On Monday night Partners for Active Living with support from our trails advisory committee led by John Montgomery with Montgomery Development requested funding from Spartanburg County Council for a pedestrian bridge that will connect the Drayton Trail to the back of the Beaumont neighborhood. This bridge will be added to the top of a Spartanburg Water sewer line that will be replaced in the coming months.

This particular connection is not only a lynchpin to the countywide plan, but also illustrates many great things about the Spartanburg community:

• Partnerships: Spartanburg Water has delayed their process of installing a new sewer line by for at least 6 months to determine if, for cost and design effectiveness, a pedestrian bridge can be added on top of their pipe;
• Revitalization: This project will connect two mill communities, Beaumont and Drayton, that were shuttered for decades but are both thriving again;
• Connection into downtown: This connection will allow pedestrians and bicycles to reach downtown in a safe route that keeps users off of Drayton Road;
• Connection to the Drayton Mills Marketplace: This will also connect Beaumont residents and Spartanburg Regional employees to the vibrant Drayton Marketplace;
• Access to our water: Spartanburg has beautiful rivers and creeks that many don’t know even exist. This bridge will allow residents and visitors to safely visit the Lawson’s Fork Creek in an area that has typically not provided access to this resource.

Thank you, Spartanburg County Council, Spartanburg County Parks, and Spartanburg Water. This connection will add over a mile of trail from the existing Drayton Trail to the Spartanburg Regional offices.