A Rail-Trail Here? Why? How?
By now, you've hopefully read about the many compelling benefits our community can realize from a network of paved multi-use trails and greenways. Every trail we build provides these benefits. But, the Central of Georgia rail corridor presents a rare opportunity to create something even more special and valuable to the people of Newton County.
As a non-profit dedicated to trail building in Newton County the Newton County Trail - Path Foundation (Newton Trails) is working with the cities of Newborn, Mansfield, Porterdale, and Oxford to evaluate if and how we should proceed with regards to the opportunity to acquire this corridor.
Unfortunately, there is confusion and a lack of common understanding as to why we should pursue this project, how we would go about it, and what impact it would have on our community and the people who live here. Since you are reading this page, you clearly are interested and willing to learn more about this project. So, let's go...
Why Build a Trail?
As we covered on the Benefits page, trails and greenways add value to our community in ways that improve public health, boost the local economy, and preserve natural and historic treasures.
Why a Rail Trail?
According to the Rails to Trails Conservancy, more than 1,600 rail-trails have been built in the United States, encompassing over 19,000 miles of trail. Imagine that... enough paved pathways to walk or bike across America more than six times! What makes old rail beds such a popular spot for trail building?
For one thing, rail corridors are largely shovel-ready. Once steel rails and crossties are removed, the rail bed is nearly ready to pave. The land was carefully graded by the railroad companies over a hundred years ago, the soil is well-compacted, and the gravel base can be spread to make a walkable trail without paving as soon as the rails are removed.
Another attractive aspect of railroad corridors to trail users is their gentle slope. By necessity, railroads generally do not rise or fall at more than a 1 to 2% grade, as the locomotives could not handle steeper grades. This is why rail-trails are so popular with recreational and touring cyclists and hikers. Families, children, and the elderly feel particularly at ease on a flat trail with only gentle slopes. And, since most residents of east metro Atlanta live one to two hours by car from the Silver Comet Trail, a rail trail in Newton County would be a huge draw for people living in northeast and east-central Georgia.
Why Now?
These are the toughest economic times our country has seen since the Great Depression. With friends and neighbors losing their jobs and businesses shuttering their doors, why would anyone advocate spending money to acquire a railroad corridor or build a trail? That's a fair question that should and can be answered.
Some citizens are concerned about the cost to acquire the railroad. However, the corridor can be purchased from Norfolk Southern, with little or no out of pocket expense to local governments. The likely purchase price for those 15 linear miles is $1.5 million. Newton County presently has $1.04 million in federal grants to fund the acquisition. The purchaser would be entitled to salvage rights on the tracks themselves, bringing an estimated $600,000 in revenue, which would more than cover the required local match. In addition, telecommunications companies and other businesses have lease agreements paying Norfolk Southern to cross portions of the right-of-way. These payments would go to who ever purchases the property.
While it may appear fiscally irresponsible to buy $1.5M in real estate at a time when the county is laying off employees, the reality is we have the grants in hand to cover the expense. And, those grants cannot be used for any other purpose. We use them or we lose them to another community elsewhere in this state or nation.
Also significant is the positive economic impact a rail-trail would bring to Newton County. While our economic woes were triggered by the mortgage crisis and nationwide real estate slump, our county is suffering more than most because of the extent to which residential property dominates the county's tax base today. Our return to prosperity hinges on attracting more retail, commercial, and industrial businesses to Newton County. As a proven driver of tourism, a rail trail would immediately inject retail dollars into our community, keeping small businesses afloat, generating sales tax revenue for local governments, and rebalancing our property tax base to a more sustainable mix. As an important quality of life feature, such a trail would also boost efforts to attract major industries with higher paying jobs to our community.
As a non-profit dedicated to trail building in Newton County the Newton County Trail - Path Foundation (Newton Trails) is working with the cities of Newborn, Mansfield, Porterdale, and Oxford to evaluate if and how we should proceed with regards to the opportunity to acquire this corridor.
Unfortunately, there is confusion and a lack of common understanding as to why we should pursue this project, how we would go about it, and what impact it would have on our community and the people who live here. Since you are reading this page, you clearly are interested and willing to learn more about this project. So, let's go...
Why Build a Trail?
As we covered on the Benefits page, trails and greenways add value to our community in ways that improve public health, boost the local economy, and preserve natural and historic treasures.
Why a Rail Trail?
According to the Rails to Trails Conservancy, more than 1,600 rail-trails have been built in the United States, encompassing over 19,000 miles of trail. Imagine that... enough paved pathways to walk or bike across America more than six times! What makes old rail beds such a popular spot for trail building?
For one thing, rail corridors are largely shovel-ready. Once steel rails and crossties are removed, the rail bed is nearly ready to pave. The land was carefully graded by the railroad companies over a hundred years ago, the soil is well-compacted, and the gravel base can be spread to make a walkable trail without paving as soon as the rails are removed.
Another attractive aspect of railroad corridors to trail users is their gentle slope. By necessity, railroads generally do not rise or fall at more than a 1 to 2% grade, as the locomotives could not handle steeper grades. This is why rail-trails are so popular with recreational and touring cyclists and hikers. Families, children, and the elderly feel particularly at ease on a flat trail with only gentle slopes. And, since most residents of east metro Atlanta live one to two hours by car from the Silver Comet Trail, a rail trail in Newton County would be a huge draw for people living in northeast and east-central Georgia.
Why Now?
These are the toughest economic times our country has seen since the Great Depression. With friends and neighbors losing their jobs and businesses shuttering their doors, why would anyone advocate spending money to acquire a railroad corridor or build a trail? That's a fair question that should and can be answered.
Some citizens are concerned about the cost to acquire the railroad. However, the corridor can be purchased from Norfolk Southern, with little or no out of pocket expense to local governments. The likely purchase price for those 15 linear miles is $1.5 million. Newton County presently has $1.04 million in federal grants to fund the acquisition. The purchaser would be entitled to salvage rights on the tracks themselves, bringing an estimated $600,000 in revenue, which would more than cover the required local match. In addition, telecommunications companies and other businesses have lease agreements paying Norfolk Southern to cross portions of the right-of-way. These payments would go to who ever purchases the property.
While it may appear fiscally irresponsible to buy $1.5M in real estate at a time when the county is laying off employees, the reality is we have the grants in hand to cover the expense. And, those grants cannot be used for any other purpose. We use them or we lose them to another community elsewhere in this state or nation.
Also significant is the positive economic impact a rail-trail would bring to Newton County. While our economic woes were triggered by the mortgage crisis and nationwide real estate slump, our county is suffering more than most because of the extent to which residential property dominates the county's tax base today. Our return to prosperity hinges on attracting more retail, commercial, and industrial businesses to Newton County. As a proven driver of tourism, a rail trail would immediately inject retail dollars into our community, keeping small businesses afloat, generating sales tax revenue for local governments, and rebalancing our property tax base to a more sustainable mix. As an important quality of life feature, such a trail would also boost efforts to attract major industries with higher paying jobs to our community.
