Paris Mountain State Park expansion gets funding despite Greenville residents' concerns

After holding funds for a historic expansion of Paris Mountain State Park last month due to resident concerns about traffic safety, Greenville County Council voted to approve its portion of the project's funding on Nov. 1.

The council voted 9-3 to allocate the funds while simultaneously rejecting an amendment proposed by councilmember Steve Shaw, whose district includes Paris Mountain, to make the funding conditional on the requirement that no access to the park be placed on Altamont Road.

Since the ordinance was at its third reading, regular council rules would have had to be suspended in order to amend the ordinance. But Shaw's motion to suspend the rules failed, leaving councilmembers to consider the original ordinance without the added requirements.

By a vote of 9-3, councilmembers voted to allocate $400,000 of the county's Historic and Natural Resource Trust budget to help fund the park expansion. That funding helps take advantage of the largest opportunity to expand Greenville's urban state park for the public, officials have said.

Shaw, Mike Barnes and Stan Tzouvelekas voted against allocating the funds.

"We're not listening to the citizens on that mountain," Tzouvelekas said.

Previous Reporting: Big Paris Mountain State Park expansion in question amid Greenville residents' concerns

A group of residents who live on and near the narrow and winding Altamont Road were present at the meeting but unable to speak since the public hearing for the ordinance was held last month. They've expressed concern that access to the park from the steep and narrow mountain road would exacerbate traffic threats where cars and bikes travel at different speeds.

Although the council allocated the funding without Shaw's conditional amendment, members unanimously passed a resolution expressing support for residents' concerns and support expanding the park without creating any new entrances along Altamont Road.

−Tim Carlin covers county government, growth and development for The Greenville News. Follow him on Twitter @timcarlin_, and get in touch with him at TCarlin@gannett.com. You can support his work by subscribing to The Greenville News at greenvillenews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Paris Mountain State Park expansion gets funding despite concerns