for whom the Rail Trail extension is the reason they would develop there.  (Their development is contingent upon the completion of the extension.)  Exciting stuff!  Can't wait for this to happen!

[westsider28]

I was surprised to discover that construction of Forest Avenue Park has begun!  For Phase 1, I understand that they're just going to clear/grade, plant grass and put in irrigation.  Phase 2 will be physical park elements (pavilions, paths, basketball court, etc).  But it's nice to see this get underway.

I was also surprised to learn that 314 South is building a small Phase 2.  It will be 5 more units in the grassy space here to be completed by the summer.  One is already spoken for.  Clearly this development has been quite successful.

[westsider28]

There's a plan for a bike park in the large empty lot between the Rail Trail and Union Street next to the skate park (here's their FB page).  I've heard they're aiming for completion in 2017 (need fundraising $).  It's pretty ambitious and would fit with the skate park, though I wonder if there's enough demand/support for something like that here.  I also think it's not the ideal land-use this close to DT, but it's certainly better than an empty lot.  Thoughts?  Here's the plan:

 

[roads-scholar]

There's a plan for a bike park in the large empty lot between the Rail Trail and Union Street next to the skate park (here's their FB page).  I've heard they're aiming for completion in 2017 (need fundraising $).  It's pretty ambitious and would fit with the skate park, though I wonder if there's enough demand/support for something like that here.  I also think it's not the ideal land-use this close to DT, but it's certainly better than an empty lot.  Thoughts?  Here's the plan:

 

A huge improvement to an otherwise dumpy part of Union Street.

[Spartan]

I think it's a cool concept. It would certainly be unique in the region.

[Spartan]

There was a public workshop for the proposed park along the old Glendale Rd yesterday. Did anyone get to attend? PAL is saying it could be completed in two years, depending on fundraising.

 

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20150910/ARTICLES/150919974/1083/ARTICLES?Title=Spartanburg-residents-offer-input-for-rail-trail-greenspace

[westsider28]

The City is installing a paved walkway from the Rail Trail to the fire station at 905 Union Street.  Fire officials came up with the plan that will allow access in case of an emergency.  There will be an emergency phone and also a covered area in case someone gets caught in a storm.

This is a sensible little project that adds connectivity to leverage existing assets and enhance safety.  Great idea.

[westsider28]

There is a survey that you can take to give input on what you'd like to see in the Rail Trail Park at Forest Ave.  The survey gives a lot of details on what they're currently planning to do there.  It's a lot more detailed and has a lot more features than the past plan.  Here's a sorta low-res picture of the current plan from that survey:

[westsider28]

Mary Black Foundation has announced a $250,000 grant towards the Rail Trail Community Park if Partners for Active Living can raise $150,000.  And Foundation for the Carolinas Longleaf Seeds of Hope Fund has contributed $100,000 toward that goal, leaving only $50,000 to raise.  When the additional funds are raised, phase one of two for implementation will begin. This includes natural and hard surface walking trails, tree plantings, and an adventure park.

Also, a quick update on the DT extension.  All the funding is in place, they're just going back-and-forth with SCDOT on several things. (of course )  I think the intersections are the biggest points of conflict, so they're working on compromises.  I understand that we're still looking at the end of the year (at least) before construction starts.  

(Side note: Interestingly, SCDOT offered to transfer ownership of the roads involved to the City.  That would give the City more control, but they're wary of taking on the maintenance costs of the additional roads.)

Edited January 14, 2016 by westsider28

[Spartan]

Ideally SCDOT would operate in the 21st century and allow cities more flexibility to implement innovative designs. It's not cheap to maintain a street, but in principle it seems like more local control over certain streets would be a good thing.

[westsider28]

Thirty-five trees were planted along the Rail Trail at the site of the future park today.  They will grow to be 70-90 feet tall.  PAL has raised a little more than half of its funding goal for the park. They hope to start phase one this summer, which includes a walking trail around the park’s perimeter, workout equipment, a pavilion, an entry plaza with an interactive trolley structure and more features in the wooded areas.

[westsider28]

PAL has now raised $782,000 for the Rail Trail park, which will fund the most important amenities (paved paths, great lawn, trolley plaza, shelters, amphitheater, irrigation/electrical/landscaping) with a few lower-priority amenities still needing funding.  City Council will consider additional parks & rec investments on September 26, including this project.  The plan is to then begin construction in October.  Here's a picture of the current plan (enlarge it to see details):

Edit: Also the Rail Tail dog park is getting some upgrades.

Edited August 24, 2016 by westsider28
Added info on dog park