By Karen Cimino Wilson
[email protected]
The City of Concord will host a meeting Thursday to gather citizen input on a greenway that will eventually connect some of the city’s biggest and most asphalt-locked attractions.
The three-mile Rocky River Greenway will give Concord citizens a pedestrian- and cycle-friendly path connecting the Rocky River area to Lowe’s Motor Speedway, the Rocky River Golf Club, the Concord Convention Center, Concord Mills and local restaurants.
Concord will have a meeting for public input on the proposed plan from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at Concord Fire Station No. 9, at 1020 Ivey Cline Road.
The public is invited to talk with city staff and project consultants with Greenway Inc. about how best to connect people and places with the proposed trails, said city spokeswoman Deborah Clark.
The first phase of the Rocky River Greenway will be along the commercial area of Weddington Road just east of Concord Mills Mall and Lowe’s Motor Speedway in the southwest corner of Concord.
The greenway also will eventually tie into the Charlotte and Mecklenburg County greenway system.
Greenways are corridors for walking, jogging, skating and biking that are often built along banks of rivers, streams or lakes.
“Our existing Harold B. McEachern Greenway has been hugely successful,” said Judy Quesinberry with the City of Concord. “It is common to see people pushing strollers, people of all ages walking and joggers, using this greenway. I’m sure the Rocky River Greenway will be just as popular.”
The McEachern Greenway is a one-mile paved walkway along Branchview Drive between Les Myers Park and J.W. McGee Park. The trail includes a pedestrian tunnel under Corban Avenue. The future phases of the trail will connect Concord’s downtown to the hospital area.
Concord’s Village Greenway opened in August 2007 and runs through the historic Gibson Village community. This greenway connects Gibson Village to Historic Downtown Concord.
• Contact Karen Cimino Wilson: 704-789-9141.