Grant would fund studies in to new bike trails

Tyler Davis, Henderson (N.C.) Daily Dispatch
·2 min read

May 6—HENDERSON — The Kerr-Tar Regional Transportation Planning Organization submitted an application for a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant.

Sam Boswell, RPO coordinator, said the money, if won, be used for a feasibility study into two areas in three Kerr-Tarr counties for the purpose of constructing trails that would connect to the East Coast Greenway.

The first area to study would be the stretch of the greenway leading from Oxford to the Virginia border, which would complete the path in North Carolina. The other would be a potential trail along the S-line rail corridor, which stretches from Norlina to Henderson.

The RAISE Grant would fund only the feasibility studies. Potential construction would require additional funding.

Boswell said a feasibility study would include environmental analyses and coordination with entities that own land in the area, to see if they would be "open for a trail," in Boswell's words.

Such trails would give travelers and commuters "increased transportation options," said Boswell, as well as connect smaller towns like Norlina to more populated areas and attract tourism.

"This project would bring a protected shared-use path to an area where there's a lack of safe and accessible pathways for non-motorized use, like walking and bicycling," East Coast Greenway Alliance N.C. Coordinator Andrew Meeker said. "Greenways provide numerous benefits to the local community, including enhancing livability, increasing economic competitiveness, expanding sustainable mobility options, greater safety for pedestrians and cyclists, equitable access to outdoor recreation and contributing to positive health outcomes in rural North Carolina."

Meeker said the segment to be studied would be part of a 70-mile, "nearly-continuous" trail in the greater Triangle metropolitan area, "thereby creating a connection between the Kerr-Tar region to communities in the Triangle and across North Carolina and the East Coast."

The East Coast Greenway is a trail stretching from Maine to Florida, a 3,000-mile contiguous "linear park," per the ECG Alliance's website. The ECG Alliance is based in Durham and works with local governments to develop the greenway.