THE NEWS DESK
The News Desk is a collection of news, notes and breaking items affecting the Fredericksburg community.
Spotsy seeks input on trail plan
BY JEFF BRANSCOME
Spotsylvania County is seeking feedback on a proposed two- to three-mile pedestrian and biking trail that would run from the Rappahannock River to Lee Drive in the Fredericksburg battlefield park.
The public can provide input on the Deep Run Spur Trail at a meeting Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. at Lee Hill Community Center in Cosner Park, 1 H.C.C. Drive.
The Virginia Tech Community Design Assistance Center—which is working with the Planning Department and Spotsylvania Greenways Initiative—will unveil several potential routes for the trail at the meeting.
Greenways Initiative Chair Chris Folger said the trail would help with tourism, economic development and recreation. It’s among 100 miles of trails identified in Spotsylvania’s Trailways Master Plan.
“I think it gives us the opportunity to demonstrate to the community that a trail can benefit our community in a whole wide range of ways,” Folger said.
Maps with the proposed routes will be posted on the county’s website after the upcoming meeting.
The Planning Department has been careful to invite all potential nearby property owners to the forum, Folger said.
Generally speaking, the trail would start by the Rappahannock River behind the Bowman Center off State Route 2 and U.S. 17 near the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds.
It would head west past Slaughter Pen Farm and connect to Lee Drive—part of the East Coast Greenway.
It’s unclear how much land would have to be bought for the trail. Much of the property is already owned by the county, according to the Trailways Master Plan.
Deep Run was the Union path to the Battle at Slaughter Pen Farm and the site of the southernmost crossing of the Rappahannock River by Union troops in December 1862.
Some members of the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission have said they don’t want to spend taxpayer dollars on county trails.
That’s not the plan, said Folger, who isn’t sure how much the Deep Run Spur would cost.
The trail is envisioned as an asphalt path, but Spotsylvania Planning Director Wanda Parrish said she expects it to be dirt or stone dust at first. It would be upgraded gradually as funding becomes available.
“The timeline of this trail development will ultimately be dictated and driven by demand, funding availability and entities interested in implementing this project,” she wrote in an email.
Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402
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