A look at what local greenway plans offers a glimpse into what may become a regional, intercounty greenway network two decades from now.

Haywood County

Conception: The concept for a Richland Creek Greenway was born 11 years ago, largely due to the efforts of Dave Dudek, a wildlife biology instructor at Haywood Community College who drummed up support among like minded folks.

According to Tim Plowman, Waynesville recreation coordinator, “Back in 1991 hardly anyone knew what a greenway was in this area.”

Vision: The Richland Creek Greenway will run from Lake Junaluska to the end of South Main Street using a combination of creekside trails along Richland Creek and sidewalks with greenway signage and streetscaping. The greenway is being tackled in three phases. Phase I is from Lake Junaluska to the Waynesville Recreation Park, for a total of about three miles. The greenway will cross U.S. 19 and head through the Junaluska golf course, running along Richland and Raccoon creeks for the first mile. The greenway will then follow a tree-lined sidewalk and bike lines on the Old Asheville Highway for another mile into town, then link into an existing creekside trail running through the Waynesville Recreation Park. Another tree-lined sidewalk on Howell Mill Road will the link the Waynesville Recreation Park back to the Old Asheville Highway, creating a loop.

Phase II will run 2 miles from the Waynesville Recreation Park to downtown along Richland Creek, through Frog Level, and then follow Richland Creek to the Hazelwood ball park and picnic shelters.

Phase III will run about 2 miles from the Hazelwood park to the end of South Main Street and the beginning of the Old Balsam Road near Autumn Care rest home, and will include a network of streetscaped sidewalks to create loop options.

Stage: Easements have been secured for nearly all of Phase I and construction will start in late summer or early fall of this year. Phase II and Phase III are still in the planning stages.

Costs: Phase I will cost $250,000, $200,000 of which came from the Department of Transportation highway enhancement fund, and $50,000 was contributed by the town of Waynesville, the Pigeon River Fund and the Richland Creek Action Committee. Funding for Phase II and III has not bee secured but is estimated at more than $500,000 to complete.

Long-term goal: Greenway proponents hope to extend the Waynesville greenway to the Blue Ridge Parkway and connect with the Mountains-to-Sea trail.

Greenway organizers have applied for a $27,000 grant from the Pigeon River Fund to hire a countywide greenway coordinator to work with landowners along greenway routes to turn over easements. The coordinator would also work with the Department of Transportation to see that greenway goals are included in road project planning.

“Easements are a critical part of putting greenways on the ground. A body of volunteers simply don’t have the time to continuously work on the acquisition of easements,” said Dudek.

The county greenway coordinator would also help develop a master plan to connect the Richland Creek greenway in Waynesville with the Maggie Valley greenway and town of Canton greenway.

An extensive greenway is being constructed in Maggie Valley that relies primarily on street scaped sidewalks running for three miles on both sides of the main drag, Soco Road, through Maggie Valley. Construction of some sections of greenway are planned along Jonathan Creek running parallel to the road.

Dudek believes he will see a countywide greenway in his lifetime.

“As citizens start to realize the need for better planning in the county, it’s a major opportunity for encouraging an alternate means of transportation,” Dudek said.

Biological advantages, such a minimizing sedimentation by creating buffers along creeks and creating wildlife corridors, are also part of Dudek’s goal.

Get involved: Contact Dudek with the Richland Creek Action Committee at 627.4560.

Jackson County

Conception: The idea for a countywide greenway started four years ago with the creation of the Jackson County Greenway Commission, a 15-member commission that includes Sylva, Dillsboro, Webster, Village of Forest Hills and the county charged with connecting the county with a greenway network.

Vision: The first major phase of the greenway will link Sylva to Dillsboro. It will run from downtown Dillsboro, past a new community center and park being acquired by the town of Dillsboro and follow Scotts Creek into downtown Sylva for about a one-mile trail. The greenway would continue through downtown Sylva and down N.C. 107 for three miles via sidewalks.

