Inside Furman is published quarterly by the Furman University Department of Marketing and Public Relations. For story ideas, e-mail John Roberts, editor.
Greenway to become a reality
Constructed during the 1880s, the 13-mile stretch of railroad connecting Greenville to Travelers Rest became known as the “swamp rabbit” because of its low-lying track, which flanked the Reedy River .
During the week the line transported freight. On the weekends it was popular with hunters, shoppers and traders traveling to and from Greenville .
But after more than a century of use, the line was abandoned in the 1980s, its ties left to rot.
In ensuing years, several attempts to restore the line to transport light freight failed. Then, county leaders developed a plan to convert the railroad to a foot and bike trail. The plan called for the line, two miles of which pass through the Furman campus, eventually to be used for light bus or tram transit.
With the passage of a hospitality tax last year that would generate roughly $6 million for county recreation projects, the plan is now moving from drawing board to reality.
Soon workers will begin removing the rails and ties, with proceeds generated from their sale to be used to groom the trail and install a crushed limestone surface.
Bikers and walkers could be using the swamp rabbit trail by the summer, says Ed Marshall, director of special projects.
Marshall , the university's liaison to the county on the project, says that the new pathway will connect to Furman's recently refurbished trail system, which snakes around the backside of the lake.
Marshall says that the university is exploring options for a public access point to the trail, which would require a parking lot. An area adjacent to Pepsi Stadium and Facilities Services, currently occupied by the Boy Scouts Pullman car, is being considered because it would not increase campus traffic.
With the foot and bike path completed, the county could use funds generated from the hospitality tax to leverage a matching federal grant. Those monies would be used to pave the trail, replace bridges and purchase a small fleet of light buses.
“There's alot of federal money available for these sorts of projects,” says Marshall . He adds that the light bus, or tram, could begin operating in two years.
Andrew Meeker, an urban designer with the city of Greenville, says that the trail, which follows the Reedy River, will link into existing city-maintained trails near downtown Greenville.
The city, he says, maintains roughly 15 miles of walking and biking trails, the bulk of which are located in the Cleveland Park Area. Meeker says many of these trails are not connected. Working with county planners and trail enthusiasts, he says the city's ultimate goal is to connect the paths to create a “spine” of trails that would stretch from Travelers Rest to the Mauldin area.
Major partners in this ambitious project are Greenville County , the city of Greenville , the Greenville County Economic Development Board, Furman, the city of Travelers Rest and the Conestee Foundation.
Charles A. Flink, an environmental planner and landscape architect with Durham-based Greenways Incorporated, has been contracted by the city to develop a master plan for this “greenway” network. The report should be completed late this spring.
Flink, who has developed successful greenways for more than 100 communities, spoke to the Furman community in November on “The Economic Benefits of Greenways for Greenville County .”
Citing case studies from San Antonio , Grand Forks , N.D. , and Louisville , Ky. , Flink said that protected greenways and trails can boost property values and promote smart economic development. Unfortunately, he said, communities tend to neglect this aspect of growth during early development.
“When we think about planning for the growth of the community we've never said, ‘Well, where's the green space, can we protect it?'” said Flink. “We think of growth and development as more residences, more shopping centers, more office parks, more schools, more gray infrastructure. We completely walk away from green infrastructure.”
Since 1986 nearly 14,000 miles of abandoned railroad tracks in the United States have been converted to trails, according to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that helps fund such conversions.
Rail trails in the Upstate include a seven-mile Blue Ridge Railroad Historical Trail in Oconee County and a two-mile paved trail in downtown Spartanburg . There are more than a dozen rail trails in the state.