What we know about Gastonia's new greenway
The city of Gastonia will soon begin construction on a greenway branch that will eventually help connect Rankin Lake Park to downtown Gastonia.
Where is it?
The Highland Branch Greenway will connect Rankin Lake Park to the Highland Rail Trail, beginning at the park and ending near Bulb Avenue, said Alex DeLong, a civil engineer for the city.
The section about to be built will be .7 miles long. Construction will likely begin within the next couple of weeks and could take up to a year, DeLong said.
Other greenways
City officials also hope to extend the Avon-Catawba greenway about a half mile to the south, eventually connecting it to two residential developments that are under construction, said Rusty Bost, director of Development Services for the city.
"The developer will be building trails from their development down to our trail, so those residents could jump on the greenway and theoretically when this is all said and done, get their way up to Rankin Lake Park," he said.
After that section, the city is considering putting a trailhead at the corner of Belvedere Avenue and Franklin Boulevard.
"Those plans are underway now, and we just started a process to figure out how we connect from the Osceola-Marietta Street trailhead into downtown up Marietta Street," Bost said.
Gastonia's Planning Director Jason Thompson said that the goal is to eventually connect the city's greenways, creating a network of trails that span across Gastonia.
"We really never stop planning," he said.
Bost agreed.
"As long as our citizens like greenways as much as they do and as long as we are growing, I don't see us ever not building greenways," he said.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: What we know about Gastonia's new greenway
