Piedmont Greenway Master Plan - Town of Kernersville

ounding Triad Park and Kernersville. Several pastures and other agricultural land uses have storm water
drainage and irrigation pipes leading into the creek. These storm water outfalls will need to be more accurately
defined during the construction document phase of the project.
Flood gauging stations along the project corridor with service roads located along the corridor may be
used for access to the Piedmont Greenway. There is one gauging station located at the confluence of Reedy
Fork Creek and Beaver Creek (see segment 11, page 49 for location). This gauging station (02093800 USGA)
is operated in cooperation with the city of Greensboro and could be a future link to a Beaver Creek spur trail
segment, opening up the opportunity for linking into the Mountains-to-Sea statewide trail system. Sections of
the statewide trail are slated to be tied to the Haw River.
Fiber Optic Service for Data Transmission
Piedmont Greenway Incorporated is not aware of any fiber optic transmission lines present within the
Piedmont Greenway corridor. Advanced telecommunications equipment in and around the urban and suburban
areas probably utilize fiber optics.
Roadway Network
The Piedmont Greenway corridor is surrounded and bisected by an extensive network of local streets,
collector streets, arterials, minor and major thoroughfares and the Interstate Highway System.
Outside existing parks, pedestrians and bicyclists are currently forced to travel on sidewalks or share the
travel lanes of roadways. Although many low speed, low traffic residential streets are safe for non-motorized
travel, the major east-west corridor of West Mountain Street is not. Additionally, there are no readily defined
routes to parks and schools. The current on-road system and the lack of adequate sight distances serves to
discourage most recreational or transportation bicyclists.
Portions of the proposed Piedmont Greenway corridor will make use of road rights-of-way and run parallel
to the pavement on existing sidewalks (primarily in the Kernersville segments, see segments 1 - 8, pages
29, 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41, and 43). The Piedmont Greenway will bisect some roads and it is anticipated that
two types of crossings will occur: (1) at-grade crossings on local residential, collector, and arterial streets; (2)
below-grade crossing of minor and major thoroughfares and Interstate Highways (Highway 68 and Proposed
Interstate 73; see segment 10 and 11 maps, page 47 and 49, and Business Interstate 40; see segment 1 map,
page 29).
Railway Network
The railway network that extends through the project area is significant and poses both opportunities and
constraints to Piedmont Greenway development. The founding of the railway network gave birth to the cities
of Kernersville and Greensboro, and was responsible for leading the communities into the Industrial Age.
Many of the numerous rail corridors that parallel or bisect the Piedmont Greenway corridor are still
in operation today.
Where the Piedmont Greenway corridor crosses railway corridors, two types of crossings are
most acceptable. At-grade crossings of rail corridors are appropriate where an existing roadway
crossing is already in place. When a rail corridor can be crossed with an underpass, it is preferable.
Most of the railroad bridges have been built to withstand heavy loads, so they lend themselves to
easy conversion to pedestrian trails and maintenance connections.
At West Mountain Street in Kernersville, the Norfolk Southern Railroad right-of-way (ROW)
and NCDOT right-of-way will be used for the Kernersville segments (see segment 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 , 7
and 8 maps, pages 29, 31, 33, 35, 39, 41 and 43). The proposed Piedmont Greenway will continue
to follow West Mountain Street and Hastings Hill Road to the intersection of Nelson Street. The
greenway trail follows the ROW on the south side of the railroad. On the east side of the creek,
the Piedmont Greenway will provide access to central downtown Kernersville and alternative spur
trails that will lead to historic and cultural points of interest and parks along the corridor. Interpretive
signage relating to the railroad industry and history of the city of Kernersville could be
placed near the former railroad depot at Main Oak Street.
In Guilford County, the proposed Summerfield Spur Trail that would link Lake Higgins and
Lake Brandt with Summerfield Elementary School would use an abandoned railroad corridor in
Guilford County. The first segment of this trail would start at Strawberry Road and follow the rail
corridor to Summerfield Road. This segment has not been thoroughly investigated for ownership
and needs further review as it will cross wetlands via existing railroad bridge pilings that could be
retrofitted for a pedestrian bridge/boardwalk. The existing bridge underpass at Summerfield Road
is in good shape and will readily allow trail development.
Parks and Recreation Lands
In Forsyth County, numerous parks are located throughout the project corridor which offers
important opportunities for Piedmont Greenway destination points. These parks can be directly
linked by the Piedmont Greenway and ultimately to other regional greenway systems. Most of
these parks are within walking and bicycling distance of the corridor. The Salem Lake Park,
Kernersville Lake Park, Old Kernersville Lake Park, YMCA, Fourth-of-July Park, Civitan Park,
Harmon Park and Triad Park can be a cooperative effort between Forsyth and Guilford Counties as
destination points along the Piedmont Greenway at the southern terminus of the project corridor.
The YMCA offers indoor and outdoor facilities for basketball, volleyball, swimming, racquetball,
weight lifting, exercise, field and roller hockey, softball, baseball, tennis and organized events.
PIEDMONT GREENWAY
Final Master Plan Report 17