Bartlett to open a stretch of Fletcher Creek Greenway
A new section of Bartlett’s greenway will open later this month, another segment in a growing network of trails through the suburb.
The Fletcher Creek Greenway will run almost a mile along the creek from U.S. 64 and Santa Valley to Yale and Brother Boulevard. A second phase — from the Yale and Brother terminus to Byrd Park — is still in the planning stages. The city expects to go out for bids on that section soon.
Crews are working on final construction of the first phase, and a ribbon cutting is expected April 21, according to Shan Criswell, Bartlett parks and recreation director.
Greenway paths have become important amenities across the county from the Greenline between Cordova and Binghamton and the Germantown stretch that connects to the section in Memphis running along the south and east banks of the Wolf River.
“They’re packed,” Criswell said of the paths. “This is a recreational thing that anybody can do .... You can just get out and enjoy nature.”
Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald added the trail systems are “a real nice amenity.”
Bartlett has paths through parks and linking areas such as the Bartlett Recreation Center and the walkway around the lake surrounding the Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center. The Fletcher Creek Greenway, when completed, will link the Santa Valley trail head with the Brunswick community.
Eventually, the plan is to connect to a path at Canada Road in Lakeland, if the funding and grants is available.
“There are endless possibilities,” Criswell said.
One section runs from the Burloe subdivision on U.S. 70 behind houses on Broadway almost to Yale. After a short stretch along sidewalks of Don Valley, the path dips into the woods before entering Byrd Park at the south end of the Summerdale subdivision. The plan, McDonald said, is to link this section from Byrd Park to the area by the Recreation Center.
He said, the city is serving families with the various links. While hardcore riders will load their bicycles and find their way to the long stretches of the Greenline or Shelby Farms trails, families will be able to used the Bartlett sections for shorter trips without getting on streets.