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Siler City endorses Loves Creek Greenway feasibility study; consultants outline four priority corridors
Summary
The Siler City Board endorsed a feasibility study for phases two and three of the Loves Creek Greenway, highlighting four priority corridors (downtown connector, Jordan Matthews connector, eastern extension and a US‑64 connection), cost estimates and next steps for funding and implementation.
Consultant Will Wash of McAdams presented the final feasibility study for the Loves Creek Greenway phases two and three and the board voted to endorse the study without obligating the town to immediate funding.
Wash summarized the study’s public engagement, technical analysis and recommended corridors. The consultant said the team developed more than 40 individual segments and narrowed them to six alternatives, then identified four top priority projects: a downtown sidewalk connector, a Jordan Matthews High School connector (including a new ~100‑ft steel bridge and boardwalk sections), an eastern extension that could follow an existing sewer easement, and a long‑term US‑64 connection that would include a new 165‑ft bridge.
The study noted several technical constraints, including a culvert under US‑421 that is only about 9 ft tall and cannot be retrofitted to carry the greenway. Wash also discussed escalated cost estimates for near‑ and longer‑term build years and suggested near‑term items the town could pursue on its own, including trailhead enhancements and signage ($60,000–$90,000 estimated for a fully built trailhead) and a downtown connector estimated at roughly $460,000 (much of that for signal work).
"The final study is posted on the town's planning department website," Wash told commissioners and asked for the board’s endorsement so staff and regional partners could pursue grant and program funding. Commissioners moved to endorse the Loves Creek Greenway expansion study; the motion carried by voice vote. The endorsement directs staff to consider the study in planning and funding cycles but does not commit town funds to construction.
Wash and staff outlined next steps that included policy updates to the town pedestrian plan, coordination with the Central Pines Regional Council and programming short‑term enhancements in FY26 budget cycles or grant applications.
Commissioners asked about counters and use data; the consultant said no user counts were available from the study period but recommended counters and said anecdotal site visits indicated the existing greenway is well used. The board did not vote on specific projects or funding at the meeting.
