Greenway (landscape)

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Golf course in the Concordia neighborhood, one of many age-restricted communities with greenways in Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, U.S. Concordia Golf Course, NJ.jpg
Golf course in the Concordia neighborhood, one of many age-restricted communities with greenways in Monroe Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey, U.S.
The High line, a rail-to-trail elevated linear park, is an urban greenway in Manhattan. AHigh Line Park, Section 1a.jpg
The High line, a rail-to-trail elevated linear park, is an urban greenway in Manhattan.

A greenway is usually a shared-use path along a strip of undeveloped land, in an urban or rural area, set aside for recreational use or environmental protection. [1] [2] Greenways are frequently created out of disused railways, canal towpaths, utility company rights of way, or derelict industrial land. Greenways can also be linear parks, and can serve as wildlife corridors. The path's surface may be paved and often serves multiple users: walkers, runners, bicyclists, skaters and hikers. [3] A characteristic of greenways, as defined by the European Greenways Association, is "ease of passage": that is that they have "either low or zero gradient", so that they can be used by all "types of users, including mobility impaired people". [4]

Contents

In Southern England, the term also refers to ancient trackways or green lanes, especially those found on chalk downlands, like the Ridgeway. [5]

Definition

Jogging path in Pori, Finland Porin metsa lenkkeilypolku.jpg
Jogging path in Pori, Finland

Greenways are vegetated, linear, and multi-purpose. They incorporate a footpath and/or bikeway within a linear park. In urban design, they are a component of planning for bicycle commuting and walkability. The British organisation Sustrans, which is involved in creating cycleways and greenways, states that a traffic-free route "must be designed on the assumption that everyone will use it", and measures taken "to assist visually and mobility impaired users". [6]

The American author Charles Little in his 1990 book, Greenways for America, [7] defines a greenway as:

A linear open space established along either a natural corridor, such as a riverfront, stream valley or ridgeline, or overland along a railroad right-of-way converted to recreational use, a canal, scenic road or other route. It is a natural or landscaped course for pedestrian or bicycle passage; an open-space connector linking parks, nature reserves, cultural features, or historic sites with each other and with populated areas; locally certain strip or linear parks designated as parkway or greenbelt. [8]

The term greenway comes from the green in green belt and the way in parkway, implying a recreational or pedestrian use rather than a typical street corridor, as well as an emphasis on introducing or maintaining vegetation, in a location where such vegetation is otherwise lacking. Some greenways include community gardens as well as typical park-style landscaping of trees and shrubs. They also tend to have a mostly contiguous pathway. Greenways resemble linear parks, but the latter are only found in urban and suburban environments.

The European Greenways Association defines it as

Communication routes reserved exclusively for non-motorized journeys, developed in an integrated manner which enhances both the environment and quality of life of the surrounding area. These routes should meet satisfactory standards of width, gradient and surface condition to ensure that they are both user-friendly and low-risk for users of all abilities.

Lille Declaration, European Greenways Association, 12 September 2000

Though wildlife corridors are also greenways, because they have conservation as their primary purpose, they are not necessarily managed as parks for recreational use, and may not include facilities such as public trails.

Characteristics

Railway Platforms on Parkland Walk in North London Railway Platforms on Parkland Walk.JPG
Railway Platforms on Parkland Walk in North London
Signposted greenway, bordering on an urban canal in Nordhorn, Germany Bikepath in Nordhorn, Germany.jpg
Signposted greenway, bordering on an urban canal in Nordhorn, Germany

Charles Little in his 1990 book, Greenways for America", describes five general types of greenways: [9]

Greenways are found in rural areas as well as urban. Corridors redeveloped as greenways often travel through both city and country, connecting them together. Even in rural areas, greenways provide residents access to open land managed as parks, as contrasted with land that is vegetated but inappropriate for public use, such as agricultural land. Where the historic rural road network has been enlarged and redesigned to favor high-speed automobile travel, greenways provide an alternative for people who are elderly, young, less mobile or seeking a reflective pace. [10] [11]

