A 10-year vision for the future of the I-29 corridor could include a bike path, bus transit and park-and-rides connecting uniquely branded towns in the 23-mile stretch between Greenville and Spartanburg.
Just like the Swamp Rabbit Trail re-energized Travelers Rest, a trail could bring interest and foster economic growth in the already-blossoming centers of Taylors, Greer, Duncan, Lyman and Wellford, according to a six-member panel from the research group the Urban Land Institute.
“We’re thinking that if you really started to look at what each of these towns were known for, you could actually market that and brand it, and the corridor would just be so robust,” said the panel chairwoman Tracy Hegler, who is Richland County’s director of planning. “We imagine beautifully going along 29 and every time you hit a new town, there is signage that represented them.”
The panel interviewed more than 300 stakeholders and citizens about the needs and possibilities for the corridor, which connects two counties, seven communities, several transit authorities and government entities.
Growing population and economic development along the corridor will increase transportation demands on the corridor, but growth can be targeted and guided if stakeholders work on a comprehensive, collaborative plan now, said Hegler. Recent developments in western Spartanburg County include the 75-acre mixed-use development anchored by Bass Pro Shop, a $1 billion carbon manufacturing plant by Japan-based Toray Industries Inc., and a $19 million, 60-acre sports complex by Upward Sports, among others.
The corridor population – currently under 200,000 – is expected to grow five to 10 percent during the next 10 years, and that’s if nothing else spurs even more population growth, said Hegler.
“And that’s if nothing else changes. That’s most likely a natural growth rate,” she said. “It’s almost like they’re at the edge of the cliff and so much is ready to happen, and they want to make sure that they’re putting all of the pieces in the right places and talking to all the right people.
Creating a trans- and growth-ready corridor could include more sidewalks, park-and-rides, signal synchronization, signage, landscaping and key public investments that could pay for themselves in the future, panelists said. Part of the corridor’s challenges also represent its opportunities, they said.
“The genesis of the question we were asked was: If we were to get more traffic, if we were to grow, how can we be in charge of that destiny so it’s sustainable, so it’s managed, so it’s hardly noticed?” She said. “When you’re asked to look at a 23-mile corridor and you have so many different entities, you need to make sure everything that one does doesn’t negatively impact another, and so on.”
