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So we made the 3.5-mile return trip back to Kirk Farm Fields via UNC Charlotte, loaded the bike back in my SUV, and drove south. But we wanted to make a beeline toward uptown, and to do that, we had to hook a left onto the Toby Creek Greenway just a few minutes into our jaunt. Just a mile from the start, Toby Creek reaches the most scenic, most fitness-focused section of the campus of UNC Charlotte. If you follow Mallard Creek Greenway from Kirk Farm Fields and make no turns at intersections, you can head west for miles, under Tryon; beneath I-85; along the gravel trail that cuts through University Research Park; onto the Clark Creek Greenway that cuts north. You can park at Park Road Park in the middle lot, south of the duck pond, or at the tennis courts.
BREAKING NEWS
And there’s not a single point where you have to cross a public street or contend with a motor vehicle (other than the occasional park employee trundling past in a golf cart). The City of Charlotte is partnering with Mecklenburg County to create a 30+-mile trail and greenway facility that will stretch from the City of Pineville through Center City and on to the UNC Charlotte campus and Cabarrus County line. Once completed, the Cross Charlotte Trail will allow residents to travel seamlessly from one end of Charlotte to the other. Approximately 140,000 residents and 130,000 jobs will be within walking distance of the proposed trail and the adjacent greenways that connect to it. Construction has been underway on a section of the trail that’s near Archdale Park in south Charlotte. That’s in addition to work happening between 7th and 10th Streets in Uptown.
Cross Charlotte Trail set to be open from Pineville to NoDa this spring
There are 11 total segments of the Cross Charlotte Trail, plus a bicycle boulevard that improves connectivity to the trail in North Charlotte. Freedom Park will always be the crown jewel of the county park system. It’ll always be one of the most attractive pit stops on the XCLT. But the brand-new section that starts a mile to the south is going to steal away a lot of attention this year.
Stay Connected!
In all, there are 11 segments of trail, stretching 30 miles from Pineville all the way to Cabarrus County. The newest section of trail is just over a mile and a half, but officials say it fills a critical gap, completely connecting an 18-mile stretch between NoDa and the South Carolina state line. The trail combines transportation options with recreation amenities as a way to encourage residents to drive less and exercise more. The long-term project is a collaborative effort between Charlotte city government and Mecklenburg County government.
As for this stretch of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway, which was largely new to me, it’s breathtaking — full of hidden-gem urban green spaces and eclectic points of interest from tiny to huge. Within a few hundred yards from the crest of the hill, we were on the regular sidewalk that runs along Rockland Drive. Around the 3-mile mark, after navigating gentle bends and concrete boardwalks through/over a pretty, peaceful swath of wetlands, we came to the street crossing at Rocky River Road West. In the not-too-distant future, the northernmost tip of the XCLT will be the trailhead at North Tryon Street, just around the corner from PNC Music Pavilion. A run (or, more precisely, a pair of runs, since I decided to save my legs by spreading it over the course of two days) packed with surprises and pleasures, as well as a few pains.
Developer details plans for new town center near Blue Line Extension in NoDa - Charlotte Business Journal - Charlotte Business Journal
Developer details plans for new town center near Blue Line Extension in NoDa - Charlotte Business Journal.
Posted: Wed, 06 Dec 2017 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Cross Charlotte Trail Segments
— Cyclists, walkers and runners will one day have 26 miles of uninterrupted trail that will span Mecklenburg County, from the Cabarrus County line all the way to the South Carolina border. But construction to connect the Cross Charlotte Trail has been bumpy, to say the least. The trail is part of Charlotte’s strategic mobility plan to make areas of Charlotte more accessible. The Queen City's greenways are a space to get active but they're also designed to connect residents to restaurants, shops, and offices. The current interim plan involves installing “continuous sidewalk for that whole distance.” That is tentatively scheduled to be completed by mid-2024.
I ran from one end of Charlotte to the other using only greenways — or tried to, at least
Once the Brandywine-to-Tyvola segment is done, the Cross Charlotte Trail will be open from Pineville to NoDa. "That’s the best news I’ve heard today,” Huggins said with a smile. The trail, in its entirety, runs along with Little Sugar Creek from Brandywine Road at the north end of the city down to Tyvola Road in the southern portion. Shortly after passing the right-hand turn for the well-under-construction offshoot that eventually will take LSCG greenway-goers to the South Carolina State Line (it’s set to open later this spring), we ran into another dead end at the Polk home in Pineville. The next 6 miles — which run from just north of Park Road Park to underneath I-485 (behind Carolina Pavilion on South Boulevard), then all the way down to the President James K. Polk State Historic Site in Pineville — have a lot going for them.
