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Washington-G'ville

August 30, 2004
Thinking Green
By Ginger Livingston, The Daily Reflector

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Pitt County officials seeking to create greenways throughout the county say they want to combine recreation with environmental protection. Earlier this month, the Pitt County Board of Commissioners agreed to sponsor a greenway development plan to be conducted by East Carolina University's Department of Urban and Regional Planning. It is the first time Pitt County has sought a formal study and plan for developing greenways, corridors of undeveloped land set aside for paths and trails. It is hoped the study will identify possible greenway routes through the county, Pitt County planning director James Rhodes said.

The county's action comes on the heels of the Greenville City Council updating its Greenway Comprehensive Plan in March. Following Greenville's action, the county's Community Schools and Recreation program, county planning department and the towns of Winterville and Ayden decided to pursue a greenway study as an extension of the city's plan and a supplement to the county recreation program, Rhodes said. Rhodes calls the recreation plan a "broad brush" that identifies recreational needs in the county. The greenway plan looks to address the needs of specific activities like hiking, bicycling and walking, he said.

"There is a big push right now for biking and hiking trails," Rhodes said. "People want that recreation component, especially folks relocating from areas with recreational facilities. The other thing is the recent push concerning obesity in school-age kids — it's definitely a segment that could benefit from these trails."

Because of growing worries about youth and adult health programs, more opportunities are available for communities developing recreational programs, he said. Grants most likely will be the major source of Pitt County's projects, County Manager Scott Elliott said when commissioners discussed funding the study. During the Aug. 8 board meeting, Commissioner Glenn Bowen questioned pursuing the project if the county couldn't budget money for its development. Bowen said that, with other pressing construction needs, he couldn't justify spending money on greenway development. Pitt County can't get any grant funding for greenway projects without a formal plan, Rhodes said. He anticipates the bulk of the plan should be completed by December, but with reviews and revisions, it may not be adopted until later in the spring.

Greenville is relying on grants to advance its projects, officials said. During fiscal year 2003-04, the city obtained a $136,000 N.C. Department of Transportation grant which extended its greenway path just over a mile from Elm Street Park to Charles Boulevard via a bicycle path ECU built near Dowdy-Flicklen Stadium, Greenville transportation planner Ron Svejkovsky said.

The first phase of the project, a 1.3-mile route extending from Green Springs Park on Fifth Street to College Hill Drive on 10th Street, was built in the mid-1990s. No city funds are budgeted for greenway projects this fiscal year, but staffers are pursuing another transportation department grant to extend biking and walking paths down Charles Boulevard with the eventual goal of connecting to Evans Street.

Jason Pauling, a long-range planner with the city, welcomed the news that the county, Winterville and Ayden want to pursue greenway projects.

"It's important, if an area is growing in a certain way, to give everyone equal opportunity to go places without cars," Pauling said.

Ginger Livingston can be contacted at glivingston@coxnews.com