Piedmont Greenway Master Plan - Town of Kernersville

Spur trails are considered alternative options for neighborhoods served by the Piedmont Greenway. Such
spurs can serve as enhancements of and additions to the primary system.
Greenway per year as the plan recommends. Additional funding for Piedmont Greenway acquisition
and capital improvements could come from a bond referendum.
The Master Plan is intended to serve as a “living document” to be used as a reference guide for greenway
development in the area for years to come. To this end, the plan includes design guidelines and associated
amenities for all levels of Piedmont Greenway use. These guidelines should be consulted as the Piedmont
Greenway is developed to ensure a consistent, high quality system.
Plan of Action
The Piedmont Greenway Master Plan is comprehensive and visionary. The plan identifies a continuous
greenway corridor through Forsyth and Guilford counties and proposes specific action steps to establish the
greenway in two-year, five-year, and 10-year time frames. To realize the vision laid forth in this plan, the following
will need to be incorporated into each Piedmont Greenway phase: master planning, land protection,
design development and plans for greenway construction and maintenance.
Implementation Strategy
The Piedmont Greenway Master Plan can best be implemented through a public-private partnership.
Successful implementation will require a concerted effort by private citizens as well as the counties and cities
of Forsyth and Guilford. Implementation can not be achieved by any one city or county. To be truly successful,
the greenway system must become the a partnership project.
It is recommended that the Piedmont Land Conservancy facilitate the formation of a private, nonprofit
501 (c) (3) corporation, that would be formed to raise money from the private sector for use in parks, recreation
and Piedmont Greenway projects. The counties of Forsyth and Guilford should create a new Piedmont
Greenway Advisory Commission, comprised of private citizens, to help prioritize projects in the Piedmont
Greenway Master Plan. The commission should also be prepared to recommend projects and their funding
to city councils and aldermen, to assist in right-of-way acquisition and to act as strong advocates for the
Piedmont Greenway. City and county staff will perform planning, design and management functions for the
Piedmont Greenway System. Staff should work closely with both the nonprofit corporation and the Piedmont
Greenway Advisory Commission described above.
The Forsyth and Guilford counties Piedmont Greenway System is an initiative that will require a fresh
look at how local dollars are spent to fulfill community-wide objectives. The greenway will serve as a functional
land-use system providing financial return on money the communities invest in infrastructure, transportation,
recreation and education. Based on the expenditures of similar communities, it is recommended that
the set-aside amount should be at least $500,000 per year to be used as seed money for greenway planning,
land acquisition and development. When matched with $500,000 in public and private funds (as identified in
the Master Plan), this $1 million will contribute to the development of a minimum of two miles of Piedmont
PIEDMONT GREENWAY
Final Master Plan Report 2