Large public group discusses local trail master plan

ALBANY — Lee County Commission Chairman Rick Muggridge’s reasons for attending a public meeting to discuss a proposed master plan for a unified regional trails system are indicative of the many facets of the system discussed at the meeting.

“We’re invested in this already, with that (Albany-to-Sasser) rail trail that runs through part of Lee County,” Muggridge said. “We also hope that we can help create an access point from Pirate’s Cove (in southeast Lee County) to Chehaw Park.

“Those are some of the reasons for my official interest in the project. On a personal level, being on the trail with my young daughter is one of my favorite things.”

A crowd of almost 100 came to the Southwest Georgia Council on Aging’s activities room Monday evening to discuss plans for a unified trail system centered around the Flint River. Albany, Dougherty County, Lee County and Leesburg officials were among the attendees who viewed a presentation by Atlanta consulting firm Kaizen Collaborative on a trail system master plan that would stretch north-to-south the length of Dougherty County along the Flint and east-to-west from the downtown Albany Riverfront Trail to Sasser in Terrell County.

Albany-Dougherty Planning Services Director Paul Forgey, who is serving as project manager for the trail project, and Kaizen Principal Owner Greta deMayo outlined specific benefits of the proposed trail system.

“People think about recreation when you talk about a trail system, but there are so many other benefits,” Forgey said. “Quality of life and health benefits are especially important. A unified trail system would also have a positive economic impact as people from a 200-mile radius would come here to use the trails.

“I remember thinking ‘What a wonderful opportunity; this will put Albany on the map’ when there was first talk of the rail trail from Albany to Sasser. Twenty years later, though, it’s still not built. And while we’re still in the process of just putting ideas on paper, we’re building positive momentum forward.”

DeMayo, whose company has helped design a number of other trail systems across the state and is working with Albany officials on the aforementioned rail trail, said she’s seen communities change through the development of trail systems.

“It changes the travel habits of young Americans, has a positive impact on mental and physical health as well as economics, increases social interaction community wide, and leaves us less dependent on automobiles and roads,” she said. “We’ve seen individual businesses and entire communities flourish around a system like you’re planning.”

County Attorney Spencer Lee, who has been one of the driving forces behind the proposed unified trail system, said planning for the system is vital to the process. After attendees asked about cost and funding sources, he said those are questions that can only be answered later.

“You can’t build a trail system until there’s a plan in place,” he said. “To ask how much will this cost and where will we get the money … no one can answer those questions right now. You have to get a plan in place to get things right from the get-go.

“That’s why meetings like this and your input are so important. Once we have options, we can look at them all and determine which works best for our needs and which might be most cost-effective. Then we can prioritize and start working on various parts of the trail system.”

Forgey warned that completion of the entire system may be a long process.

“I can see it taking 20 years to do the entire trail system,” he said. “What you have to do is prioritize, see what part should be completed first. Then you can look at funding sources, which might come from grants — which are few right now — taxes such as SPLOST or private funding through a benefactor.”

DeMayo said she and Kaizen designer John Simmons would continue to work with stakeholders, a trail steering committee, elected and appointed city and county officials, as well as individuals in the community to come up with a unified master plan. She said meetings of the steering committee and the public will be held in coming weeks, and Kaizen will complete its work in mid-October.