Piedmont Greenway Master Plan - Town of Kernersville

BENEFITS OF GREENWAYS
A multi-objective greenway system for Forsyth and Guilford counties will address and resolve community
issues that affect the future environmental and economic health of the region. Greenways have been implemented
by communities throughout the United States to provide recreation and alternative transportation,
control flooding, improve water quality, protect wetlands, conserve habitat for wildlife and buffer adjacent
land uses. Greenways typically incorporate varying types and intensity of public use, among them trails for
recreation and transportation and passive and active park facilities, including playing fields. Greenways have
also been shown to increase the value of adjacent private properties as an amenity to residential and commercial
developments. These and other benefits of a central Piedmont Greenway network are described in the
following pages.
Transportation Benefits
In past years, American communities have grown in a sprawling form because of dependence upon
the automobile as the sole means of transportation. Americans have abandoned some traditional forms of
transportation (such as passenger train service) and have been slow to improve other forms of transportation
(bicycle and pedestrian networks, bus systems, local
train service). In order to provide relief from congested
streets and highways, future transportation planning and
development should be concentrated on providing local
residents with a choice in modes of travel. These choices
should offer the same benefits and appeal currently offered
by the automobile: efficiency, safety, comfort, reliability
and flexibility.
A central continuous greenway corridor through
Forsyth and Guilford counties can serve as an extension of
the road network, offering realistic and viable connections
between origins and destinations such as work, schools,
libraries, parks, shopping areas and tourist attractions.
Greenway-based bikeways and walkways are most effective
for certain travel distances. Surveys by the Federal
Highway Administration show that Americans are willing
to walk as far as two miles to a destination and bicycle as
far as five miles. The development of a central greenway
system allows destinations to be linked to multiple origins
throughout the region with a combination of off-road
trails and on-road bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
Economic Benefits
The greenway will bring economic benefits to the region, including raising real property values
and increasing tourism and recreation-related revenues, and can offer savings in the costs for
public services. Greenways have been shown to raise the value of immediately adjacent properties
by as much as five to 20 percent. In a new development in Raleigh, North Carolina, new lots situated
on greenways were priced $5,000 higher than comparable lots off the greenway. Many home
buyers and corporations are looking for real estate that
provides direct access to public and private greenway systems.
According to a survey by the National Association
of Realtors (NAR) and the National Association of Home
Builders (NAHB), trails help sell houses. The survey
report, Consumers’ Survey on Smart Choices for Home
Buyers, released in April 2002, shows that 36 percent of
2,000 recent home buyers designated walking, jogging or
biking trails as either an “important” or “very important”
community amenity. Trail availability outranked 16 other
options including security, ball fields, golf courses, parks
and access to shopping or business centers. Only highway
access, at 44 percent, was specified as a top amenity by
more of the home buyers surveyed. For more information
on the survey, (see www.realtor.org, or www.nahb.org).
Greenways are viewed as amenities by residential,
commercial and office park developers who, in turn, are
realizing higher rental values and profits. Additionally,
greenways can save local tax dollars by utilizing resourcebased
strategies for managing community storm water and
hazard mitigation, thus placing into productive use landscapes
that possibly could not be developed in a conventional manner.
Tourism plays a vital role in the economies of Forsyth and Guilford counties, and the development
of a central greenway will work to enhance the industry. Tourism is currently ranked as the
number one economic force in the world. In several localities throughout the nation, greenways
have been specifically created to capture the tourism potential of a landscape or cultural destination.
The state of Missouri, for example, spent $6 million to create the 200-mile KATY Trail, which, in
its first full year of operation, generated travel and tourism expenditures of more than $6 million.
PIEDMONT GREENWAY
Final Master Plan Report 7