After eight years of planning and construction, the town’s first 2.8-mile section of greenway is officially open, Director of Parks & Recreation Steve Fraher said Thursday.

The town this week published a map of the Southeast Greenway, which runs from the end of South Street southeast through several neighborhoods and on to Davidson-Concord Road. (Click the map to download. Requires free Adobe Reader software.)

A formal dedication, which the town is calling “Go Green on the Greenway,” is planned on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. The dedication will be at the section of trail that begins at Kimberly Road and Patrick Johnson Lane, in the Hudson Place subdivision. Details about that event are available on the town Website, CLICK HERE>

Meanwhile, students in professor Shireen Campbell’s “Writing for the Community” class at Davidson College have begun working with Mr. Fraher and others to write a printed guide to the greenway, including a map, safety tips, and information about the flora and fauna along the trail.

Residents had already begun using the greenway before construction was completed. Now, Mr. Fraher is giving the official green light to local bicyclists, hikers, joggers and nature lovers. “We encourage people to come out now that the weather is finally warming up and check out the new greenway,” he said.

8 YEARS IN PLANNING

The town has spent $908,160 on the greenway project since planning began in 1999, Mr. Fraher said. Of that, $600,000 was paid for by a federal grant through the N.C. Department of Transportation. The remainder came from a combination of taxpayer dollars, a grant from The Pines retirement community, and from developers, Mr. Fraher said.

Off-road sections of the trail follow a 10-foot wide paved path, and include six wooden footbridges. The section between Hudson Place and the proposed Davidson Woods subdivision includes a larger wooden bridge on concrete piers over a creek.

Benches line off-road sections of the greenway, allowing users a place to pause. The trail also is fully wheelchair accessible, with no obstructions to entry and no steep grades, Mr. Fraher said.

BIKE PATH SECTIONS

Some sections of the trail follow bicycle paths along existing streets, including to Avinger Lane, Pine Road, Patrick Johnson Lane and Davidson Concord Road.

Eventually, the town hopes to build other sections of off-road paths and bicycle trails stretching across town and reaching the town’s recreation area, Fisher Farm park.

“I think it goes with the overall town goal to make Davidson a pedestrian, bicycle-friendly community,” Mr. Fraher said Thursday.

This first section of trail was built before many new homes, such as those in the proposed Bailey Springs and Davidson Wood subdivisions. So the path will be a link between those and existing neighborhoods, he said.

“It provides another option of connectivity throughout the community,” he said.