News

Carolina Village comes out strong for Clear Creek Greenway

Brendan Shanahan, an engineer with the city of Hendersonville, presents the Clear Creek Greenway plan to an audience made up mostly of Carolina Village residents.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 16, 2019

The graying of the greenway movement was on display Tuesday afternoon when a crowd of senior citizens turned out to ask questions and mostly express support for the proposed Clear Creek Greenway, a three-quarter mile walking trail and bike path that would connect Carolina Village and Berkeley Mills Park.

Unlike many public input and information sessions on bike-ped paths, the crowd was older and mostly retired. Many were residents of Carolina Village, which has pledged $250,000 toward a matching grant the city is seeking for the project, which is projected to cost $933,600.
The city of Hendersonville is seeking a $341,800 grant from the state Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, matched by the Carolina Village donation and $341,800 from the city. The greenway would run in an east-west direction for about four-fifths of a mile and would connect Carolina Village and the northern terminus of the 3-mile Oklawaha Greenway, which runs from Jackson Park to Berkeley Park.
A Carolina Village bus transported 14 residents to the City Operations Center for the greenway presentation and about that many drove themselves, Carolina Village Executive Director Kevin Parries said. 
Forty people in all attended the presentation, nearly all of them seniors.

Brendan Shanahan, a civil engineer with the city, fielded questions about the greenway path, security, whether it would flood and what chance Hendersonville stands of getting a state grant. The city will be competing with local government bodies across the state, including two neighbors in the county. The Henderson County Board of Commissioners was expected to authorize a grant application on Wednesday for $217,000 to reroute the Oklawaha Greenway between Jackson Park and Seventh Avenue to higher ground. The town of Fletcher is seeking a PARTF grant of $400,000 to acquire land for walking trails in a partnership with Fernleaf Community Charter School.
Carolina Village residents appear to be strongly in favor of the new greenway.
“We had a town hall meeting where we had probably 180 people, where Brendan gave this same presentation,” Parries said. “We also have some walking trails that got interrupted by the construction but we’re going to restore those back.”
Carolina Village also wants to move five Life Fitness exercise stations to the trail. Residents “have enjoyed them for some time and now can be opened up to the public.”

The Clear Creek Greenway would cross Clear Creek Road because there's not enough room under the bridge for the trail. Plans for the 10-foot paved path include a pedestrian bridge across Mud Creek. The city also has included in a greenway master plan an extension along Clear Creek that would pass under I-26 and run to Highlands Square, the Sam's and Walmart shopping center.