Downtown greenway will cover a lot of ground -- and take a lot of green
This week's column.
If you haven’t used one of Greensboro’s myriad walking and jogging trails, you really ought to.
One trail threads its way from North Elm Street at Moses Cone Hospital to Wesley Long Hospital … and beyond.
Along the way is a shady apple tree, grassy fields where children play soccer and a meandering creek with fish in it.
Past Latham Park the paved trail stretches past tennis courts and the chain-link outfield walls of two ball fields where youthful sluggers in bright uniforms swing away and parents cheer from the bleachers. You could get lucky and catch a homer.
Then you pass the edge of Green Hill Cemetery, which can be a little spooky after nightfall.
Further on the trail crosses Battleground Avenue and winds along the edges of the Westerwood neighborhood. On a not-too-hot Saturday afternoon you’ll see pickup basketball games on a concrete court to your right, volleyball games on open fields to your left. And more tennis courts.
Even the ominous power lines strung between massive towers seem to blend into trees and bird song.
Finally, the trail ends at a bench and a water fountain off Friendly Avenue.
It’s long enough for a good, brisk jog and but not too long for middle-aged knees.
The biggest allure of the urban setting is that it provides so much interesting stuff to see.
That’s why the idea of an ambitious new downtown greenway plan sounds so captivating even as it also sounds extravagant.
Twenty-six million dollars?
But the city’s Bicentennial Commission has adopted the greenway as its signature project. The City Council has endorsed it (although it has not provided funding support) and the cause has inspired more than its share of passionate champions.
They say outside funding is available, but there has to be ample evidence of local support first.
“It’s now or never,” Chester H. “Trip” Brown Jr. sung a la Elvis in an editorial board interview last week with greenway boosters.
Brown sees the project as a way to attract and keep young professionals — a “wow” factor that can make Greensboro special.
He and other greenway supporters also sing the praises of the 4.8-mile urban loop’s health benefits.
They say it can attract development and draw more people downtown.
They say it will connect neighborhoods. (And, as former News & Record staffer Jim Schlosser said in a speech last week, “Greensboro is a city of neighborhoods.”)
They say it can help the city attract and keep young professionals.
They say it can spur development and boost real estate values.
And they say it can provide a safer haven for bicyclists than many of the city’s streets.
(Amen to that.)
But $26 million?
“This, first and foremost, is a transportation project — an alternative transportation project,” said John A. McLendon Jr., an attorney who also is an avid bicyclist and president of the Fisher Park Neighborhood Association.
The trail would be more than a place to walk, he said. Think of it as a freeway for people and bicycles.
The boosters, representing Action Greensboro, also cited the other amenities: “iconic gateways,” lighting, public art and police bike patrols.
And they pointed to greenways in other cities:
-- the American Tobacco Trail in Durham;
--l the Reedy Creek Greenway in Raleigh;
-- and the Little Sugar Creek Greenway in downtown Charlotte.
“These projects are unbelievably successful,” said April Harris, executive director of Action Greensboro.
But $26 million?
That kind of cash could buy you all sorts of other things.
You could complete construction of the downtown International Civil Rights Center and Museum and have $16 million in change.
You could build another NewBridge Park and have $5 million left for several tons of peanuts and Crackerjack.
One downtown developer wondered if $26 million invested into a loan pool for downtown development wouldn’t make better sense.
As for the health benefits, the boosters cite the local and state obesity epidemics.
But there are plenty of places to walk for exercise in Greensboro already, including the existing greenway network, which does not appear to be overused or overcrowded.
To be fair, there is a lot to like in this plan. And one reason the price tag is so steep is that it involves the expense of remodeling some intersections to make them more pedestrian-friendly. The plan contains 25 intersections with vehicular traffic.
And much of the money would come from private and state sources, the boosters say. But when asked for specifics, Brown estimates that as much as 40 percent of it could be financed with local tax money.
At these prices, some might demand fresh towels and free pedicures during our strolls from Point A to Point B.
But it’s hard to dismiss the plan outright, especially after you’ve taken the existing greenway past Latham Park. Or ventured along the wooded path that runs along Lake Brandt and crosses the water over an abandoned railroad trestle. So a still-skeptical “maybe” will have to do for now.
