Estimated $4-Mil Greenway Proposed Between Winston-Salem and Greensboro

The estimated cost of the project is $4 million. Private and public money would fund the venture, according to a published article.

Greenways Inc., a Durham, NC-based company that designs greenways, has been contracted to oversee the approximately 20-mile project which could take as much as 10 years to complete.

Because no definite route has been established, the cost of the project remains unknown. However, acccording to Greenways Inc. officials, similar projects have averaged $200,000 per mile, the article reports.

Although the public in general approves of the greenway, Kernersville Mayor Larry Brown says he is more interested in mass transit and doesn't see a need for a greenway, according to the article. He also doesn't see the greenway's value as a recreation zone.

But the town's strategic growth plan encourages the use of greenways. Jim Pryor, the town's new parks and recreation director, supports the idea because it provides residents with a safe recreation area, the article reports.

Other town officials also support the greenway so long as it doesn't interfere with the town's narrow streets. They also believe it could be a good way to attract people who have never been to Kernersville, according to the published article.

Greenway designs vary, but possible uses include bicycling, horseback riding, skaying and walking. Residents of various towns in the path of the proposed greenway are concerned that it will interfere with their privacy and property, the article reports.

Some parts of proposed paths through Kernersville--a town about midway between Winston-Salem and Greensboro--would make use of existing sewer lines, putting the greenway close to private homes.

Dave Josephus, a project manager at Greenways Inc., says community support is necessary for the project to succeed, the article states. . Most of the people the company has heard from have been very positive; they just don't know where it should go, he says.