Jackson County Greenways

Projects and Plans

October 16, 2014

Need for physical activity to combat health issues faced by Americans due to lack of exercise

Provide an alternate mode of transportation, linking communities to each other, residential to service areas, etc

Walking and jogging trails ranked as the most desirable amenity in a recent NAHB survey, with roughly half of active adults and older seniors (52%) saying the presence of trails would seriously influence the home-buying decision.

The most significant feature of home sales near a trail in Massachusetts is that these homes sold in an average of 29.3 days as compared to 50.4 days for other homes

Visitors to Ohio’s Little Miami Scenic Trail spend an average of $13.54 on food, beverages, and transportation to the trail.

How did we get here?

JACKSON COUNTY GREENWAYS

PROJECT

Conservation, Recreation, Transportation

COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN presented to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners

by the Jackson County Recreation Department and the Greenway Advisory Committee with the assistance of the residents of Jackson County

Jackson County, North Carolina ▪ June 2009

TUCKASEEGEE RIVER GREENWAY

P R E L I M I N A R Y M A S T E R P L A N

J A C K S O N C O U N T Y , N O R T H C A R O L I N A

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9Prepared for:

Jackson County Recreation & Parks Department

Presented by:

Equinox Environmental Consultation & Design, Inc.

The Initial Project

Properties acquired Purchase of one property Donation of another property

Application submitted for Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant Application submitted in January 2013 $435,000 grant awarded in June 2013

Began preparation of construction drawings Stillwell Engineering selected to prepare greenway trail

plans Lofquist Engineering selected for engineering services

related to bridge

Requested encroachment agreement from NC DOT Much of greenway route is within NC DOT limited

access right-of-way Encroachment required approval by NC DOT staff in

Raleigh

Coordinated with TWSA on use of sewer easement Greenway route is on sewer easement Entered into agreement for shared use of all TWSA

easements

Applied for Trout Buffer variance Variance granted by NC DENR

Prepared Biologic Assessment for US Fish and Wildlife Service Tuckasegee River is habitat of endangered species

Prepared bid documents working with project engineer Advertised for bids

WNC Paving submitted lowest bid for greenway trail

Provided project management Interaction with construction crews

Inspected and approved work

Greenway programming being managed by Parks and Recreation Department

Total estimated cost is $1.3 million Trail cost $375,000

Bridge cost estimate $1,000,000 Final cost dependent upon construction bids

Soil conditions at bridge abutments will impact cost

Funding Sources PARTF Grant

Duke Mitigation Funds

Parks and Rec Capital Project Funds Includes funds reserved for greenway

County Capital Funds

Bridge being fabricated

Complete design of abutments

Prepare bid documents and solicit bids

Review bids and award contract

Construct abutments

Construct walks and ramps

Construct retaining wall

Install bridge

Completion scheduled for spring 2015

What’s Next?

Questions and Comments