A new path may link the ASC Greenway to the Catawba River, through downtown Fort Mill
Imagine a stroll from the Anne Springs Close Greenway into downtown Fort Mill, then all the way to the Catawba River without need to crank up the car.
Winthrop University students this fall will more than imagine it. They’ll figure out what it could mean for the town, and what it would take to make it happen.
A partnership between the town, Fort Mill Economic Partners and Winthrop will explore the new connection. It would be part of the larger Carolina Thread Trail.
“In the last year or so, The town started working on plans to extend a section of the trail from the Greenway through Main Street and the new Elizabeth development to the Catawba River,” said Mayor Guynn Savage. “This section of the trail will connect the existing spur at Riverwalk across the river in Rock Hill.”
Carolina Thread Trail
Carolina Thread Trail is a planned network of pedestrian path across 15 counties in the greater Charlotte area. Eventually it could span more than 1,600 miles. Efforts began in 2005, and the trail was launched in 2007. By 2012 there were 110 miles of trail open to the public, and by 2015 a master plan was adopted by each of the 15 counties.
Timing of new trails, though, remains largely dependent on effort by municipalities and civic groups in given areas.
The master plan adopted for York County in 2009 envisioned the Carolina Thread Trail coming in from Mecklenburg County and crossing along the northern and western portions of the Anne Springs Close Greenway. It followed the U.S. 21 corridor to S.C. 160, then went northwest before heading toward and beyond the Catawba River from what is now the Mason’s Bend area.
More than 27 of the planned 128 miles of trail in York County have been completed. Longer stretches include the 3.3-mile Baxter Village Trail, 2.5-mile Piedmont Medical Center Trail at Riverwalk, 2.3-mile Catawba River fronting Founders Trail and 1.9-mile Masons Bend Trail in Fort Mill.
There are more than a dozen trails on the ground in York County. There are several others that connect with sites on the county borders, like Kings Mountain National Military Park near Clover and a more than 27-mile Catawba River Blueway along Lake Wylie that connects Rock Hill, York, Tega Cay and Fort Mill to Belmont and Charlotte in North Carolina. The 29.3-mile Catawba River Blueway runs from the Lake Wylie Dam to Landsford Canal State Park.
Almost 11 of the 110 planned trail miles in Lancaster County have been completed. Notably the 3.7-mile Twelve Mile Creek Trail and the 2.1-mile Lindsay Pettus Greenway Trail.
Chester County has almost eight miles completed, of a planned 67 miles. The 1.6-mile Rocky Creek Trail in Great Falls and 1.5-mile Landsford Canal Trail in Catawba are open now.
Winthrop study
This fall, students in two classes will study the economic impact of a new Fort Mill trail through the accounting, finance and economics department at Winthrop. Students will tackle feasibility, and both community and business outreach. Data from those studies will aid the town and other trail partners in deciding details for the path forward.
“This connection between two of the most prominent destinations in York County is critical to advancing the trail system and creating momentum for continued private-public partnership — paramount for constructing trails,” said project director Bret Baronak with the Thread Trail and Catawba Lands Conservancy.
The trail connection also is consistent with a public and private focus on the outdoors.
“Access to outdoor recreation is a cornerstone to [our] mission,” said John Gordon, Greenway executive director. “It has been our long-held hope that the Carolina Thread Trail would eventually be completed, and to do so we must come together as community partners to ensure its success.”
The Greenway, at more than 2,100 acres of natural area, has about 36 miles of trail on its own.
LeAnne Burnett Morse, executive director of Fort Mill Economic Partners, said members from each of the stakeholder groups in the study are active with her board and the connection between university, town and community partners made sense. Morse said her group has pledged support for the trail project, too.
Findings from the Winthrop work should be ready by the end of the upcoming semester.
From expanding parks and recreation programs to support of groups like the Greenway and Carolina Thread Trail, Savage said the larger vision of the town is in line with the new project.
“Fort Mill connects people and places,” she said. “The Town of Fort Mill has long recognized the community’s desire to be outdoors.”
When Fort Mill Economic Partners found the Winthrop program and approached the town, there was interest on both sides.
“The town continues to search for projects that will embrace and promote connecting people and places,” Savage said. “We are proud to be leading this effort for our community.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2021 at 12:00 AM with the headline "A new path may link the ASC Greenway to the Catawba River, through downtown Fort Mill."
