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Does anyone have any more info on what is gonna be done to fix the problem? I went on the trail a few times last week, and the first day I watched as bikers and walkers crossed the barriers. Then I followed. I guess until there is someone there to enforce the barriers people are gonna cross.
I rode with a group Saturday. Started walking our bikes across the forbidden zone. Suddenly a security officer appeared out of nowhere, yelling to stop or go to jail. We all had a nice talk. Of course he calmed down after apprehending us and said its up in the air right now what the final solution should be. He did say that an agreeable solution for the time being is to take a detour which amounts to using West Washington St. and Bramlett to go around the forbidden location. So if you are going North out of Greenville, at Bramlett go right up to the light, then left on Washington and over the bridge. Then turn right onto the SRT when you get to it. Its a steep bridge over the tracks and its not as safe for anyone, especially kids, riding on the public roads for a half mile, but that is what keeps you from breaking the law. Remember on returning to turn left on Washington to retrace the detour.
During the discussion, I suggested that instead of placing so many signs along the trail warning of the closure that they just put a sign on each side of the forbidden zone explaining the detour. Also, it occurs to me that if they can afford a security officer to enforce the zone on the weekend (and apparently he just pops up for the larger groups of cyclists) that they should consider having him show up when they have a train stopping in that area and let him police the intersection at that time, and they could forget about it the other 99.9% of the time. So if anyone has a way to convey suggestions to the city or the rr company, lets do some suggesting. Any ideas?
So if anyone has a way to convey suggestions to the city or the rr company, lets do some suggesting. Any ideas?
Greenville County Director of Greenways is Ty Houck.
I sent him an email a while ago:
Dear Mr. Houck,
While riding the Swamp Rabbit last Saturday I spoke with security at the barricaded location. He very simply pointed out what he claimed was an acceptable detour: From Greenville proceeding North it would be to detour to the right on Bramlett to the light at Washington, then left over the bridge until encountering the SRT again. This detour obviously works also for those proceeding South on the trail.
If this is the official temporary solution, signs could be placed marking the detour and the trail would not have to be designated "closed" which is horrible for public relations for the communities as well as the railroad. Also hurting PR is the presence of the security officer as an enforcement device, especially when he's instructed to threaten jail to trespassers.
An obviously smoother solution would be for the train company to set up a routine to have security show up when the train shows up, even if that meant one officer on each side of the train. The other 99.9% of the time they could leave the trail un-attended and have zero liability, as its the trains that need to be guarded, not the tracks.
Thanks for keeping the blog going and for trying to keep SRT users informed. I look forward to a smooth transition to a solution to this minor problem in the future."
And received this reply within an hour:
"Thank you for your input as we work to resolve this situation. The Greenville County Recreation District CANNOT endorse this re-route on the road because it is a significantly different environment than on the greenway. This is NOT a safe route for families with young children or others not experienced riding on the road.
This is priority #1 I can assure you. We are working hard to safely resolve the issue.
Sincerely,
Ty"
So if any have other suggestions for the county, they may be addressed to Ty Houck at:ty@gcrd.org
Obviously the County does not like the train company's (CSX) suggested detour and that's understandable because of the safety issues. But perhaps some users of the trail may have some other suggestions as I did in my third paragraph to him and possibly the input would spark some solution. So again, I encourage you to write Ty if you have any ideas.
I'm not an expert, but I'll just make some guesses and observations. Based on what I've seen in Europe, just posting some warning signage with shocking graphics of a stick figure being crushed by railcar wheels will not deter 'car climbers' like the original crazy who climbed between the cars. That leaves some other possibilities.
Bridge - in order to get enough of an incline, the bridge might also need to span Bramlett Rd (or cross the tracks at the road). Stairways might reduce the cost but breaks the cadence of cyclists who have to dismount and port bikes. Ultra-heavy bikes like tandems would be more difficult to transport on stairs.
Tunnel - could be cheaper than a bridge but can it be kept dry? Ongoing cost of a sump pump.
Reroute trail under rail bridge which approaches Bramlett Rd. Probably would be frequently submerged.
Pedestrian-proof crossing gate to be activated when a train is present. Possibly remotely activated by the 'office' if it eliminates the cost of a sensor?
Reroute 'greenways-type' of trail along Bramlett Rd, West Washington etc. Probably not realistic to acquire this much land. Don't know if any dedicated bike lane is feasible for the West Washington bridge.
Any of these will probably be cheaper than staffing crossing guards to protect the train. That will take some funds away from further trail development. And any solution requires CSX buy-in. They've done well so far and want the trail concept to succeed, but clearly don't want any accidents.
These options are all so obvious, I'm sure they're already under consideration. But maybe listing them here will spark a clever solution by someone else.
Walked the section of Swamp Rabbit Trail from Cleveland Park to downtown yesterday. A lot of construction going on: some sections have no pavement, lots of bulldozers, etc. What's going on? Adding a rubberized section? Repaving? Beautification? The SRT website from Greenville Rec (http://greenvillerec.com/parks/swamp-rabbit - broken link) doesn't mention anything.
Walked the section of Swamp Rabbit Trail from Cleveland Park to downtown yesterday. A lot of construction going on: some sections have no pavement, lots of bulldozers, etc. What's going on? Adding a rubberized section? Repaving? Beautification? The SRT website from Greenville Rec (http://greenvillerec.com/parks/swamp-rabbit - broken link) doesn't mention anything.
..... A lot of construction going on: some sections have no pavement, lots of bulldozers, etc. What's going on?
Gman's video answers your question as far as I can tell, but if you have more detailed questions, I've found Ty Houck, Director of Greenways, to be a helpful contact: ty@gcrd.org
Does anyone know of neighborhoods that have easy access to the trail?
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Taxdollars went towards something that is now closed to the public. Can't tell you how thrilled I am over this: 