I’m also a veteran of nearly three dozen marathons and a five-time Boston Marathon qualifier who has been excited about the prospect of an end-to-end jaunt for years. I recently set out to see how much of the XCLT was runnable (walkable, bike-able) as of right now. There were, literally, multiple detours; and, figuratively speaking, a variety of bumps in the road. See more information about the SouthPark trail projects here. Segment two of the Cross Charlotte Trail opened to the public this past July, and it lets you walk or bike from the Park Road Shopping Center all the way to the South Carolina state line. CHARLOTTE — An extension has opened with a new path from Park Road Park to the Cross Charlotte Trail.
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Hunt Allen told WCNC Charlotte he lives near the Little Sugar Creek Greenway and not only exercises on it everyday, but bikes on it to get to work. "I feel very safe and comfortable riding on the trail all the way downtown.” Allen said. Rescue personnel hiked a mile down the trail and spoke to a female who said she was hiking with others to a large creek on the trail when another woman trying to cross the creek fell in. She said a man jumped in and tried to rescue her, but he also disappeared. Officially, the 1.5-mile Brandywine-to-Tyvola segment is not open.
City leaders are holding a ribbon-cutting later this morning to officially open the section of trail. The map below shows the entire alignment of the trail from the South Carolina state line to Kempsford Drive near the Cabarrus County line.
“Because we can’t gather to celebrate in person, let’s show our support and excitement by sharing how we’re using the trail,” added Fakhreddin. You have probably come across several recent news stories related to the Cross Charlotte Trail, and we wanted to address how this relates to and impacts the Carolina Thread Trail. For the latest breaking news, weather and traffic alerts, download the WCNC Charlotte mobile app and enable push notifications. Locked On is the leading podcast network for local sports and is owned by WCNC Charlotte's parent company TEGNA.Listen to Locked On here.
— The City of Charlotte hosted a ribbon cutting to celebrate a new segment of the Cross Charlotte Trail Thursday morning. The new trail segment is located between Brandywine Road and Tyvola Road. A spokesperson for the City said the project has not been pushed back by the supply chain or inflation, but did not have a date for when the entire trail will be finished. The Brandywine-to-Tyvola segment is expected to be done by April 2023. Crews are working to extend the Little Sugar Creek Greenway from Brandywine Road to Tyvola Road. The project is one segment of the Cross Charlotte Trail that will eventually go from the South Carolina state line to the PNC Music Pavilion.
I’ve been on these greenways a lot, too, so I know well that their low-lying boardwalks and asphalt sections also flood easily; then, for days, they remain places where new running shoes go to be soiled by mud stains. The portion of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway that dips under East Morehead Street and runs almost at creek level past Atrium Health’s main hospital to Freedom Park is famously one of the most active segments of greenway. It’s also infamous for flooding after astonishingly brief downpours that lead to exasperatingly long “temporary” closures.
While the Cross Charlotte Trail is one part of the greater Thread Trail network of trails and greenways, we have a stake in ensuring this continuous greenway is built as promised and planned. The Cross Charlotte Trail will be a 30-mile-long trail through Mecklenburg County that expands Charlotte's greenways. We’ve pulled together details and an interactive map to show you its planned route, offer updates on which segments are built or under construction, and detail plans for future segments. Use the arrows to navigate from the southwestern end of the trail south of Pineville and continue all the way to the Cabarrus County line.
Presently, however, that segment is still in the design phase. So if you go looking for it — like Charlotte Observer visual journalist Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez and I did — you’ll find a labyrinthine subdivision, an apartment complex, maybe a Walmart. Target completion dates on at least one section are three years away. There are wayfinding guides up to help people get to the SouthPark Loop and the Cross Charlotte Trail, according to the city. Click here to see complete map of the trail, including which sections are complete and what has yet to be done.
— A massive project underway, known as the Cross Charlotte Trail, is connecting the city’s greenways by creating a 30-mile-long pathway through Mecklenburg County. Within about three blocks we found ourselves on a pretty cool stretch covering a smooth asphalt path as wide as a residential street that cuts between Urban District Market and Seoul Food restaurant’s sprawling new complex. But then the equivalent of about three blocks after that, we spilled out onto the side of North Brevard Street and found a sign that indicated the trail continued north only in theoretical terms (i.e. with a dotted line on the legend that denoted “future greenway.”).
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