Table Of Content
- Follow the Cross Charlotte Trail across this map
- The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
- Cross Charlotte Trail set to be open from Pineville to NoDa this spring
- New Cross Charlotte Trail Segment Opens In South Charlotte
- I ran from one end of Charlotte to the other using only greenways — or tried to, at least
And there’s not a single point where you have to cross a public street or contend with a motor vehicle (other than the occasional park employee trundling past in a golf cart). The City of Charlotte is partnering with Mecklenburg County to create a 30+-mile trail and greenway facility that will stretch from the City of Pineville through Center City and on to the UNC Charlotte campus and Cabarrus County line. Once completed, the Cross Charlotte Trail will allow residents to travel seamlessly from one end of Charlotte to the other. Approximately 140,000 residents and 130,000 jobs will be within walking distance of the proposed trail and the adjacent greenways that connect to it. Construction has been underway on a section of the trail that’s near Archdale Park in south Charlotte. That’s in addition to work happening between 7th and 10th Streets in Uptown.
Follow the Cross Charlotte Trail across this map
City council expects the entire Cross Charlotte Trail to take roughly three to four years for completion. Creating more Cross Charlotte Trail continuity is speeding up after many were shocked in 2019 to learn the major project was underfunded by $77 million. To celebrate the opening of the South Charlotte Connector, the City is encouraging users to snap a selfie on the trail using the hashtag #XCLT on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
City leaders are holding a ribbon-cutting later this morning to officially open the section of trail. The map below shows the entire alignment of the trail from the South Carolina state line to Kempsford Drive near the Cabarrus County line.
Cross Charlotte Trail set to be open from Pineville to NoDa this spring
A gigantic improvement project is underway, and the result — according to the city and county — will be a widened greenway, better flood control and a restored stream bank. Until then, however, there’s a detour that runs along Kings on regular ol’ sidewalk. Last month, I spent a total of about four hours running a total of nearly 30 miles — roughly from the top of north Charlotte to the bottom of south Charlotte.
New Cross Charlotte Trail Segment Opens In South Charlotte
Presently, however, that segment is still in the design phase. So if you go looking for it — like Charlotte Observer visual journalist Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez and I did — you’ll find a labyrinthine subdivision, an apartment complex, maybe a Walmart. Target completion dates on at least one section are three years away. There are wayfinding guides up to help people get to the SouthPark Loop and the Cross Charlotte Trail, according to the city. Click here to see complete map of the trail, including which sections are complete and what has yet to be done.
I’ve been on these greenways a lot, too, so I know well that their low-lying boardwalks and asphalt sections also flood easily; then, for days, they remain places where new running shoes go to be soiled by mud stains. The portion of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway that dips under East Morehead Street and runs almost at creek level past Atrium Health’s main hospital to Freedom Park is famously one of the most active segments of greenway. It’s also infamous for flooding after astonishingly brief downpours that lead to exasperatingly long “temporary” closures.
Who Marked Up the Cross Charlotte Trail When We Weren't Looking? - Charlotte magazine
Who Marked Up the Cross Charlotte Trail When We Weren't Looking?.
Posted: Wed, 09 Jan 2019 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Longer-term, the county still hopes to connect those two points via trail. I feel like I have to blame the maintainer of the XCLT map on the City of Charlotte’s website for this one. If you look at it (which I did, closely and several times, in the Polk parking lot), you’ll see green all the way from Tyvola to Rea Road. Green corresponds to “Cross Charlotte Trail Existing” in the map key. But I found zero evidence of the continuation of a trail, anywhere.
Hit the trails: These Charlotte area greenway projects are in the works - Charlotte Observer
Hit the trails: These Charlotte area greenway projects are in the works.
Posted: Thu, 13 Apr 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Passing by the center of the city
Charlotte City Council recently approved the start of construction on the $3.8 million section that will run just under a mile from N. Another segment of the connector, which extends south from Park Road to the President James K. Polk State Historic Site, is currently in design and will be built by Mecklenburg County. It will connect to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway down to the South Carolina state line.
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“I run about 50 miles a week, and I cycle about 200 miles a week,” Bollinger said. He says the best workouts happen when he has an unfettered, free range of trails, paved walkway and greenways. “I’ve just become accustom to figuring out what the perfect out and back is,” he said. Learn more about this and other segments of the Cross Charlotte Trail at charlottefuture.com/xclt. The 30-mile-long pathway is part of Charlotte’s strategic mobility plan; investing in multimodal travel options that promote health and sustainability.
The acceleration of construction along the trail will ultimately allow people like Bollinger and Leneave to keep challenging themselves to go as far as they choose. Much of the challenge for people like Bollinger and trail runner Carlin Leneave are places where the Cross Charlotte Trail abruptly ends, such as on the edge of Cordelia Park at North Davidson Street. That’s especially true near Cordelia Park in northeast Charlotte, which straddles the Plaza Midwood and NoDa neighborhoods. “The project was finished months ahead of schedule and we are thrilled to offer this new amenity for the community to use, especially during this challenging time,” said Imad Fakhreddin, senior engineering project manager. For more background on the project, we encourage you to read this article in the Charlotte Observer and Sustain Charlotte’s explanation of the situation.
And, city council just approved the start of construction on a third section. (News Release) — The City of Charlotte has completed a new trail connecting the McMullen/McAlpine/Four Mile Creek Greenway system to the Cross Charlotte Trail (XCLT) and Little Sugar Creek Greenway. The .75-mile-long trail, called the South Charlotte Connector, runs parallel to I-485 between McMullen Creek and Park Road near the Pineville City Limit. It features a boardwalk system and bridge over McMullen Creek near Charlotte Water’s McAlpine Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant. The trail expands access to the Cross Charlotte Trail by approximately six miles and to thousands of users.
So we made the 3.5-mile return trip back to Kirk Farm Fields via UNC Charlotte, loaded the bike back in my SUV, and drove south. But we wanted to make a beeline toward uptown, and to do that, we had to hook a left onto the Toby Creek Greenway just a few minutes into our jaunt. Just a mile from the start, Toby Creek reaches the most scenic, most fitness-focused section of the campus of UNC Charlotte. If you follow Mallard Creek Greenway from Kirk Farm Fields and make no turns at intersections, you can head west for miles, under Tryon; beneath I-85; along the gravel trail that cuts through University Research Park; onto the Clark Creek Greenway that cuts north. You can park at Park Road Park in the middle lot, south of the duck pond, or at the tennis courts.
The 0.3-mile-long trail creates a connection between the popular Park Road Park and the greenway system that makes up the Cross Charlotte Trail. “The park road portion, that can be really difficult connecting to the different parks,” Leneave added. “The connector is a game-changer for long-distance runners like me who need places to train. Having a dedicated path away from traffic is a huge benefit, and it opens up access between two large greenway systems. Now people won’t have to drive as far to get in a long run,” said Franklin Keathley, a member of the board of directors for the Charlotte Running Club.
While the Cross Charlotte Trail is one part of the greater Thread Trail network of trails and greenways, we have a stake in ensuring this continuous greenway is built as promised and planned. The Cross Charlotte Trail will be a 30-mile-long trail through Mecklenburg County that expands Charlotte's greenways. We’ve pulled together details and an interactive map to show you its planned route, offer updates on which segments are built or under construction, and detail plans for future segments. Use the arrows to navigate from the southwestern end of the trail south of Pineville and continue all the way to the Cabarrus County line.
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