Palmetto Trail STATEWIDE MASTER PLAN PALMETTO CONSERVATION FOUNDATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Palmetto Conservation Foundation commissioned the Palmetto Trail Statewide Master Plan with funding provided in part by Boeing Company and South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism. The project was led and managed by Alta Planning + Design with support from Palmetto Conservation Foundation staff. A special thank you is extended to the project advisory committee, as well as the members of public and stakeholders that provided valuable feedback throughout the master planning process. PALMETTO CONSERVATION FOUNDATION • Board of Directors • Natalie Cappuccio Britt, Executive Director • Kari Hanna, Assistant Director • Suzette Anderson • Ethel Bunch • Steve Collum • George Fields • Jim Kelly • Jim Majors • Mary Roe • Meredith Walker PROJECT ADVISORY COMMITTEE PROJECT VOLUNTEERS • Lisa Bollinger, Spartanburg Area Transportation Study • Furman Miller • Reba Campbell, Municipal Association of South Carolina • Charles Weber • Deno Contos, Benchmark Trails • Laura G. Dukes, Newberry County PROJECT CONSULTANT TEAM • Jannah Dupre, Francis Marion National Forest • Phil Gaines, South Carolina Parks, Recreation, and Tourism ALTA PLANNING + DESIGN • Vonie Gilreath, Berkeley Charleston Dorchester Council • John Cock, Principal-in-Charge of Governments • Jean Crow Crowther, Project Manager • Cary Hall, Wyche, Burgess, Freeman, and Parham • Randy Anderson, PLA, AICP • Ty Houck, Greenville County Department of Parks, • Brad Davis, AICP Recreation, and Tourism • Anne Eshleman, EIT • Ronda Pratt, South Carolina Parks, Recreation, and Tourism • Melissa Miklus • Allison Simmons, Dorchester County Economic • Blake Sanders, PLA Development • Oliver Seabolt • Nancy Stone-Collum, Richland County Conservation Commission SEAMON WHITESIDE • Greenville, SC Office Cover photos by Backpacking.net and Alta Planning + Design PALMETTOPALMETTO TRAIL TRAIL STATEWIDE STATEWIDE MASTER MASTER PLAN PLAN 3 3 3 1- INTRODUCTION & VISION .................... 7 5- MARKETING & BRANDING STRATEGY 81 PROJECT PURPOSE ........................................................... 8 OVERVIEW .......................................................................... 82 VISION AND GOALS ........................................................... 9 BRANDING AND MARKETING THE TRAIL ................... 83 BENEFITS OF TRAILS .........................................................11 RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES ....................................... 85 TRAIL IMPACT CASE STUDIES ........................................14 ENDNOTES...........................................................................16 6- WAYFINDING & SIGNAGE PLAN ........ 95 GUIDANCE FOR WAYFINDING AND SIGNAGE .................................................................... 96 2- NEEDS ANALYSIS ............................... 19 A GUIDE TO SIGN TYPES THROUGHOUT THE PALMETTO TRAIL TYPOLOGIES ...................................20 PALMETTO TRAIL & SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES .. OVERVIEW ..........................................................................20 102 KEY FINDINGS ................................................................... 22 TRAILHEAD MONUMENTS ............................................ 104 DATA COLLECTION AND FIELD INVESTIGATION ..... 23 MAP KIOSKS .................................................................... 106 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT PROCESS ................................ 26 DIRECTIONAL SIGNAGE ............................................... 108 SUMMARY OF PUBLIC INPUT ........................................ 28 LOOP MAP ......................................................................... 110 BLAZE (CONFIDENCE MARKERS) .................................112 3- FINISHING THE PALMETTO TRAIL ..... 33 PAVEMENT MARKINGS ................................................... 114 OVERVIEW .......................................................................... 34 REGULATORY SIGNAGE ................................................. 118 APPROACH ......................................................................... 34 SEGMENT-BY-SEGMENT MAPS ...................................... 36 4- EXPANDING THE PALMETTO TRAIL ... 71 OVERVIEW ...........................................................................72 PURPOSE ............................................................................. 73 PRIORITY EXPANSION AREAS ........................................74 4 4 PALMETTOPALMETTOPALMETTO TRAILTRAIL TRAIL STATEWIDESTATEWIDE STATEWIDE MASTERMASTER MASTER PLANPLAN PLAN 4 7- TRAIL MANAGEMENT & MAINTENANCE 8- IMPLEMENTATION PLAN ................... 157 OVERVIEW .........................................................................158 PLAN ...................................................... 