Crowd shows support for Cave Spring trail
A district DOT representative hears a proposal to connect the small town with the Silver Comet Trail.
— The dream of connecting Cave Spring to the Silver Comet Trail in Cedartown is simple. The math of how to make it come true is a little tougher.
Still, more than 40 people — a mix of local government officials from both Floyd and Polk counties, concerned citizens and trail advocates — packed the conference room at the Cave Spring Public Library on Friday.
They came to hear about the proposed route that the small town’s Downtown Development Authority had devised to provide a safe bicycle- pedestrian trail from Rolater Park in Cave Spring to the Silver Comet trailhead in Cedartown.
Many of them spoke in support of the idea, a development that district State Transportation Board representative Roger Williams called “refreshing.”
“I’m here to listen, but I am impressed with this crowd,” Williams said. “Most crowds of this size are usually opposed to something.”
He said the future of the plan is in the hands of the Georgia Department of Transportation and the availability of funding.
“We can take this and come up with a plan to present to the board in order to get things started,” Williams said. “But we’re not going to let it sit dormant. We will go to work on it. It’s a positive proposal they’ve got here.”
GDOT District Engineer DeWayne Comer joined Williams as DDA members Tom Lindsey and John Johnston explained how the connector could boost Cave Spring’s tourism and economy.
“The Silver Comet Trail is a major achievement,” Johnston said of the 61.5mile paved trail that runs from Smyrna near Atlanta to the Alabama state line west of Cedartown.
“If we can become a part of that, it would be phenomenal.”
Lindsey explained how the Cave Spring extension could start near downtown and go south along Cave Spring/ Cedartown Road for approximately six miles and connect with Seab Green Road in Polk County.
The rest of the way would be on bicycle safe roads that would allow riders to connect with the Silver Comet Trail at The Depot in Cedartown.
Doug Wiley, vice president of Georgia Bicycle Adventures, told the crowd that the industry of bicycle tourism is growing, and Cave Spring is very attractive with its mix of history, recreation, and hospitality.