"NO MOTOR VEHICLES E-BIKES E-SCOOTERS" sign posted on the Hudson River Greenway in New York City Hudson-River-Greenway-EV-Sign.png
“NO MOTOR VEHICLES E-BIKES E-SCOOTERS” sign posted on the Hudson River Greenway in New York City

Tom Turner analyzed greenways in London looking for common patterns among successful examples. He was inspired by the pattern language technique of architect Christopher Alexander. A pattern language is an organized and coherent set of "patterns", each of which describes a problem and the core of a solution that can be used in many ways within a specific field of expertise. Turner concluded there are seven types, or 'patterns', of greenway which he named:

Foreshoreway

Chicago Lakefront Trail Lake front bike2.JPG
Chicago Lakefront Trail

In Australia, a foreshoreway (or oceanway) [17] is a greenway that provides a public right-of-way along the edge of the sea, open to both walkers and cyclists. [18] Foreshoreways resemble promenades and boardwalks.

Foreshoreways are usually concerned with the idea of sustainable transport. A foreshoreway is accessible to both pedestrians and cyclists and gives them the opportunity to move unimpeded along the seashore. Dead end paths that offer public access only to the ocean are not part of a foreshoreway.

A foreshoreway corridor often includes a number of traffic routes that provide access along an oceanfront, [19] including:

A major example is The Gold Coast Oceanway along beaches in Gold Coast, Queensland, a shared use pedestrian and cyclist pathway on the Gold Coast, connecting the Point Danger lighthouse on the New South Wales and Queensland border to the Gold Coast Seaway. The network includes 36 kilometres (22 mi) of poor, medium and high quality pathways. Others include: The Chicago Lakefront Trail, the Dubai Marina, the East River Greenway, New Plymouth Coastal Walkway, and the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway.

Public rights of way frequently exist on the foreshore of beaches throughout the world. In legal discussions the foreshore is often referred to as the wet-sand area (see Right of way for a fuller discussion).

Linear park

A linear park is a park in an urban or suburban setting that is substantially longer than it is wide. [note 1] Some are rail trails ("rails to trails"), that are disused railroad beds converted to recreational use, while others use strips of public land next to canals, streams, extended defensive walls, electrical lines, highways [20] and shorelines. [21] They are also often described as greenways. [22] [23] In Australia, a linear park along the coast is known as a foreshoreway.

Examples

Asia

Australia

Canada

Europe

New Zealand

United Kingdom

United States

See also

Notes

  1. There is no dictionary definition for the term in the full Oxford Dictionary of English. Linear: Resembling a line; very narrow in proportion to its length, and of uniform breadth. Oxford Dictionary of English. The term linear park seems to be first used on a regular basis in the 1960s and 1970s (Google Ngram Viewer). The earliest usage in Britain is, in reference to the idea of a River Thames "linear national park", in Time on the Thames by Eric Samuel De Maré (Architectural Press, 1952) (Ngram). Google Ngram Viewer, however, indicates a few earlier examples, including the US in 1939 (Supplementary report of the Urbanism Committee to the National Resources Committee, Volume 2. United States. National Resources Committee. Research Committee on Urbanism, Clarence Addison Dykstra. U.S. Govt. 1939.) It may also have been used in 1873, but Ngram didn't provide the source(s).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trail</span> Path for mostly non-motorized travel through a natural area

A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The term is also applied in North America to accompanying routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the US, the term was historically used for a route into or through wild territory used by explorers and migrants. In the United States, "trace" is a synonym for trail, as in Natchez Trace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkway</span> Landscaped thoroughfare

A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare. The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or connecting to a park from which trucks and other heavy vehicles are excluded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Coast Greenway</span> Long-distance hiking trail in the United States

The East Coast Greenway is a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991 with the goal to use the entire route with off-road, shared-use paths; as of 2021, over 1,000 mi (1,600 km) of the route (35%) meets these criteria. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boise greenbelt</span>

