Public Input Meetings Set for Cherokee County Greenways and Trails Master Plan

Cherokee County residents will have the opportunity to be part of the planning for a master plan for trails and greenways throughout the county.

Two in-person public input sessions and a virtual meeting are planned for May.

The first in-person open house will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 9 in the community room of Cherokee County’s Woodstock Recreation Center, 7545 Main St., Building 200 in Woodstock. Interested parties are invited to learn more about the plan and process, as well as to provide input on an overall trail vision for Cherokee County.

The second in-person meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. May 14 in the Etowah Room at the Northside Cherokee Conference Center at the Bluffs, 1130 Bluffs Parkway in Canton. The meeting format also is an open house style and will contain the same information as the May 9 meeting.

For those who cannot attend one of the in-person meetings, a virtual option will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. May 16.

The webinar will be more structured but will include public engagement and feedback opportunities throughout the presentation. A link to register for the virtual meeting is available at www.cherokeega.com/community-services or www.cherokeega.com/planning-and-zoning. Registration is required for the virtual meeting only.

In November, the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners engaged Gresham Smith for professional services to create the first countywide Greenways and Trails Master Plan.

According to the county, the goal of the plan is to establish an intentional and cohesive approach to identifying potential locations for future trails, prioritizing trail connections and allocating funding for new projects with the cities and adjacent counties to develop the network.

The master plan will provide a framework and strategy for connecting the segments of trail, for connecting to key places and providing alternative options for transportation.

“For many years, the county and its cities have been working independently on trail creation, and we have a great network, from Woodstock’s Greenways Trail to Blankets Creek and Garland Mountain,” said Cherokee County Community Services Agency Director Bryan Reynolds. “The intent of this master plan is to bring together stakeholders to create an all-encompassing plan for our county as a whole. Public participation is vital to the success of this process.”