Greenway inspires new walkers

When it came to walking the Salisbury Greenway, Nancy Brandt fell short on two counts.

She wasn’t really a walker.

“And I really didn’t know what the greenway was,” she said.

So Brandt was perfect for a new supervised walking program being offered through a partnership of the Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department and Salisbury-Rowan Runners Club.

The Parks and Recreation Department was looking for a way to promote the greenway, and the Runners Club wanted to change people’s lives through exercise. Veteran Salisbury runner Bob Zirt has been leading the program.

“I leave my whip at home, but I try to get them out here and get them healthy,” Zirt says, before leading the group on one of three weekly jaunts.

Brandt says she complains through an entire walk, but she knows the benefits and appreciates Zirt’s patience.

“Bob has done a fabulous job of motivating people to walk,” she says.

A dedicated core group of walkers has seemingly braved all the elements during the first month, including the two severe storms that hit Salisbury June 13 and 15. Along the greenway, they’ve found ways to keep them going.

“Blackberries are our reward,” Brandt says. “We don’t want anyone else to pick them.”

Zirt aims at getting some distance under the belts of the participants new to walking. He tries to increase that distance by 10 percent each week.

Entering the fifth week, Zirt has the rookie walkers such as Brandt up to two miles. He makes sure the participants are dressed and equipped properly for walking. (Good shoes and water are important.)

“And I just keep pressing them to walk,” he said.

“Get them off the couch,” adds Steve Clark, who’s helping with the program from the Parks and Recreation side.

It’s the first time the Salisbury-Rowan Runners Club has been involved with a walking program, though the club encourages walkers to participate in their various running events.

“We think it’s as healthy as running,” Zirt says.

Experienced walkers are invited to join the greenway walking program at any time. The group meets three times a week, at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, near the tennis courts at Knox Middle School.

The now experienced walkers in the group will reach 2.25 miles this week.

The Salisbury Parks and Recreation Department is encouraging a new complement of beginning walkers to join the program starting July 9, a Monday. Zirt says the goal for his beginning walkers is to reach a half mile during that first week.

For now, the program sticks to the mostly paved portions of the greenway. Later, when snakes and insects aren’t a problem, the group probably will incorporate the trails within the Catawba College ecological preserve and the nature trail behind Knox Middle School.

Zirt says he hopes the walkers spread the word about the greenway and what’s in place now. He also would like to see city officials put more emphasis on expanding the greenway.

“We really need a nice place to bike and walk in town,” Zirt says. “We need more paths like this, and they need to follow up on their plans.”

The most familiar part of the Salisbury Greenway starts as a narrow paved trail for walkers, joggers and bikers at Prescot Drive in Eagle Heights. It weaves its way over Grants Creek and through wetlands to Overton Elementary School.

Along the way, this greenway section crosses two bridges — one a wide covered bridge.

A sidewalk continues the trail past Overton and Knox Middle schools. Users must cross Mahaley Avenue to pick up the greenway through Forest Hills Park to Grove Street. Crossing Grove Street, the greenway becomes another paved trail in the cemetery known as City Memorial Park. The greenway loops around a pond and through a wooded area at the edge of the cemetery.

Three other phases of the greenway are in the design stages. Phase II of will include another paved section picking up at Eagle Heights and extending through Catawba College property toward Meadowbrook. The state has allocated $335,000 toward this phase, expected to be constructed over the next year.

Phase III will be a link to a VA Medical Center greenway, leading to a Phase IV link at Kelsey-Scott Park. Other future greenway connectors are being planned.

By definition, a greenway is a linear park connecting neighborhoods and communities through trails, sidewalks, parks and easements. It becomes a recreation area for walkers, joggers and bikers, while preserving open space, natural areas and wildlife.

It also sometimes provides environmental educational opportunities.

The supervised walking program is being used to promote the fourth annual Telespectrum 5K Run/Walk for the Greenway set for July 21. The event begins at 8 a.m. at Knox Middle School for walkers and runners. Proceeds benefit the greenway’s development.

Meanwhile, Nancy Brandt now qualifies as both a walker and someone who knows what the greenway is.

“We hit two miles on Monday,” Brandt boasted recently.

When she got home that same evening, she called everyone she knew with the news.

Contact reporter Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mwineka@salisburypost.com .

For more information on the Telespectrum Run/Walk for the Greenway or to register early, call 704-638-5289, or e-mail her at sclar@ci.salisbury.nc.us .