2030 Comprehensive Land Use Plan - Pitt County Government

Pitt County Greenway PlanThe Pitt County Greenway Plan is intended to serve as a guide for the establishment of acountywide network of greenways and trails. It also supports County efforts to achieveother goals in maintaining the natural environment, wetland preservation, and floodplainprotection in the County. The plan will also help to link people to the County’s natural,recreational, cultural and commercial resources by connecting the waterways, open spacesand sensitive areas of the county with the existing recreation and greenway plans ofregional and local governments and organizations, such as the 2004 Greenville GreenwayPlan.The plan is the first greenway plan for Pitt County and it recommends the consideration ofapproximately 215 linear miles of greenway network primarily along some of the major,critical streams and rivers in the County. The proposed greenways in the plan consist ofapproximately 155 linear miles within unincorporated areas of the County, approximately45 linear miles within the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) of county municipalities, and anadditional 14 linear miles within city limits of county municipalities. Approximately fiftyfivepercent (117 miles) of the proposed greenways would be designated primarily asrecreation with the remainder intended to serve as conservation corridors or sidewalkconnectors in urban areas.An important aspect of the plan is the potential utilization of the travel-ways that parallelthe extensive system of drainage laterals within the County. The drainage laterals are thedredged and channelized segments of the major stream systems in the county. Almostforty-four percent (51 miles) of proposed recreation greenways in the plan are based ondrainage laterals that are virtually ready for conversion to use as greenways and wouldrequire relatively minimal costs to develop a bare earth or stabilized trail surface.Pitt County Walking TrailsThe Pitt County Community Schools and Recreation Department has made it a priority todevelop safe, accessible places where people of all ages and abilities can walk. There aremany trails throughout the County. An inventory of walking trails (Tables A-35 and A-36)shows that many of walking trails are not paved with hard surfaces and a number do nothave sidewalks.Many of the trails have limited sidewalks and lighting. Trails that do not have sidewalks arelocated on wide streets with limited or light traffic. Many of the walking trails in Pitt Countyalso have playgrounds, picnic shelters and benches but there are only two trails with accessto baseball, tennis or volleyball courts and one with access to a fitness center. The County isalso working to improve bicycling opportunities most specifically through the CoastalCarolina Rail-Trail project which is utilizing abandoned railroads for walking and bicycling.2030 Comprehensive Land Use Plan Appendix A: Inventory and AnalysisPitt County, North Carolina A-65