The Capital Area Greenway is a greenway trail system through the city of

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. Started in 1974, it currently spans over 112 miles (161 km) and 3800 acres (12 km²) throughout much Wake County. The Greenway system also connects to similar systems in neighboring counties and trails built by individual towns within Wake County which are not formally integrated into the Greenway system. Portions of the system are also part of larger national and regional trail system such as the

East Coast Greenway The East Coast Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991. ...

and the

Mountains-to-Sea Trail The Mountains-to-Sea State Trail (MST) is a long-distance trail for hiking and backpacking, that traverses North Carolina from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Outer Banks. The trail's western endpoint is at Clingman's Dome, where it connects ...

History

In the early 1970s, some citizens of the City of Raleigh became increasingly concerned about growth in and around the city. At the time some thought that the increasing

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

would destroy the city's natural environment and characteristics. In 1970 Raleigh had a population of around 118,000. By 2015, just thirty-five years later, it has just under half a million. City officials responded to the concerns with 'The Greenway Master Plan'. The idea started when the

Raleigh City Council Raleigh City Council is the governing body for the city of Raleigh, the state capital of North Carolina. Raleigh is governed by council-manager government. It is composed of eight members, including the Mayor of Raleigh. Five of the members ar ...

and The Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission commissioned a document that would be presented to the council. It was called "Raleigh: The Park with a City in It".

The study has found that the natural features of Raleigh make it economically sound and financially realistic...to create a network of parks (and) green open space...(that) can enhance Raleigh's already distinctive environment and insure...adequate recreation facilities for the future.

The following year The

commissioned a second report. This report would be named 'Capital City Greenway', and the report covered how to manage water from the city's two major creeks Crabtree and

Walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

, other flood prevention, wildlife conservation, and the introduction of a trail system. The idea was that green and open space would provide a habitat for animals, and maintain a wetland to be used as a buffer between homes in the area's and creeks that often overflow. This included a trail near what was then the newly opened

Crabtree Valley Mall Crabtree Valley Mall is a regional shopping mall located in Raleigh, North Carolina. At , it is the largest enclosed mall in the Research Triangle area. Crabtree Valley contains over 200 stores and is anchored by Belk and Macy's. History Cr ...

- that regularly flooded during heavy rain. The City of Raleigh started purchasing land for what would become the nation's first citywide greenway system in 1974. By the end of 1975, the city compiled a few isolated paths around the city. Over the next thirty years the city, along with the county (

Wake County Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...

), continued investing in the project. This led to the current total of 114 miles of walking or running paths which are on over 3700 acres of preserved land around Wake County, of which Raleigh is the county seat. Subsequently, the focus of the project shifted from building long and individual paths to connecting paths that have already been built. "The emphasis today is on tying up those loose ends," said Vic Lebsock the Senior Greenway Planner for Raleigh as of 2017.

System Trails

External links

Map of Capital Area GreenwayTriangle Greenways Council

References

{{NorthCarolinaTrails Hiking trails in North Carolina Greenways Bike paths in North Carolina Parks in Raleigh, North Carolina