White House Greenway
2'nd Trail underpass at N. Plamers Chapel Rd
1'st Trail underpass just south of Trail Head
Many bikers and pedestrians have had an opportunity to visit the greenway in White House and have wondered how a town of less than 10,000 people con-structed such a facility when Hendersonville, a city of over 60,000, seems to be unable to match it. To answer that question we called Dr. Billy Hobbs, past Mayor and champion of the White House Greenway.
The White House Greenway Project was initiated around 1997 and completed in 2004 using a FHA Direct Appropriation of $3.2 Million and $150 Thousand Enhancement Grant. White House provided and additional 20% matching funds which they derived from Impact Fees. Dr. Hobbs said Senator Bob Clement was responsible for their appropriation. The Senator had experienced the greenways of Virginia and took a real interest in the White House project. Dr. Hobbs and White House engaged the engineering firm of Lose and Associates who worked directly with the aides and chief of staff of Senator Clement. 4.7 Miles of an eventual 6.6 miles of greenway has been completed.
Dr. Hobbs championed the greenway in White House based on his experience in Missouri. He said,
“I was greatly impressed when I visited 160 miles of Greenways in Missouri. I could see how Greenways added significantly to values in a community and wanted that amenity for White House.”
in 1998. The project was done in five phases: Phase I was 1.5 miles ($824M), Phase II was 1.3 miles ($594M), Phase III was 1.03 miles ($545M), Phase IV was 0.9 miles ($481M), and Phase V was 1.9 miles ($1230M). Phase V, which completes the loop around the City from 31W to the Community Park, has not been completed because money for it had to be used for land acquisition, which was not in their 1998 Budget for the project. When the project was completed to Phase IV, Tim said they had spent around $4.1 Million. That is about $1 Million/mile in 2004 dollars.
He said the Tim Ellis, Director - White House’s Parks Board, was the chief architect of the project.
Tim Ellis,now Director of Parks and Recreation for Good-lettsville, said that the greenway resulted from their Green-ways Master Plan, which they initiated in 1997 and completed
When I asked Tim if White House will complete their greenway, he wasn’t sure. The primary road-blocks to the final leg are money and motivation. The rumor that a land owner on the trail was blocking com-pletion is not true. Funding opportunities are not as promising. Direct Appropria-tions are virtual non-existent. Also, the City doesn’t have the champions promoting greenways.
“Don’t under-estimate the impact of this erroneous perception, especially your project requires legal action to acquire the land. Start using your newsletter to educate citizens about Real Estate studies that prove the economic benefits of Greenways.”
Tim said their biggest hurdle to overcome in their project was appropriating the right-of-way. He was able to get city officials and citizens on board but ran in to trouble with land owners who mistakenly thought the greenways would lower property values or increase crime. He advises,
“Get down and meet with the people responsible distributing this money. Get your foot in the door. Give them a face to which to relate.”
When he asked me if we had done that, I said I didn’t know. I said the Hendersonville Greenways Committee has approached Mayor Scott Foster on numerous occasions about establishing a Greenways Coordinator on City Staff, that it was possible to get a grant to pay the salary of that job, and that we had the support of Senator Diane Black and past Director Joyce Hoyle as Advisors on our Committee, but we failed to make any progress.
I told Tim that Hendersonville had lost their Transportation Enhancement money last year because of the absence of follow-though, but Mayor Foster was able recover it. I said that I am again concerned, because the City hadn’t acted on its Grant, because Governor Bredesen was retracting transportation funding, and because the 2003 budget for Phase II was only $781M for 2.6 miles. Based on the White House experience with their greenways and Hendersonville experience with Phase I of its greenway that amount seemed woefully insufficient.
Lastly, I asked Tim now that he is Director of Parks and Recreation for Goodlettsville, is he promoting Greenways for Goodlettsville. He said, “Absolutely.” In the next issue of the newsletter he would like share his plans.
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The Trail Head for the greenway is east of the city on Route 31W with ample car parking space for those who want bring bicycles or just begin a four mile walk. With trails in excess of 10-feet in width they are safe for shared use by all kinds of traffic, from senior out for some light exercise, moms pushing baby carriages, youngsters on bikes on their way to school or the Sonic hamburger drive through, and advanced riders on road bikes. You will see them all somewhere along the trail.
The trail passes both under under two roads aside a small creek and over a couple of ravines. The terrain is not flat and passes through some scenic countryside thereby providing a healthy challenge for those the want to combine their cardio-vascular workout with nature enjoyment. Lately, we have seen a few "Watch for Snakes" signs, although we have never seen one, but we have seen lots of deer and an occasional wild turkey.
If you wonder why all the interest in greenways, take a ride up to White House and check it out. Nearly all the residents are proud of it and will brag on it. Almost anybody who has experienced a greenway will tell you this idea is a "no-brainer." Only Cities without long term vision do not have greenways somewhere in their parks and recreational plans.
