REGION 2020: GREENBELTS, PARKS AND TRAILS
WHAT
• To develop a region that establishes,
protects, restores, and maintains a safe, multi-purpose system of trails,
greenways, natural areas and high quality parks (including neighborhood
parks) integrated with roads and waterways.
WHY
• To create a well developed, environmentally
sensitive transportation network.
• To reduce air pollution.
• To provide recreational opportunities.
• To improve the quality of life.
• To improve general health and reduce stress for residents.
• To beautify the region and enhance civic pride.
• To encourage environmentally-based economic development.
• To increase natural resource protection and water quality.
• To decrease the congestion on roadways.
• To increase community interaction.
WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED
• Citizens in the region
• Regional planning commissions
• Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT)
• City and county engineers and planners
• Parks and recreation departments
• Elected Officials from cities, counties and state
• Community lenders
• Bicycle, pedestrian, and trail advocacy groups
• The Black Warrior/Cahaba River land Trust
• Nationally recognized organizations involved with similar work, including
the Trust for Public land, Rails to Trails Conservancy, and Greenways, Inc.
• Potential funders
WHO WILL BENEFIT
• Residents of the region
• Neighborhoods
• Elderly
• Children
Strategy
Develop and implement a regional greenway
plan that links origins and destinations throughout the region and functions
as a transportation network, using the Birmingham Area Bicycle, Pedestrian,
and Greenway Plan as a model.
Encourage each city and county in the region
to develop a greenway plan that links existing parks, developed open space,
floodplains, and ridges to complement the regional plan. Utilize land purchase,
easements, abandoned railroad right-of-ways, and Black Warrior/Cahaba River
land Trust property to build the network and protect critical waterways
and ridges.
Related strategies: Alternative
Modes of Transportation and Neighborhoods
and Communities.
Action Steps
The Region 2020 Board of Directors, working
with citizens and local elected officials, will request that the governor
and the Alabama Department of Transportation issue a statewide policy regarding
improvements that promote bicycling and walking as transportation alternatives.
Region 2020 will convene a regional Bicycle,
Pedestrian, and Greenways Implementation Team.
The Bicycle, Pedestrian and Greenways Implementation
Team will:
1. Recognize the achievements and success
of current green-way projects and communicate those successes to the public.
2. Prepare a presentation to provide information
on the benefits of trails and alternative transportation (e.g., economic
development, quality of life, health, transportation, etc.), the process
for developing trail and alternative transportation systems, and the availability
of state and federal funding for bicycle, pedestrian, and greenway projects.
3. Convene and facilitate county-wide meetings
to demonstrate opportunities for multi-use greenway trails and on-road bicycle
and pedestrian improvements.
4. Encourage all cities to develop a detailed
plan for walk-ways and bikeways.
5. Encourage cities and counties to revise
local zoning and subdivision ordinances to provide for bicycle and pedestrian-friendly
development. Ordinances that address the following issues can be amended:
subdivision layout; provision of dedicated greenway easements or land donations
for greenway purposes; provision of sidewalks, bicycle-friendly roadway
design, and traffic calming; mixed-use zoning and density requirements;
lighting requirements; access between adjacent developments; parking lot
location, capacity, and layout; parking requirements that include bicycle
parking; lot coverage and building setbacks; and internal traffic circulation
in new developments.
6. Encourage cities and counties to dedicate
parks and green. ways to ensure "no net loss" and to develop parks
departments in communities that do not currently have them.
7. Support the elected officials of Blount
County and the City of Oneonta in the resolution of issues and concerns
of residents toward the conversion of the abandoned Cheney railroad line
to a multi-use trail.
8. Encourage and support the continued
implementation of the Birmingham Area Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenway
Plan and use it as a model for other cities and counties in the region.
Role of Region 2020
• To seek support nom the Governor
of Alabama and the Director of the Alabama Department of Transportation
for polices and funding which promote bicycling and walking as forms of
transportation.
• To convene the Implementation Team.
• To work with the Black Warrior/ Cahaba River Land Trust to persuade property
owners along potential greenway sites to donate easements for multi-use trails.
Cost
To be determined. (See the Workgroup report
for information based on industry estimates and comparative project costs.)
Further Information
(See the Workgroup report for more information
about the structure of the Implementation Team and greenway projects currently
underway in the region.)
