Greenway welcomes four new segments

After adding 23 safe, traffic-free segments to the East Coast Greenway route in 2020, four segments have earned official East Coast Greenway designation in the first four months of 2021. 

The total length of protected pathways along the Greenway route surpassed 1,000 miles last year.

The newly designated segments, from north to south, include:

Innovation District Park paths, Providence, Rhode Island (0.2 miles, pictured above): The latest additions to the East Coast Greenway in the Providence Innovation District Park are short paths on the west and east sides of the Providence River Pedestrian Bridge, which was designated part of the Greenway in 2020.

Sam’s Branch Greenway, Clayton, North Carolina (1.4 miles): Phase II of the Sam’s Branch Greenway extends 1.4 miles from Legend Park to North O'Neil Street. From there, the existing 1.2 miles of Sam’s Branch Greenway connects with the Neuse River Greenway, creating a link to the Triangle’s extensive greenway system, the longest continuous stretch of the East Coast Greenway in a metro area. 

Wappetaw Trail, Awendaw, South Carolina (1.6 miles): The first phase of the soon-to-be 12-mile, natural-surface Wappetaw Trail runs through the Town of Awendaw Municipal Park. Once complete, Awendaw’s proposed East Coast Greenway segment will offer scenic views of pristine marsh, coastal wetlands and forest habitats. 

Waccamaw Neck Bikeway, North Litchfield Beach, South Carolina (0.6 miles): Running from Boyle Drive to Trace Drive, the new North Litchfield Safety Connector links two existing segments of the Waccamaw Neck Bikeway, creating a 16-mile safe, continuous, paved path connecting the seaside communities of Pawleys Island and Murrells Inlet.