Hi everyone,
We are up to over 3,600 supporters and growing. It's been a busy month there is a lot going on. I've been going to meetings and have been in contact with officials in all three jurisdictions. Progress is being made on many different fronts.
Right now I'm asking for your assistance in filling out a survey on the Greenway Trail. The 3,000 mile East Coast Greenway Trail is being planned to go from Florida to Maine. It will be going through our Region and I believe it should be the Main North to South Trail of the Inner connector Trail Network.
Look at the Green Trail with red dots in the picture.That's the current Plan for the Greenway Trail in Stafford. The current Plan winds through the roads at the Falmouth bottom. It goes down Washington Street, Ingleside Dr. and Lendall Ln. It crosses Route 17 at the light and follows the powerline easement to Truslow Road. On Truslow the Plan is to build a 10' wide Trail and turn it to go up Enon Road to Centreport Pkwy, where it will become a part of the Inner Connector Trail that i'm proposing.
I believe the current proposed Plan is dangerous to have the bikes using the roads in the Falmouth bottom. It will hinder traffic flow when the bikes cross Route 17. There are about 30 houses on Truslow that are close to the road and the trail. The Trail would be as close as 10' away from their front door. Then there's the issues of drainfields, wells, landscaping and utilities being impacted. It will be a high cost of building the trail with high impacts. The high opposition will end up keeping the trail from getting built. I think what is being proposed is not feasible.
On the other hand the Inner Connector Trail will have much less impact and costs, because it will be built in conjunction with the new road. It will also run under Route 17 where it will be much safer and not interfere with Traffic Flow.
Please Click on this link to fill out the survey and have it filled out before 4:30 PM on Monday September 20th. You are free to use my comments I have written below.
https://surveyhero.com/c/GWRCgreenways
The study has identified building the Greenway on a portion of the Parallel Road/Inner Connector Trail network that I have been proposing, but the other portion of the proposed Greenway Trail has major flaws. The Greenway study shows the Trail using the streets of the Falmouth Bottom to cross Route 17. Then the new Trail would follow the power lines North to run down Truslow Road, where a new trail would be build in peoples front yards. It would then turn North on Enon to connect to Centreport Pkwy.
The Greenway Plan that is being studied has so many flaws, impacts and would be much more costly to built than the Inner Connector Trail. I believe the Greenway Plan that's being studied is not feasible because;
1. Using the streets of the Falmouth bottom would be dangerous and interfere with traffic flow.
2. Crossing the busy Route 17 would slow down the flow of Traffic and create conflicts between Pedestrians, Bicycles and Cars.
2. The houses on Truslow Road are too close to the road to widen it and put in a 10' trail. There would probably be over 40 homeowners impacted and the Tail would be as close as 10' from the front door of some of the houses.
3. The acquisition of 40 to 70 of parcels of land between Route 17 and Centreport would be time consuming and costly. It would create a lot of opposition that would drag on for years, so nothing is built.
Connecting the Greenway Trail to the Population Centers, Destination Centers and Work Centers would get more usage to take more cars off the roads. At the same time it can connect to a Trail network that includes Parks, Historic sites, unique features like the Belmont to Cannon Ridge Historic Waterfall Trail and a Covered Bridge. Using an existing 2.2 mile 9' wide trail that has street lights and beautiful landscaping would cut done on impacts and cost, while being more appealing.
If we work together to create a Regional Approach to Roads, Trails and Parks we can create a much better and feasible Plan that would improve the quality of life for everyone.
The survey asks to number the priorities they suggested. These are the priorities that I used that will help move the Inner Connector forward.
1. Centreport Pkwy to Mine Road.
2. Centreport Pkwy to Truslow Road.
3 Virginia Central Trail Feeder (Spotsylvania)
Sincerely,
Joe Brito