I recentlty read where they are developing an old railroad right of way into a green path in Memphis. They recently opened one in NYC and received rave reviews (deserved imho); I threw together some snaps of the new park. I think its fantastic (the park) and amazing what can be done in such a limited area.
I hope Memphis does something similar, as I believe it will be bigger or longer than the one here.
The slides are sort of long, (not to mention rough at the edges) so forgive me for that!
I figured this might give some excitement as to the possibilities of the
Memphis project, at least I hope so.
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/nq2bR3at
P.S. not sure what trlated means; I MEANT related!
P.S. Moderator, if not appropriate, please remove.
That's pretty cool hope they do it.
They have one in Atlanta called the Silver Comet. VERY nice.
I've been looking forward to it and hope they keep working on it soon. They've already pulled up the old tracks, at least all of it in my area (running along the back side of Shelby Farms), but I don't know where they're at with the rest of it.
edit: here's a decent story on the big one they're planning for Memphis. It's pretty huge and will take 10-15 years to finish.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/loca...45,00.html
in terms of landscaping, the popular thing to do now is "native grasses" but to me looks like weeds. love the concept though.
(06-30-2009 07:43 AM)UofMTigers1 Wrote: [ -> ]They have one in Atlanta called the Silver Comet. VERY nice.
The only thing bad about the Silver Comet is the criminal element that hangs out there. Had a murder and several robberies along the trail.
South Carolina is supposed to be building one that is about 385 miles long, from Charleston area to the Greenville area I believe.
There is also one in my hometown in Milton, FL and again, they are very nice recycle of a dead rail line and get used frequently by cyclist and joggers.
I agree, I hope more cities and locations do these rather than letting the lines lie in waste.
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Greater Memphis Greenline is the organization that is behind the new trail. See their blog for more info.
http://www.greatermemphisgreenline.org/
Also they just announced a couple public meetings next week!
We had "tracks-to-trails" in my hometown starting about 20 years ago when the railroad stopped coming through town.
It was a neat little "secret passage" that went from one end of the town to the other. Always fun when I was a kid.
Sweet. Hopefully there are signs along the way for folks to know where they are when they run (I'd like for small businesses to sprout up where possible along the trail, although much of it seems to go through residential and nature preserves), and that police bike through there regularly (maybe include overhead cameras or emergency phones).
This is just one piece of the puzzle to make Memphis more active, healthy, and vibrant. But it's a great step. Hopefully there are dozens more pieces on the on-deck circle.
Now that CSX has removed most of the rock, what will we be able to throw at the snakes when we get close to Wolf River?
I know the funding for it passed a couple of weeks ago. Everything is schedule as far as I know. I've also read they want to take the far most eastern part of the track, which extends into Cordova, and make that apart of the line as well. But they are concentrating on the Memphis part for right now.
There was an article about this in the CA today. Looks like the opening has been pushed back to begining of '10. Don't know the reason. It's gonna happen though.
CA Link
Where others see only a derelict, weed-entangled railroad bed, Ritchie Smith can visualize a unique 7-mile linear park, complete with a landscaped trail offering bicyclists and pedestrians a trip through wetlands and forests and "100 years of Memphis history."
Smith, principal of a landscape architecture firm bearing his name, is beginning design work on the "greenway" that will be built on the old CSX Transportation right-of-way connecting Binghamton and East Memphis with Shelby Farms Park.
In a sign that the multiyear effort to develop the rails-to-trails project is nearing fruition, local officials this week are hosting two meetings to get public input on the design and management of the greenway.
"What makes this project so remarkable is that you have an abandoned railroad corridor in an established urban area," Smith said.
The meetings, set for Monday and Tuesday at the Benjamin Hooks Central Library and Agricenter International, come as Shelby County prepares to assume ownership of the 7-mile long, 100-foot-wide section of CSX right-of-way that extends from Tillman to Farm Road.
The County Commission this spring approved the approximately $5 million purchase, which mostly involved a mix of funds raised by Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that oversees the park, and federal grant money.
The greenway will be operated by the conservancy, with support from the group Greater Memphis Greenline.
The closing for the county's right-of-way purchase is expected by early August. Eventually, officials want to buy another 6 or so miles of the CSX corridor to extend the greenway eastward to Eads.
Rick Masson, executive director of the conservancy, said that although officials had hoped to complete the trail this year, it now isn't expected to open until spring 2010.