The Boise River Greenbelt is a recreational and alternate transportation trail along the banks of the Boise River through Boise, Idaho, United States. The Boise Greenbelt is more of a greenway than a green belt since its character is linear. It extends more than 20 miles (32 km) beginning at Lucky Peak Dam in the east to a short distance beyond Eagle Road in the west in Eagle, Idaho. Taking into account both sides of the river and other parallel trails and spurs, the total Greenbelt trail system measures more than 30 miles (48 km).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail trail</span> Railroad bed converted to a recreational trail

A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcars, or with disused track. As shared-use paths, rail trails are primarily for non-motorized traffic including pedestrians, bicycles, horseback riders, skaters, and cross-country skiers, although snowmobiles and ATVs may be allowed. The characteristics of abandoned railways—gentle grades, well-engineered rights of way and structures, and passage through historical areas—lend themselves to rail trails and account for their popularity. Many rail trails are long-distance trails, while some shorter rail trails are known as greenways or linear parks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midtown Greenway</span> Shared-use path in Minneapolis, USA

The Midtown Greenway is a 5.7-mile (9.2 km) rail trail in Minneapolis, Minnesota that follows the path of an abandoned route of the Milwaukee Road railway. It is considered under segregated cycle facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linear park</span> Long strip of naturally occurring land for recreation

A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and shorelines. Examples of linear parks include everything from wildlife corridors to riverways to trails, capturing the broadest sense of the word. Other examples include rail trails, which are disused railroad beds converted for recreational use by removing existing structures. Commonly, these linear parks result from the public and private sectors acting on the dense urban need for open green space. Linear parks stretch through urban areas, coming through as a solution for the lack of space and need for urban greenery. They also effectively connect different neighborhoods in dense urban areas as a result, and create places that are ideal for activities such as jogging or walking. Linear parks may also be categorized as greenways. In Australia, a linear park along the coast is known as a foreshoreway. When being designed, linear parks appear unique as they are planned around the public's opinion of how the space will affect them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Great Rivers Greenway District</span> Government agency for creating a greenway network in metro St. Louis, USA

The Great Rivers Greenway District is a public agency created in 2000 to develop a regional network of greenways. Great Rivers Greenway engages citizens and community partners to plan, build and care for the greenways. In its first 20 years the agency built more than 128 miles of greenways connecting parks, rivers, schools, neighborhoods, business districts and transit.

Commonwealth Connections is a greenway and conservation initiative co-developed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), the National Park Service, and over fifty trail and land conservation agencies and non-profit organizations. Begun in 1999, the initiative was designed to create "a coordinated greenway and trail network that will help conserve important resources, provide recreation and alternative transportation opportunities close to where people live, and connect communities throughout Massachusetts."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Capital Trail</span> Bicycle and pedestrian trail from Jamestown to Richmond, Virginia

The Virginia Capital Trail (VCT) (informally, the Cap Trail, or simply the Cap) is a dedicated, paved bicycle and pedestrian trail crossing four counties and 51.7 miles (83.2 km) between Jamestown and Richmond, Virginia — that is, between the Colony of Virginia's first capital and Virginia's current capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trails in Detroit</span>

This is a list of trails and greenways in Detroit.

The Pleasant Run Greenway, also known as the Pleasant Run Trail, is a shared-use path in Indianapolis, Indiana. It runs for 6.9 miles (11.1 km) from Ellenberger Park, through Christian Park, to Garfield Park. It follows the general course of Pleasant Run Creek as it flows to the south and west. Most of the greenway is located within the parkway on one side or the other of the creek; the parkway itself is part of the historic Indianapolis Park and Boulevard System. In several places, the greenway is routed on sidewalks of city streets due to existing structures and facilities that make the parkway itself discontinuous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Underline</span> Linear park trail in Miami, Florida, U.S.

