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Protecting a scenic roadway Nonprofit group
starts easement acquisition By Cheryl Tatum, Editor Originally
published Station
Camp Creek Road follows a
wandering creek and provides a scenic view for those who travel down its
curves. Efforts to preserve its beauty are underway even as houses are built
just across the field. It is a country two-lane road shaded by trees on both
sides following a curving creek and some in the community want the old
Station Camp Creek Road to stay that way.
There has been an ongoing effort for more than a year to preserve this
country road in a part of the county that is predicted to see increased
growth with the completion of State Route 386. The outgrowth of this
effort is a new nonprofit organization, Greenways of Sumner County. Heading
up that group is Frank Freels Jr., who has been
serving as chairman of an ad hoc committee looking to preserve “I am a firm believer that
God lays out plans and puts them in people’s heads. I was running down that
road on a Saturday morning and thought what a shame if all this beauty was
gone,” Freels said. With a new “This is really something
that started three years ago when I was still on the county commission,” Freels said. Last year Commission Chairman Steve Botts appointed the ad hoc committee to study
possibilities for old road. After a year’s worth of
work, that committee has formed its nonprofit and is in the process of
working with land owners along old “We have had very positive
conversations with most of the land owners, particularly the larger
landowners and developers,” Freels said. He also is working with
Board of Education Attorney Jim Fuqua to gain the necessary
easements across the school property at Station Camp High and a small portion
of land between the high school and adjacent “Establishing a greenway
after the area has already developed would be difficult,” Freels
said. Homes are already under
construction between old Station Camp Creek and the new road opened last
summer. Rick Halcomb, developer of Stone
Creek has been a supporter of the project, Freels
said, adding Halcomb has indicated once
construction on the development is complete its entrance onto old Station
Camp Creek Road would be closed. Halcomb said the
entrance onto the old road will be closed this spring. “That is the agreement we
made with the Property owners would use
the entrance off the new road onto Long Hollow Pike and “I think it is an excellent
idea,” he said. Freels added his group wants encourage large land owners
and developers in supporting the project by helping them meet zoning requirements. “We have been working with
county and the developers on a plan that allow them (developers) to provide
easements for the greenway and have that count as greenspace
in their PUD (Planned Unit Development),” Freels
said. Work now is centering around the legalities of gaining easements. Once that is
accomplished, Freels said, the true design work
will begin. “We don’t want to do a
whole lot, that defeats the purpose. Mostly what we
want to do is preserve the beauty and the history on that road including the
rock walls,” Freels said. “We want to maintain the
way it is. It’s a beautiful drive and it needs to be preserved.” On the short term there are
things the group is considering to help transition the road into a greenway,
such as reducing the road’s speed limit and restricting heavy truck traffic. In addition, cleanup along
the road is needed and Freels is looking to
Sheriff’s Department to use inmate labor to collect litter along the road and
creekside. In the longer term, some
funds may be needed to help with greenway’s maintenance and for legal work. “The plan is fluid,” Freels said, adding the push for right now is to protect
the road from someone gaining control and cutting trees. “I don’t know what end
product will look like, but before someone who is not supportive of the
beauty of that road comes in a cuts down trees we need to have plan,” he
said. Freels added the establishment of the nonprofit Greenways
of Sumner County could lead to additional greenways. “If someone say in |