Officials with the Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization got an early look at the results of a study into a potential trail system for Gainesville and South Hall County.
Brittain Storck with Alta Planning + Design presented the study to the GHMPO's Technical Coordinating Committee at its meeting Wednesday in Gainesville. She said that officials starting looking into the project in January of this year.
"It's a feasibility study, so it is a planning level master plan," Storck said after the meeting. "(the study) looks at how we could connect the south portion of the (Gainesville) midtown greenway to Friendship Road."
She said that mapping out what trails need to be renovated and where the new trails will need to be built has required planners to prioritize sections of the project. A workshop for the public to give input on that prioritization will be held at the Hall County Library on Spout Springs Road in the first week of November.
"It also is more than just the geometry of the trail," Storck said. "We're looking at partnership opportunities between the jurisdictions with the private sector, public engagement is an important part of the project as well."
The group has until the end of 2018 to finish the study, but Storck said they expect to be done well before Christmas, with a final draft being ready for local governments to review by the first meetings of 2019.