123 OPINION OF PROBABLE COST ....................................158 OVERVIEW .........................................................................124 FUNDING STRATEGY ......................................................169 RECOMMENDED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ........129 PHASED TRAIL DEVELOPMENT ...................................170 MANAGING IMPACTS TO NATURAL RESOURCES ...134 PHASED MANAGEMENT, MAINTENANCE, AND SECURITY, SAFETY, AND LIABILITY ............................ 137 MARKETING STRATEGIES .............................................. 173 USAGE EVALUATION .......................................................143 NEAR TERM ACTION STEPS (0-3 YEARS) ................... 173 CORRIDOR PROTECTION ..............................................145 MEDIUM TERM ACTION STEPS (3-5 YEARS) ............. 175 RECOMMENDED MAINTENANCE APPROACH .........148 ESTIMATING OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE COSTS .................................................................................153 APPENDIX A- TRAIL MAINTENANCE ENDNOTES.........................................................................154 AND MANAGEMENT CASE STUDIES . 177 APPENDIX B-CAROLINA THREAD TRAIL: TRAIL MASTERS PACKET ..... 189 PALMETTOPALMETTO TRAIL TRAIL STATEWIDE STATEWIDE MASTER MASTER PLAN PLAN 5 5 5 Chapter 1 Introduction & Vision “Regionally and nationally recognized as a safe, scenic, and visitor-friendly attraction, the Palmetto Trail supports outdoor recreation and active transportation and contributes to the health, economic vitality, and quality of life of South Carolina residents and local communities.” PROJECT PURPOSE and its volunteers and partners, 25 passages of of the Palmetto Trail and other greenways in South the trail are complete and are enjoyed by South Carolina. PCF complements these programs with Carolina residents and visitors. This represents organized activities for outdoor education and The Palmetto Trail Statewide Master Plan approximately 350 miles of the 425-mile route recreation and with a small publishing arm. In the establishes a ten-year vision for completing originally envisioned. In the Upstate of South last twenty five years, as the Palmetto Trail has and expanding the Palmetto Trail from South Carolina, the Oconee Passage at Oconee Station developed and PCF has evolved, the organizational Carolina's mountains to its coast. More than two State Historic Site serves as the trail’s northern needs and focus have changed. decades ago, the Palmetto Trail was conceived terminus. In the Low Country, the trail terminates as a cross-state trail that would serve as a spine This Master Plan is a guide book to be used by at the Awendaw Passage in the Buck Hall National for a network of bikeways and trails in South PCF and its partners to guide the completion of Recreation Area at Francis Marion National Forest. Carolina. Since its inception in 1994, the Palmetto the Palmetto Trail within the next ten years. The Trail has been spearheaded by the Palmetto PCF's work is defined by three major program Plan additionally serves as a resource for marketing, Conservation Foundation (PCF), a statewide areas: conversation of natural areas, preservation of managing, and maintaining the trail at the statewide nonprofit organization. Through the work of PCF Revolutionary War battlefields, and development level and also at the local level. Inherent in the Palmetto Trail's purpose is a commitment to trail users of all ages. Conserving these areas will result in natural recreation throughout multiple generations. 8 8 PALMETTOPALMETTOPALMETTO TRAILTRAIL TRAIL STATEWIDESTATEWIDE STATEWIDE MASTERMASTER MASTER PLANPLAN PLAN 8 VISION AND GOALS At the kick-off meeting of the Palmetto Trail Statewide Master Plan, the Project Steering Committee (PSC) discussed overarching goals for the Palmetto Trail and described desired outcomes of the Plan. Input from the PSC as well as public comments received during May and June of 2013 were combined into the following overall vision statement for this Plan: Specific goals for the Palmetto Trail that will guide implementation efforts for the Master Plan are categorized on the next page. The Saluda Mountains Passage of the Palmetto Trail follows the Saluda Mountains and challenges hikers with a variety of elevation changes. Vision for the Palmetto Trail The Palmetto Trail is a well-maintained, continuous, off-road trailthat stretches from the mountains to the coast of South Carolina. It is accessible to a variety of trail users and serves as a spine for a regional bicycle, pedestrian, and trail network that links South Carolina communities to the trail and to one another. Regionally and nationally recognized as a safe, scenic, and visitor-friendly attraction, the Palmetto Trail supports outdoor recreation and