Walking Trails


In the mid- 1990's, the Twin City & the Small Town were awarded a grant to develop walkways (a "Greenway") between the 2 towns.  The Small Town has a park that already had walking trails, and the Twin City has 2 larger parks.  (Both towns have a few smaller parks in neighborhoods.)  The grant allowed a walkway to connect all 3 parks together.  The result is a 9-mile walking/biking trail.
The green dotted line is the Greenway.  The Small Town's section is the upper part, and consists of a total of 5 miles.  Along the way, the ST has benches where you can rest if you feel the need.
The ST's section goes through the park, around the schools, swimming pool, and duck pond, and along the creek that leads to the Twin City.  Most of the walking trails in the ST are shaded.  There are plenty of hills to offset the little bit of flatland.
Most days (as long as it's not too hot or too cold), you can see quite a few people out using the trails.  It's really neat to ride/walk the trail and run into people I went to high school with.  The dogs like to jump in the creek on a hot day while we're walking on the trails.

The most recent addition is a pedestrian bridge that goes over the highway, connecting both sides.  Sidewalks were added on the right side.  The downside to that area, as well as one other area is that  those areas are prone to flood when we get a substantial amount of rain.  The bridge was paid for with stimulus funds.  The letters on the bridge are aluminum.  (What else would they be?)

The Walking Trails can lead you to numerous stores and restaurants, although I don't recall many (if any) of them having bike racks.  I haven't taken advantage of all of the trails, but what I have ridden I've really enjoyed.  

There are plans to link the greenway with the next county, as well as to the small town that is at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains.  Of course, since the Twin City is between the Small Town & the mountains, it will actually connect with TC.  There are days when I'll see a bicyclist heading toward the Smokies, so this will help with the safety for those cyclists.  And, the town in the mountains already has Walking/Cycling Trails, so it's just a matter of connecting the 2.

The Walking Trails definitely add to the beauty of the Small Town.  When I grew up, there were "sidewalks" through the lower part of the park only leading to the pool.  Then, there was a sidewalk along the road from the elementary school, through the train trestle, and through the "black" neighborhood, to the aluminum plant.  I don't know this for sure, but I would bet that the sidewalks were built so that the workers could walk to/from work safely.  We are definitely an aluminum town!

4 comments:

  1. it is not safe to walk on our streets. We have no sidewalks and most of our roads are dirt. It would be nice to live in an area with green belts and parks. I've enjoyed the brief trip down your walking trails.

    http://completelycalifornia.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  2. You have some amazing walking trails. I love in Louisiana and unfortunately, we lack great walking trails,(unless you aren't afraid to walk in a swamp or bayou) which can fun.


    Hi, I am a new follower from the challenge. Hard to believe it’s nearly over. Good to meet you & good job on you’re A to Z challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  3. My favorite -- although I would have put them under B for Bike Trails or C for cycling trails. . . ha ha

    If you know any of the small business owners along the trail, tell them that bike racks improve cash flow. There are studies showing this happening even in NYC! Cyclists love to feel welcome and bike racks are part of that. We will spend some $$ where there are racks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great Blog. I will continue to visit here in the future. I found you through the A to Z Challenge.

    www.tronster.net

    ReplyDelete

Popular Posts