After years of planning and construction, the new Green Line extension of the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail officially opens June 16.
The four-mile-long trail extension runs along the north side of Laurens Road from Cleveland Park to Verdae Boulevard.
“(The Green Line) shows the continued evolution and desire of people in the Upstate to have transportation options that include trails like the Swamp Rabbit that people of all abilities can get around their community and have transportation independence,” said Ty Houck, director of Greenways, Natural and Historic Resources for Greenville County Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
The Green Line is only the beginning of the Swamp Rabbit trail’s expansion. Houck says the Green Line will be extended to the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research campus at a future date.
As a cooperative project between the city of Greenville and Greenville County, the Green Line will be owned and maintained by the county.
“The county has built the corridor, the city has built the bridges,” Houck explained.
Elements of the Green Line extension include:
- The Cleveland Connector, often called “the Paperclip,” connects the trail to Cleveland Park
- Two pedestrian bridges over Laurens and Haywood Roads
- A street-level crossing at Verdae Boulevard
“This is a great partnership between the county and the city,” said Mayor Knox White. “We’ve engaged the neighborhoods and the businesses along Laurens Road to make sure that this section of the Swamp Rabbit Trail is, from the day it opens, part of the whole neighborhood.”
White says the Green Line extension will connect to multiple neighborhoods including Nicholtown, Gower and Verdae. The addition of three spurs connecting these neighborhoods to the trail extension continues to be explored by city staff. The Legacy Park spur is already underway.
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With the new extensions of Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail in Laurens County and the Green Line, the trail system is now 28-miles-long, Houck said.
The longest, continuous section of the trail is 17-miles-long and runs from Verdae Boulevard to Tate Road in Travelers Rest.
