Family takes [litter] matters into their own hands
Roadside trash causes mom and daughter to take action By Anna Phillips | January 20, 2021 at 10:45 PM EST - Updated January 20 at 11:54 PM
NEW HANOVER COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - Kim Schwab found herself growing increasingly frustrated by the amount of litter she saw on the sides of the roads as she drove her daughter Violet to school.
“It’s something that I think is just getting worse and worse and as I travel throughout the state it’s definitely gotten worse.a lot worse,” she said. “It’s at it’s peak I’ve ever seen it.”
This week, city councilmembers approved the master plan for the project, which would transform the abandoned railbed in the city’s Northside and create a space for walking and biking.
The concept of the rail trail began as a grassroots effort, led by the city’s Art Council. Members of the council saw an opportunity to improve biking and pedestrian accessibility, as well as better connect the Northside to downtown, and establish a space for art and community engagement.
The master plan include a three-phase concept.
Credit Wilmington Rail Trail
Now, plans are finally in motion. After a year of conducting public surveys and examining potential obstacles, the city’s Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization and Friends of the Wilmington Rail Trail have laid out a three phase process: