Since the opening of it’s Swamp Rabbit Trail in 2010, the city of Greenville has drastically benefited from the positive contributions the additional outdoor recreational space brought to its community. The trail encouraged local citizens to walk, run, or bike outdoors along it’s nearly 20 miles that stretch from Greenville Technical College to the city of Travelers Rest, and features plenty of sights along the way, including Furman University and the Swamp Rabbit Café. Communities like Clemson have been looking to model area spaces with similarities to Greenville’s cross-town trail.
According to Planning & Design Director Gerald Vander Mey, Clemson won’t have to wait much longer. Recently, Vander Mey and his team received a $1M grant from the South Carolina Department of Transportation for the implementation of an outdoor walking and biking trail running from the edge of Clemson University’s campus towards the city of Pendleton. The grant has been matched with an additional $250K in funds from the University, and will be used for the grading, drainage, paving, signage, and trail head amenities for the path. Vander Mey says the overall goal of the trail will be to eventually reach the Clemson University Research Park in Anderson, but that it will take time and additional planning to extend it that far.
This project is said to come from a continued effort by the University and its staff to support healthy living, sustainability, and the need for transportation demand management (TDM). University Facilities has managed similar projects in the past, such as creating bike ways along Perimeter Road as well as extending pedestrian sidewalks on campus, and are looking forward to the opportunity to create a new trail for public use. The project will be managed by SCDOT, and will stretch at least to Highway 93. This will allow the trail to connect to the Green Crescent Trail, another outdoor biking and walking path that will stretch from Clemson, through Central, and out to Easley.
The trail leading from Clemson will be paved with asphalt, and will stretch 10 feet wide to leave room for walkers, bikers, and runners coming from either direction. Vander Mey says that he not only expects the trail to help enhance the quality of life of the campus and community, but that he also thinks it will help recruit and retain more students in the future, as well as provide new opportunities for outdoor-based classes and programs for Clemson students.
Meetings between the Planning & Design department and SCDOT are underway, and initial plans for the trail have been presented to administration and the Board of Trustees.