Another section of greenway is planned in Cullowhee that will connect the Jackson County Recreation Park, which has about one mile of walking paths, to the Western Carolina University campus. The half-mile section will parallel N.C. 107 on highway right-of-way but will be set back from the highway about 20 yards.

Stage: The greenway from Sylva to Dillsboro is in the advanced planning stages. While some contact has been made with property owners along the proposed route, real work on acquiring easements will not begin until next year. No money has been secured for construction, so completion is a few, if not several years away, depending on how cooperative property owners are in granting right of ways.

The greenway section along N.C. 107 linking Western Carolina University to the county recreation park will be constructed this year.

Costs: The Duke Foundation provided $10,000, the Clean Water Management Trust Fund provided $19,000 and the Kodak Foundation provided $2,500. The money is being used for planning, surveys and mapping work. The half-mile connector from Western Carolina University to the county rec park is being funded with Department of Transportation enhancement grant for $3,200. A $4,500 grant from the Dogwood Foundation is funding a countywide greenway planning process.

Long-term goal: Planning is underway to map out a countywide greenway that would run from Balsam to Cashiers, and from the Swain Count border to the Macon County border. “That will be a very ambitious piece that looks out 20 years for where a greenway could go,” said David Bates, greenway coordinator.

Get involved: Contact David Bates the county greenway coordinator at 586.7575, or email dmb8s@earthlink.com.

Macon

Conception: The idea for a greenway along the Little Tennessee River came up in the late 1980s with the Franklin downtown association and the Western North Carolina Alliance. The idea was actively pursued in the early 1990s when Duke Power decided to run transmission lines along the river through Franklin. To make up for the impact of the unsightly power lines, Duke allowed greenway right-of way along its easements. In 2001, the county formed an alliance with FROGS, Friends of the Greenway.

“That’s when the momentum started,” said Stacy Guffey with FROGS.

Vision: The greenway includes a five-mile path along the Little Tennessee River from Lake Emory, through downtown Franklin, across the U.S. 64 bypass, past the site of the proposed Southwestern Community College satellite campus and to the Macon County Recreation Park and pool.

Stage: Construction started in 2000. Already completed is a three-mile section from Lake Emory through downtown Franklin, behind Highlands Road, past Zickgraf Lumber to the U.S. 64 by-pass.

This summer, another mile of greenway will be added to the southern end along the river on the old Tallulah Falls railroad grade to the site of the proposed SCC satellite campus. Also to be completed this summer is tree plantings along stretches with little shade cover and in areas to screen commercial and industrial sites. Some stream bank restoration also will be done this summer.

Several components of the greenway have passed the planning stage and are waiting on funding, including: paving a mile of the existing greenway that is currently a gravel base and installing a bridge across the river in downtown Franklin, preventing people from having to leave the greenway and cross through parking lots to get to the other side.

A playground for the Big Bear Shelter on the section of greenway running through downtown Franklin is still in the planning stages and awaiting funding. The playground will be named in memory of Wesley Powell, who died in a fire at a day care.

The fifth mile of the greenway connecting the proposed SCC satellite campus with the Macon County Recreation Park is also still in the planning stages.

Costs: A very large grant from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund is funding construction of most of the greenway. Funding for the Wesley Powell playground, estimated at $250,000, is contingent on grants, town and county contributions and fund raising activities.

Long-term goal: Long-term plans include educational areas along the greenway and a wetland education center.

“We have a couple of really nice wetlands. We want to build walkways over the wetlands with interpretative signs so people can see them and how they function,” Guffey said.

Another very long-term goal creating a countywide greenway network that would connect with other counties.

“We keep panting in each other’s minds that’s what the long term vision should be. It’s the counterpart for the Appalachian Trail,” Guffey said.

Get involved: Call 369.7331 and ask for Stacy or Hank; www.littletennessee.org.