Singing River Trail master plan completed, area mayors sign agreement

A master plan has been completed for a 70-mile-long biking and walking trail to connect Decatur, Athens, Madison, Huntsville and other communities in the three counties, marking the first project that has emerged from a regional collaboration initiative.

“The Singing River Trail is the first project out of the gate of the Launch 2035 initiative,” said Matt Hayes, principal of Durham, North Carolina-based Alta, the developers of the master plan for a trail that started with an idea just three years ago. “It’s a marquee project” for north Alabama, he said.

Hayes spoke Thursday at Huntsville International Airport after mayors of cities in Morgan, Limestone and Madison counties signed a regional collaboration agreement, another effort stemming from the work of Launch 2035, a regional partnership of community and business leaders formed in 2014.

The signing of the document “signals to our community, our state and our future businesses that north Alabama is committed to ensuring that our region functions at the highest levels of collaboration for years to come,” said Bill Marks, the chairman of Launch 2035.

Mayors Paul Finley of Madison, Tab Bowling of Decatur, Ronnie Marks of Athens, Tommy Battle of Huntsville and Mary Caudle of Triana all signed the regional collaboration agreement at the event, as well as Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly.

“Yes, (the signing of the agreement) was ceremonial,” said Marks. “But it solidifies our efforts of working together for the betterment of the entire area.”

The aphorism, “a rising tide lifts all boats,” is a reality in this region, Bowling said, referring to the 400-employee Toyota Boshoku plant now under construction in Athens, just a 20-minute drive from Decatur, which will be a supplier for the 4,000-employee Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA plant coming to Huntsville-annexed Limestone County.

Bill Marks, a retired garrison commander at Redstone Arsenal, said Launch 2035 was organized to unite Limestone, Morgan and Madison counties in defining a “collective 20-year vision” to make sure the region continues to prosper.

The three areas of focus for the organization are entrepreneurship, workforce development and land-use planning, and the Singing River Trail was an idea of the land-use planning team.

Bill Marks said the Singing River Trail will be “an incredible economic engine” for the region.

According to Alta’s economic impact study, the trail is expected to have an estimated 5,000 daily users, with a direct annual economic return of $13 million, Hayes said.

“We’ve still got a long way to go, though,” Hayes said. “It’s a 10- to 15-year legacy program.”
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The next step for the trail development is the implementation phase, “getting segments of the trail built in phases,” Hayes said,

“We’re using existing right of way as much as we possibly can,” he said. “And we’ve tried to have as little impact on landowners as we can.

“We’re looking for low-cost opportunities, using existing trailheads and getting volunteer groups, like Scouts, involved to get the project moving.”

Although Launch 2035 is the lead agency in the initiative, it will take public and private partners providing design and construction funding to make the trail a reality, Hayes said. Operational funding will also be sought to hire a full-time director for the trail.

“Our goal is to have an executive director on board by the end of the year,” said John Allen, who’s the CEO of the Huntsville Committee of 100.