The Piedmont Greenway, when it’s finished, will be a 19-mile multi-use trail connecting Greensboro with Winston-Salem through Summerfield, Oak Ridge and Kernersville.
The Greensboro Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (GUAMPO) on Wednesday, Feb. 26 heard a report from Palmer McIntyre, conservation planner with the Piedmont Land Conservancy, on the current plans to complete the trail
The Guilford County portion of the trail is 11 miles and will follow Reedy Fork Creek from US 220 in Summerfield to Triad Park, which straddles the Guilford County-Forsyth County line.
The Piedmont Greenway will connect with the A&Y Greenway, which will connect to the Downtown Greenway. It also connects to the Greensboro watershed trails.
The Piedmont Greenway in Guilford County will be built in three phases, and Phase 1 appears to be the simplest and is expected to be the least expensive of the three to complete since 85 percent of it is on public land and a tunnel under US 220 has already been built. Phase 1, which is 2.8 miles long between US 220 and I-73, is estimated cost about $4.5 million.
Phase 2 will run from I-73 to Alcorn Road, which is 3.7 miles, and has an estimated cost of about $5.7 million. Only 30 percent of Phase 2 is on publicly owned land, but McIntyre said that Oak Ridge had obtained some easements for the trail. A spur in Oak Ridge is planned to connect the Piedmont Greenway to the Mountains to the Sea Trail. A tunnel that has been constructed under I-73 would allow a connection into downtown Oak Ridge.
Phase 3 will run from Alcorn Road to Triad Park, a distance of 4.7 miles, and only 17 percent is on publicly owned land. The estimated cost of that portion is about $8.3 million.
The total cost of the trail in Guilford County is estimated to be $22.3 million, and six of the agencies involved have included the Piedmont Greenway in their adopted plans, including GUAMPO.
That’s a lot of money for what will likely be an under utilized trail. Nice to have, but how many people are even using the stretch that is already in place and paid for?
Whose pockets are getting lined with this deal? Has there been a heavily funded “study” to determine estimated use?
OMG! The MILLION DOLLAR MILE used to refer to a stretch of road in an exclusive stretch of lakefront Chicago. Now we have TWO MILLION MILE “trails” in Guilford County. Are they to be used to run away from the fastest growing Medicaid County in the state?
What ever happened to being good stewards of the citizens money?
While there has not been a lot of publicity, biking and pedestrian use has been on the increase in Greensboro. There are quite a few people who bike from Summerfield area to Greensboro for work. There is also quite a bit of bike use on the weekends. The four-mile Greensboro Greenway was the number one bike project in North Carolina. Don’t get discouraged; there are a lot of people in Greensboro who will keep this on the up and up, and see that it gets done!
Define “a lot.”
Johnny you obviously haven’t been on the trail and the upper end. The city actually does have the data and you can go on yourself to see the hundreds of people that use it daily.
So when is the trail estimated to be finished by?
Most cities around the world have green way trails that run for miles. This trail system would enhance our park systems and be heavily used. I ride my bicycle on the Salem Creek/Lake trail often and there are always people using it. If we had a trail that ran all the way from Winston-Salem to Greensboro then people that like to ride long distances would have a place to ride that would keep them off the dangerous roads.
It is discouraging to see negative comments regarding this project. Often it seems as though the same people that are against projects like this, are also the same people who are against cyclists on the roadway. I am glad to see that NC has a plan on infrastructure that supports pedestrians and cyclists.
If they build it, they will come. I live in Pittsburgh. We have an extensive trail system, and you will see people of all ages using it year round. It has done a huge amount to advance our beautiful city.
All of the trails in Guilford county are heavily used by walkers, bikers, & day hikers. It has also been shown that property values increase dramatically in the area’s surrounding the trails. This increases tax revenue for cities and counties. So in the long term, these trails pay for themselves in both the tax revenue and the wellbeing MANY people who use them.
These trails and greenways are really used daily.I have been riding the trails and greenways for many years,and just last year found some of these trails I had not ridden, on,wow its was like a new gift of riding enjoyment.I have been riding road and trailsl for along time,over 25 years,and this Greensboro to Winston greenway has been in the works for many years,and I look forward to riding them when they are completed.Its nice to see that our tax dollars are being used for something usesful that everyone can benefit form if they so choose.Compared to a lot of other “sports” cycling is very inexpensive,so is walking and hiking.One other benefit is it keeps you off the main throughfare (streets) because they are getting ever more dangerous with increased traffic.