The long-abandoned rail corridor that runs through downtown Wilmington is slated to get new life as a public path and greenway.
Wilmington City Council has endorsed a concept to use the corridor, which has been silent since rail lines were removed decades ago, as a multiuse trail and public green space, similar to the city’s Gary Shell Cross-City Trail.
While not yet designed, the trail would run along the corridor from Third Street to McRae Street, opening up the corridor for use by the public. Should trains return to the corridor someday, as transportation officials envision, the trail would remain, if deemed to be compatible, as part of what’s described as a “rail-with-trail” corridor.
Gaining traction across the country, the concept blends trains and trails by turning active rail lines into recreational corridors, often with bicycle or multiuse paths running alongside tracks.
Passenger rail is envisioned to return to downtown in the future, in conjunction with a planned multimodal transportation center. But those plans remain “many years off,” according to a memo provided to council.
The corridor, it says, “could serve on an interim basis as a trail/greenspace corridor until the re-establishment of the rail line.”
Mike Kozlosky, director of the Wilmington Metropolitan Planning Organization, told council Tuesday night the concept for the corridor was identified as part of the Wilmington/New Hanover County Comprehensive Greenway Plan, adopted last year. The plan, which maps out a comprehensive network of undeveloped land set aside for recreation and public green space, includes a proposed trail in the rail corridor “dependent upon compatibility with future passenger rail service.”
“This would try to provide some activity in that area,” Kozlosky told council, noting the concept had previously received support from the MPO’s Transportation Advisory Committee.
Kozlosky said plans and access to the corridor would need to be coordinated with the North Carolina Department of Transportation, which retains ownership. The corridor has been abandoned since 1990, when rail provider CSX removed the line that previously served the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.
Since the 1840s, ACL used the corridor for freight access to the Cape Fear River, according to Mark Koenig of the Wilmington Railroad Museum. After the line was removed, a parcel of land was given to Cape Fear Community College, which used the land for parking and has since built a parking deck and pedestrian corridor west of the Third Street bridge.
That bridge—one of several that cross the corridor—was designed with a hump to provide clearance for trains. The DOT plans to replace that bridge with an at-grade version in 2015.
Related story: Third Street bridge to be replaced–without the hump–in 2015
Council responded receptively to the concept for the corridor, which member Laura Padgett described as a natural extension of the walkway established by the community college.
“Theirs is very attractive, so if we can tie into that and make this attractive, that would be positive,” Padgett said, adding that the college’s students would be likely users of the trail, particularly those who ride bikes to class.
Responding to questions from council, Kozlosky said stairwells could be added to the corridor to provide pedestrian access to Fourth Street and other areas. Landscaping and beautification efforts could also be involved, though those things would be determined in the design phase, he said.
“This would be the first step in trying to secure a project for that corridor,” Kozlosky said.
If developed, the trail would add to public greenways in Wilmington and beyond. The cross-city trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, a multiuse path in development from Maine to Florida, which also includes the Wilmington Riverwalk and Greenfield Lake trail.
With passenger rail service, the corridor would also add to more than 100 rails-with-trails across the country. The Rails-To-Trails Conservancy reports 161 rails-with-trails had been established in 41 states as of last year.
Related story: Renderings visualize Third Street bridge replacement
Jonathan Spiers is a reporter for Port City Daily. He can be reached at (910) 772-6313 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @jrspiers
