Spotsylvania Greenways Initiative's mission is to improve area's quality of life

By CHRIS FOLGER

  The Spotsylvania Greenways Initiative needs the support of the citizens of the county to accomplish its mission of preserving and creating hiking and biking trails to connect natural and culturally significant areas that provide recreation opportunities and impress upon young people the importance of green space everywhere.

SGI was incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in 2009, with the following mission, vision, and theme:

 We envision a future in which everyone is within walking distance of a path or park to connect county residents to nature, to recreation, to each other, and, through non-motorized trails, to other communities throughout the region.

 Hlking and biking trails provide tremendous advantages to a community such as Spotsylvania County and to our citizens. Trailways provide:

•  Increased revenue from tourism—by providing activities that will both increase the attractiveness and prolong the length of a tourist’s visit.  
•  Job growth—by providing opportunities for trail-related small businesses to flourish (such as equipment rentals, clothing, lodging, restaurants, souvenirs and maps) and by providing amenities that businesses seek when making a decision to relocate.  
•  Increased property values for adjacent properties because of their desirability for new people moving to the County.  
•  Improved physical and mental health of our families by providing safe and beautiful places to exercise and to reconnect with nature.
•  Active transportation alternatives, helping to take automobiles off our crowded roads.

 Examples of Financial Benefits of Trails

Visitors to the Virginia Creeper Trail (in southwestern Virginia) spend about $1.2 million annually, generating $1.6 million in economic impact and supporting close to 30 new jobs.  

North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a community that invested in bicycling, generates $60 million in economic activity through bicycle tourism; expenditures by the 680,000 annual visiting bicyclists support 1,400 jobs in the area.  

 Theme: “Building Trails – Building Connections”.  We are building a network of 100-miles of walking and biking trails in Spotsylvania consistent with the county’s award-winning Trailways Master Plan and we are engaging residents and visitors in the county’s beautiful natural and historic resources.

•  Ni River—Two segments of the Ni River Trail, the Salamander Loop and the Dickerson extension, were opened in 2010 and 2012, both with a grand celebration that involved 200 community members. 
• Massaponax Creek—The Utilities Department has an established sewer and trail easement behind Loriella Park along Massaponax Creek.  Our plan is to make the necessary additions of bridges and easements to establish a beautiful walking/biking trail in that corridor.
• Virginia Central Rail (VCR) Trail/Whitehall Segment—The Utilities Department is working on a sewer and trail easement in the Whitehall section of the VCR trail.  This is an excellent opportunity to connect Jackson Trails East and West via a natural trail, thus providing an intersection with the historic battlefields. 
• VCR Trail Conceptual Plan:  This plan, for the entire corridor from Fredericksburg to Orange County, has been completed.  Implementing this plan will provide a connection between Spotsylvania and the Fredericksburg VRE station bringing active transportation, tourism and economic development benefits.
• Deep Run Conceptual Plan:  This plan will connect historic Civil War sites on the Rappahannock River near the Bowman Center with the Fredericksburg Battlefield via a walking and biking trail and will connect these areas to the new Spotsy VRE station.  Implementing this plan will also provide active transportation, tourism and economic development benefits.

How Does All This Get Done?

• The county provides essential leadership.
• SGI has a dedicated Board of Directors of distinguished community members who are committed to our mission and contribute financially to our organization.  
• SGI has an extensive group of trail building volunteers including Boy Scouts and Master Naturalists.
• SGI’s Friends of the Salamander Loop maintains the existing natural trails.
• SGI’s generous partners include:  Luck Development Partners, the Million Mile Greenway, the Community Foundation of Fredericksburg, and the National Park Service.  
• The county has received grants from several sources, including DCR, VaTech, and FAMPO.

    Chris Folger chairs the Spotsylvania Greenways Initiative

 P.O. Box 502, Spotsylvania, Va. 22553  ~  540/273-8752 ~ www.SpotsylvaniaGreenways.org