Worcester County adopts Greenways and Trails Master Plan to guide future trail projects

Worcester County commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 18 to adopt the 2025 Worcester County Greenways & Trails Master Plan, a countywide guidance document intended to identify corridors and set priorities for future trail, bikeway and greenway projects.

"This is our Greenway's Trails Master Plan prepared by our consultant, Mead and Hunt," Director of Environmental Programs Bob Mitchell told the board as he summarized the plan's purpose and outreach process. The plan compiles public and stakeholder input, identifies priority corridors and lists short‑, medium‑ and long‑term projects intended to be followed by segment‑level feasibility studies and designs.

Mitchell said more than 500 people provided feedback during the plan's development and that the plan favors separated shared‑use paths where feasible to increase comfort for casual cyclists and address pedestrian safety in high‑crash areas. He described the document as a "springboard" to improve competitiveness for state and federal grants that fund design and construction.

Commissioners discussed costs and funding. Mitchell and staff said the plan itself requires no county appropriations for adoption and that implementation will rely largely on grants. He noted some projects already in the pipeline have required local matches; staff said administrative and project management costs are typically built into grant budgets.

"A lot of these grants...become a lot more competitive if you have these types of projects listed in an approved greenways plan," Mitchell said; Commissioner Fiore said approving the plan is necessary to pursue those grants and to address pedestrian safety in several districts.

The resolution approved by the board adopts the master plan as county guidance and directs staff to continue preparing segment‑level studies and grant applications. The plan is not a design authorization to begin construction on private property and will be followed by individual feasibility and design phases before any project proceeds to acquisition or construction.

Staff said the plan will be updated as needed and that specific projects listed for letters of support or funding will be brought back to the board when they are mature enough to require county action.