Twenty-six million dollars is a lot of green.
Comments (7)
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“'This, first and foremost, is a transportation project — an alternative transportation project,' said John A. McLendon Jr., an attorney who also is an avid bicyclist and president of the Fisher Park Neighborhood Association."
Not a chance, Mr. McLendon. At best, it's a recreational project.
At worst, it's a waste of money and a boondoggle, regardless of how much the public will be expected to cough up.
I'll ask again: Where's the cost/benefit/usage analysis?
Posted on May 4, 2008 2:33 PM
Just a few questions....
1. Why do we still only have one number--$26,000,000?
2. Why are the costs not listed on Action Greensboro's website? Did I miss them?
3. Do the costs include projected overruns due to increasing costs--especially with the price of gas spiraling up as we speak? If so, when will see those revised numbers?
4. Is there a scaled-back version of the greenway that would cost less?
5. If there is not a scale-back version, why can't each phase be a stand alone phase; i.e., if the first phase proves to be untenable, we can simply stop at the first phase and still have something to show for our money? Why does the greenway have to be all or nothing?
6. What were the initial estimated costs per mile for above projects?
7. What were the final costs per mile to the taxpayers for above projects?
8. What were the total cost overruns on above projects?
9. What is the current maintenance cost per mile--for the projects above?
10. What will be the costs for police presence on the greenway? What are the costs for police presence on the above projects?
11. Whose real estate values will be boosted--the people whose homes and neighborhoods border the greenway?
12. Will there be separate lanes for bicycles on these paths or will bicyclists and pedestrians jockey for space? Will inline skating be allowed? Will there be a speed limit for bicyclists on the greenway?
Posted on May 4, 2008 6:13 PM
All good questions, Thoughts.
But be careful lest you be accused of suffering from that dreaded Greensboro Disease, as some of the Cheerleader/Drumbeater contingent think.
We're not allowed to ask questions of the nature you and I suggest.
Posted on May 4, 2008 7:23 PM
I would like for Jim Melvin to explain how his downtown greenway is in any way, shape or form a transportation project when the vast majority of Greensboro bicyclists will need to load their bicycles in their cars to haul them to the Greenway before they can ride them.
Transportation my ass-- this project is nothing more than pork barrel spending at the local level.
If Greensboro is interested in bicycles as transportation then why are there still NO bicycle lanes in east Greensboro? Not on Bessemer, not Market, not Elwell, not Huffine Mill, not Sykes Avenue, Not English Street, not Burlington Road, not Phillips Avenue and not on any other street that I can find. There isn't even a bicycle lane on Textile Drive where I live even though the signs indicate that Textile Drive is a Greensboro City bicycle route.
I ride bicycles all around Greensboro and there is no way to safely ride a bicycle from my home on the bicycle route to downtown Greensboro.
And I'll add that last fall I spoke with Mayor Johnson AND Goldie Wells about the lack of bicycle lanes in East Greensboro and they both told me the bicycle lanes were already here.
As for attracting young professionals to Greensboro-- If I could afford to live anywhere I wanted to live I would live in a city that has adequate police protection. For example: While posting this comment I had to stop to call 911 to report gun fire outside my home. 26 Million would hire a lot of cops but wouldn't help line Jim Melvin's pockets.
Posted on May 4, 2008 9:53 PM
I have not heard Jim Melvin push the greenway, Billy. I do know he isn't part of the greenway committee. So, I don't know if I'd call it his greenway, although I imagine he supports it.
As I understand it, there is a bike line in east Greensboro on Florida Street.
Posted on May 5, 2008 9:01 AM
Thoughts:
Those are good questions. I'll have to find the answers.
I may know the answer to one of them. The current greenway paths allow pedestrians and bikes to share the road. Cyclists are urged to let walkers know when they are approaching.
I suspect the new ones would do the same. But I'll check toe be sure.
Posted on May 5, 2008 9:26 AM
Thanks, Allen. You make a good point about the current greenway trails. Cyclists are generally thoughtful on those trails.
Posted on May 5, 2008 1:18 PM