User:Hsvbypass/sandbox/Singing River Trail

The Singing River Trail (also known as The Singing River Trail of North Alabama) is a proposed 70-mile bicycle and walking trail that will connect Huntsville, Madison, Decatur, Athens, and several other communities in three counties in Alabama in the southeastern United States. Current projections expect 5,000 daily users of the trail.

Master Plan
Currently, several segments of the trail exist. Multiple agencies, including the City of Huntsville, City of Athens, City of Decatur, and Madison County, are in the design process of numerous segments of the trail.

Supporters
The first phrases of the project, which included project branding, economic impact analysis, and the master plan was funded by 30 separate entities. A few notable contributors include:

• City of Huntsville

• City of Madison

• City of Decatur

• City of Athens

•  Madison County Commission

• Morgan County Commission

• Limestone County Commission

• Tennessee Valley Authority

•  Huntsville Hospital System

• Huntsville/Madison County Camber of Commerce

• Calhoun Community College

• Land Trust of North Alabama

Vision and Goals
Using public input, Launch 2035 Land Use Committee established a set of project goals that would guild the master plan. Some of the goals are:


 * Improve access to outdoor recreation for health and wellness
 * Create trail connections between communities and destinations
 * Support economic development and capitalize on trail-based tourism
 * Celebrate the region through trail features, education, and design
 * Create additional transportation option for residents

Route
The trail will start at Big Spring Park in downtown Huntsville, but may be extended to start at Huntsville Depot Museum. It will travel next to Von Brun Center and to Pinhook Creek. There the trail will either:


 * Go south, continuing along Pinhook creek and go over Memorial Parkway via a yet to be constructed multi-modal bridge designed exclusively for pedestrians and bicyclist. This bridge will also go over Governors Drive and land just east of Lowe Mill;
 * Or, the trail will travel north on Heart of Huntsville Drive to Clinton Avenue and then Seminole Drive. These roads will eventually have a shared-use path installed. It will cross Governors at a signalized intersection and then connect to Lowe Mill.

Following the Lowe Mill, the trail will head west down 9th Avenue to cross Jordan Lane, just south of the AL 53/I 565 interchange. It will then travel down Governors House Road, where newly installed protected bicycle lanes await. This road will provide users with a great view of the US Space and Rocket Center.

The trail will cross Bob Wallace Avenue with a signal. At this to-be-installed intersection, the trail will continue west, or possibly south, but will have a break-away trail to provide access to the near-by Botanical Garden to the east. The Singing River Trail will then traverse the southern edge of the US Space and Rocket Center, where a trail head will be located to provide parking and restroom access.

From the Space and Rocket Center, the trail will travel along a Tennessee Valley Authority easement that parallels Interstate 565. The master plan calls for a "signature bike and pedestrian bridge" over Research Park Blvd, but it is more likely that it will travel south and cross Rideout Road at a signalize intersection. Either way, it will connect to Redstone Gateway before traveling under interstate 565 using an existing shared-use path.

A shared-use path along Governors West will take the trail to Research Park and Bridge Street Town Centre. From this point, the trail will either:


 * Travel west along Madison Pike to connect to the southern terminus of Indian Creek Greenway. The trail and greenway will be expanded to the south;
 * Or, travel south and then west to run along Norfolk Southern train tracks to meet Indian Creek. The trail will continue south, but an additional trail will run north to connect to the southern terminus of Indian Creek Greenway.

The trail will continue west to the city of Madison.

History
The planning process of the trail began in March 2018 with a public workshop. Several analysis (economic impact study and existing conditions analysis) were completed in the spring and summer of 2018.

The draft of the master plan was developed between October 2018 and February 2019 and the final version of the master plan was reveled in the spring of 2019.

Naming of the Trail
The natives of the area who lived alone the Tennessee River, the Yuchi Indian tribe, called it the Singing River. They believed a woman who lived in the river sand to them. After the passage of the Indian Removal Act, this tribe was sent to Oklahoma via the Trail of Tears. Following the expulsion, a young girl from the tribe named Telah-nay, feeling the rivers of Oklahoma were not vocal, made a very long journey, successfully back to her homeland. The Natives started to believe that the river held a portal to the afterlife after Telah-nay describe the reason for the journey - that she had a responsibility to her deceased tribal members to make it to the river.

Additionally, the Yuchi tribe aren't the only natives to attributes human characteristics to rivers, this one in particular. The North Alabama Cherokee called the river the "Long Person" or "Long Man," contributing to the river a sort of collective consciousness.