SwampFox

Greenville Hospital System partners with Greenville County Recreation District to promote health benefits of Swamp Rabbit Tram T

Submitted by: John Warner on Jun 27, 2007 at 1:39 am Tagged with: Health Sciences Source:

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail has jumped into high gear thanks to an innovative partnership between Greenville Hospital System and the Greenville County Recreation District. The proposed 10-mile trail, built along a former rail line running from Greenville to Travelers Rest, will offer a healthy venue for walkers, joggers and cyclists and possibly a hybrid tourist tram.

The trail could be open by January 2009 with construction slated to begin in fall 2007, said Greenville Forward’s executive director Russell Stall. He announced the county-hospital partnership today (Tuesday, June 26) at a press conference on the trail in Travelers Rest. Greenville Forward is a non-profit organization that measures, facilitates and champions Vision 2025 goals and initiatives, such as the Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail and other rails-to-trails projects that enhance quality of life for Greenville County residents.

Up to $2 million of the recently imposed county hospitality tax will fund the conversion of the railway bed to a paved trail. The hospitality tax also includes $25,000 annually to support basic maintenance cost. Greenville Hospital System’s commitment of $100,000 a year over 10 years will be used to support the promotion, health-related programming and signage of the trail.

“The hospital system’s investment in this trail reflects our commitment to improving the health of the people in our community,” GHS President and CEO Michael Riordan told a crowd assembled at the announcement. “What we love best about this trail is that it will afford all residents — no matter what their age or athletic ability — the opportunity to get fit and be active.”

Greenville Forward’s Stall praised the innovative collaboration for improving the health of Greenville County residents and meeting one of the goals of Vision 2025.

“One goal of Vision 2025 is to make Greenville County a place where parks, greenways, open spaces and other destination points of interest are connected using a system of bikeways and walkways in order to enhance quality of life for all residents and provide an alternate means of movement around the county,” said Stall. “The Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail does exactly that, and I commend GHS and the Greenville County Recreation District for making that vision a reality.”

The trail, which is commonly referred to as “Swamp Rabbit” because of the former rail line’s path along the marshy Reedy River, was purchased by Greenville County in 1999. The Greenville County Economic Development Corporation was established to oversee it. In 2005, the development corporation applied to the federal Surface Transportation Board for approval of a rails-to-trails program that would make the trail available immediately for public use, while also maintaining the trail’s ability to return to a railway in the future if deemed feasible.

“Looking back, this was the only decision we could make,” said Butch Kirven, chairman of the development corporation. “The railroad was not an economically viable enterprise, while the tram/trail gives our citizens a tremendous opportunity to improve their health and wellness. It also opens up a beautiful part of our community that has been mostly hidden from view and links Greenville with the San Souci-Cherrydale area, Furman University and Travelers Rest. This is a wonderful thing for quality of life and economic development potential along the old rail corridor.”

“The Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail is the catalyst for future trails and greenways development in the city of Greenville and Greenville County,” said Gene Smith, executive director of the Greenville County Recreation District. “The recreation district\'s vision is a network of trails and greenways throughout Greenville County that will connect to trails and greenways created by the municipalities. This exciting partnership with GHS will have lasting benefits for our community for decades to come.\"

Funding is currently being secured by the recreation district to support the development of a county-wide trails and greenways master plan. The City of Greenville’s master plan has been completed and will be presented to city council in September.

The City of Travelers Rest is currently working on a downtown master plan centered around the Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail, and several other entities, including Furman University, Paris Mountain State Park and the Cherrydale Area Council, are looking at how to connect to the trail through pedestrian connection points or spur trails.