The Underline is a 10-mile linear park being developed in Miami-Dade County, Florida. When complete, it will run underneath the county's elevated Metrorail system from the Miami River near Brickell to the Metrorail's southern terminus at Dadeland South. The project is essentially upgrading a pre-existing bike path, known as the M-Path, into a full linear park. As of 2024, the first phase of The Underline was completed in the Brickell area on February 26, 2021. The second phase, which runs from Brickell to just south of Vizcaya station, was completed on April 24, 2024. The third and final phase will be completed in 2026.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lafitte Greenway</span>

The Lafitte Greenway is a trail for pedestrians and bicycles located in New Orleans, Louisiana, extending from Louis Armstrong Park to Bayou St. John and beyond. Opened in 2015, it is the latest reconfiguration of a historic transportation corridor that has been in use for over two centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rahway River Parkway</span> Greenway of parkland along the banks the main stem Rahway River

The Rahway River Parkway is a greenway of parkland along the banks the main stem Rahway River and its tributaries in Union County, New Jersey, United States. Created in the 1920s, it was one of the inaugural projects of the newly-created Union County Parks Commission. It was designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, sons of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The Rahway River Greenway plan expands on the original design. Many of the crossings of the river are late 19th century or early 20th century bridges. The East Coast Greenway uses paths and roads along the parkway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hiawatha LRT Trail</span> Shared-use path in Minneapolis

Hiawatha LRT Trail is a 4.7-mile (7.6 km), multi-use path adjacent to a light-rail transit line in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, that is popular with bicycle commuters. Users travel along the Metro Blue Line and Hiawatha Avenue transit corridor, reaching downtown Minneapolis near an indoor sports stadium at the trail’s northern end, and reaching a bridge above Minnehaha Creek at the trail’s southern end. Hiawatha LRT Trail provides a vital link between several Minneapolis neighborhoods and the city’s downtown area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trails in Minneapolis</span>

Minneapolis is often considered one of the top biking and walking cities in the United States due to its vast network of trails and dedicated pedestrian areas. In 2020, Walk Score rated Minneapolis as 13th highest among cities over 200,000 people. Some bicycling ratings list Minneapolis at the top of all United States cities, while others list Minneapolis in the top ten. There are over 80 miles (130 km) of paved, protected pathways in Minneapolis for use as transportation and recreation. The city's Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway parkway system accounts for the vast majority of the city's shared-use paths at approximately 50 miles (80 km) of dedicated biking and walking areas. By 2008, other city, county, and park board areas accounted for approximately 30 miles (48 km) of additional trails, for a city-wide total of approximately 80 miles (130 km) of protected pathways. The network of shared biking and walking paths continued to grow into the late 2010s with the additions of the Hiawatha LRT Trail gap remediation, Min Hi Line pilot projects, and Samatar Crossing. The city also features several natural-surface hiking trails, mountain-biking paths, groomed cross-country ski trails in winter, and other pedestrian walkways.

References

  1. Oxford Dictionary of English
  2. Encyclopedia of Environmental Studies by William Ashworth and Charles E. Little. New York: Facts on File, c1991.
  3. "BUILDING CONNECTIONS... TENNESSEE GREENWAYS AND TRAILS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-18. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
  4. "Greenways", European Greenways Association
  5. The Ridgeway Project Archived 2014-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
  6. "People", Sustrans
  7. Susquehanna Greenway
  8. Tennessee Greenways and Trails: "What is a greenway".
  9. Tennessee Greenways and Trails
  10. Natural England
  11. Loh et al.
  12. 1 2 "parkway."Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007).
  13. Tom Turner, "Greenways, blueways, skyways and other ways to a better London". Landscape and Urban Planning 33 (1995) p. 278.
  14. Tom Turner, p. 279.
  15. Tom Turner, p. 280.
  16. Tom Turner, "Greenways, blueways, skyways and other ways to a better London". Landscape and Urban Planning 33 (1995) pp. 269-282.
  17. Foreshoreways of Australia's Gold Coast Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Foreshoreways of Australia's Gold Coast" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
  19. "Foreshoreways of Australia's Gold Coast" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2014-11-13.
  20. "Parks and Recreation Programming Master Plan" (PDF). Hurst, Tx City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  21. "Study Trail profiles". U.S. Department of Transport Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on 2009-05-10. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  22. Truman Greenway, Savannah, Georgia, US
  23. City of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
  24. American Trails: Pearl River Greenway, China
  25. "Greenway Cooks River to Iron Cove". Inner West Council. 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.

Sources

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Greenways at Wikimedia Commons