In the meantime, officials have been busy conducting environmental studies and an appraisal required by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Masson said the environmental studies found "nothing that can't be addressed with minimal cost."
The issues likely to be covered in this week's meetings include design elements such as signs and vegetative plantings.
Smith said railings also will be "one of the most visible" features of the trail because the greenway crosses a major bridge over the Wolf River and six trestles totaling about a half-mile in length.
The security concerns of neighbors also will be addressed, Masson said. "We won't open the trail until we have a comprehensive security plan in place," he added.
Smith said the development of the greenway should enhance security, adding that the overgrown rail bed now is attractive to criminals.
"If you clear a lot of the vegetation and create sight lines, plus add the user group, those are deterrents to criminal activity," Smith said.
Tom Grimes, a conservancy board member who's from the Pidgeon Estates neighborhood along the greenway, said most of his neighbors are "pretty darn excited" about the project.
(06-30-2009 07:26 AM)tigercat Wrote: [ -> ]I recentlty read where they are developing an old railroad right of way into a green path in Memphis. They recently opened one in NYC and received rave reviews (deserved imho); I threw together some snaps of the new park. I think its fantastic (the park) and amazing what can be done in such a limited area.
I hope Memphis does something similar, as I believe it will be bigger or longer than the one here.
The slides are sort of long, (not to mention rough at the edges) so forgive me for that!
I figured this might give some excitement as to the possibilities of the
Memphis project, at least I hope so.
http://www.photoshow.com/watch/nq2bR3at
P.S. not sure what trlated means; I MEANT related!
P.S. Moderator, if not appropriate, please remove.
This would really be nice in Memphis
(07-05-2009 03:23 PM)memp600 Wrote: [ -> ]There was an article about this in the CA today. Looks like the opening has been pushed back to begining of '10. Don't know the reason. It's gonna happen though.
CA Link
Where others see only a derelict, weed-entangled railroad bed, Ritchie Smith can visualize a unique 7-mile linear park, complete with a landscaped trail offering bicyclists and pedestrians a trip through wetlands and forests and "100 years of Memphis history."
Smith, principal of a landscape architecture firm bearing his name, is beginning design work on the "greenway" that will be built on the old CSX Transportation right-of-way connecting Binghamton and East Memphis with Shelby Farms Park.
In a sign that the multiyear effort to develop the rails-to-trails project is nearing fruition, local officials this week are hosting two meetings to get public input on the design and management of the greenway.
"What makes this project so remarkable is that you have an abandoned railroad corridor in an established urban area," Smith said.
The meetings, set for Monday and Tuesday at the Benjamin Hooks Central Library and Agricenter International, come as Shelby County prepares to assume ownership of the 7-mile long, 100-foot-wide section of CSX right-of-way that extends from Tillman to Farm Road.
The County Commission this spring approved the approximately $5 million purchase, which mostly involved a mix of funds raised by Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that oversees the park, and federal grant money.
The greenway will be operated by the conservancy, with support from the group Greater Memphis Greenline.
The closing for the county's right-of-way purchase is expected by early August. Eventually, officials want to buy another 6 or so miles of the CSX corridor to extend the greenway eastward to Eads.
Rick Masson, executive director of the conservancy, said that although officials had hoped to complete the trail this year, it now isn't expected to open until spring 2010.
In the meantime, officials have been busy conducting environmental studies and an appraisal required by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Masson said the environmental studies found "nothing that can't be addressed with minimal cost."
The issues likely to be covered in this week's meetings include design elements such as signs and vegetative plantings.
Smith said railings also will be "one of the most visible" features of the trail because the greenway crosses a major bridge over the Wolf River and six trestles totaling about a half-mile in length.
The security concerns of neighbors also will be addressed, Masson said. "We won't open the trail until we have a comprehensive security plan in place," he added.
Smith said the development of the greenway should enhance security, adding that the overgrown rail bed now is attractive to criminals.
"If you clear a lot of the vegetation and create sight lines, plus add the user group, those are deterrents to criminal activity," Smith said.
Tom Grimes, a conservancy board member who's from the Pidgeon Estates neighborhood along the greenway, said most of his neighbors are "pretty darn excited" about the project.
Well since I'm one of those from the Pidgeon Estates neighborhood that Mr. Grimes spoke for: I am NOT pretty darn excited about it. I am very cautiously optimistic as the idea sounds incredible but until I see more about the security involved I am skeptical.