Charlotte’s new greenway trails are open for your outdoor exercise during coronavirus
“I found out about this route a couple of days ago,” said Darius McElvay, who stopped his run along the Toby Creek Greenway a few weeks ago to talk with CharlotteFive. The Marine was on leave from his base at Camp Lejeune and came home to Charlotte.
“It’s an awesome path. I didn’t even know it was back here,” McElvay said. “There’s really nobody out here, so it’s good.”
Mecklenburg County Park and Rec officials said this half mile section of the Toby Creek Greenway was finished just a couple of weeks before the stay-at-home orders began to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19.
“It’s really nice, especially the view from the boardwalk. It’s a nice view of the forest,” said runner Kedarius Whitley.
More greenways, sooner
This section is just one of several new greenways to open over the past few months as part of the county’s accelerated greenway master plan.
“We currently have a goal of building 30 new miles of greenway by 2023,” said Park and Rec senior planner Katie Lloyd. This is part of an ambitious plan by the county to add 60% more greenways in the next couple of years.
“We received a lot of public requests and support for getting more greenway miles down faster. County Commissioners not only moved project funding forward, but also funded new projects to meet the community demand. We are about five miles into the 30-mile by 2023 accelerated greenway plan goal,” Lloyd said.
That includes a nearly one-mile section of Briar Creek Greenway from Meadowbrook Lane to the Mint Museum on Randolph Road.
“It’s awesome. It’s fantastic,” Tom Jordack said. “The best thing for me is you don’t have to get out with the traffic. You can be secluded. It’s kind of an oasis here in the city.”
The county added $37 million to help accelerate the greenway master plan. That moved up several projects by years. To help with this past growth, Park and Rec added two additional project managers and two positions in real estate.
Contractors also poured a new trail on a one-mile-long stretch of McAlpine Greenway from Sardis Road to Providence Road. This adds connectivity to miles of other greenways and trails at McAlpine Creek Park.
“Hidden gems”
The Park and Rec department will often throw celebrations to open major new additions to the greenways. These smaller projects, however, often don’t get the same fanfare.
“We don’t use a ribbon-cutting on every project,” Lloyd said. Part of the reason is how quickly people are drawn to it. “The second we get gravel or pavement down; people are using it.”
Elizabeth Miars walks her dog along the Briar Creek Greenway every morning. “I like this better than Freedom Park because it’s not as crowded. I like the fact that it’s a hidden gem,” Miars said.
Whitley was one of the few people out late on a weekday morning enjoying the new trail. He agreed with Miars.
“I think it’s a hidden gem for right now. The more people who see people like me running the more people will be out here running,” Whitley said.
Park and Rec officials would love for people to get out and use the greenways, even these lesser-known stretches.
“We’re not trying to hide them, but one of the things that’s true is people don’t know what we have in terms of facilities and programs,” Lloyd added.
This marine is just happy he found a nice place to work out. “I just love being out here,” McElvay said.
Pro tip: If there is a sign saying, “Do not park here,” listen up. County officials are issuing tickets to greenway users who don’t heed the signs. It’s a way to keep congestion down in some of these neighborhoods.
6 new greenway gems in Mecklenburg County
(1) Toby Creek Greenway
In a matter of seconds, the trail takes you from the busy University City Parkway out into a forest. The trail is a mixture of asphalt and cement bridges. The final portion (near Rocky River Road) takes you up a picturesque, inclined bridge with a great view of the forest and Toby Creek.
(2) Briar Creek Greenway
Start at the Mint Museum on Randolph Road and slowly make your way through Eastover Park. The trail runs alongside Briar Creek less than a block off busy Randolph Road, but the forested areas dampen the vehicular noise.
(3) Little Sugar Creek Greenway (extension)
This 2.3-mile-long trail recently opened, extending the Little Sugar Creek greenway from Huntingtowne Farms Place past I-485. The asphalt trail runs alongside the creek with multiple entrances to nearby neighborhoods. Better yet, a 1.4-mile-long trail from Huntingtowne Farms Place to Tyvola Road only opened a year or so ago.
(4) McAlpine Creek Greenway
This one mile stretch from Sardis Road to Providence Road was just completed. It is a milestone adding significant connectivity to the existing greenway along McAlpine Creek.
(5) Antiquity Greenway
The town of Cornelius finished this 0.6-mile trail segment last fall and connects downtown to the existing Rocky River Greenway in Davidson. It includes an elevated boardwalk and a neighborhood connection to South Street near a covered bridge.
(6) South Charlotte Connector
The 0.75 mile long trail connects the existing McMullen/McAlpine/Four Mile Creek Greenway system to the future Cross Charlotte Trail (XCLT)/Little Sugar Creek Greenway Corridor. That will open up access to 6 miles of trail from the XCLT once the remainder of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway project is complete.
Exercising during coronavirus
Getting outside and running during the current state of social distancing is actually a good idea.
Dr. David Nieman, a health professor at Appalachian State University and director of Human Performance Lab at North Carolina Research Campus told Runners World that those who exercise regularly are generally less likely to get sick than people who aren’t active. The exception is those who are overtraining or have just finished a race.
So, exploring the greenways on a training run is a fine idea. You might just want to avoid the sweaty hug or high five with another runner at the end. Mecklenburg Health Director Gibbie Harris has urged residents to continue social distancing and avoid crowds under Phase One of Gov. Roy Cooper’s plan to reopen North Carolina. The statewide stay-at-home order will be in effect for at least another two weeks — until the state moves into Phase Two of the governor’s plan.
Editor’s note: A new nearly one-mile section of Briar Creek Greenway will go from Meadowbrook Lane to the Mint Museum on Randolph Road. An earlier version of this story named an incorrect starting point.
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 4:05 PM.
