CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Charleston is set to build a highly anticipated trail along the Elk River, marking the first step in a series of riverfront renovations that promise to transform the area over the next 2 years.
The City of Charleston was awarded $674,501 through the Transportation Alternatives Program for their Elk River Trail Project, which will include the construction of a new pedestrian and bicycle pathway from the trails that already exist at the Kanawha and Elk Rivers confluence and will go all the way to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. And to help with the construction, the city is providing a $168,625 match.
Amy Shuler Goodwin
Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin says that her job as mayor is to make sure that she is getting people to downtown Charleston, and she believes that this trail will help with that.
“Economic development, what do we actually mean, we mean certainly more heads in beds, more people shopping, quality of life increasing, and that’s exactly what this trail is going to do,” Goodwin said.
Which means that tourism is also going to flourish when the trails are finally complete.
“Travel tourism, let me tell you something right now, people want to go, they will stay in a hotel that is on the riverbank that they know they can bring their bike and their walking shoes or running shoes,” Goodwin said. “You know the guys from TC Energy that’s the hotel they stay in, they like to stay on the riverfront because their runners, it is a big market for us.”
The project is going to create a quarter mile of additional pathway that will continue transforming the look of the riverfront.
“Take that 25 million we got to build our Capital Connector, now you add this additional $680,000 dollars, our riverfront is going to be truly transformed over the next two years,” Goodwin said.
The trail is set to build onto the 2016 Charleston Bike and Trail Master Plan, the 2006 Charleston Riverfront Master Plan, the 2006 Greater Charleston Greenway Initiative and the 2013 Imagine Charleston Comprehensive Plan and Downtown Redevelopment Plan.
And the funds that were received from TAP will help support site preparations, grading and earthwork, installation of stormwater and electrical utilities, the installation of a concrete trail with pavers, fencing, landscaping elements with trees, shrubs, perennials and ornamental grasses and amenities along the trail including benches, bike racks, trashcans and a viewfinder.