Phase 1 of the Wilmington Downtown Trail is 1.7 miles long and connects from 3rd Street to the Love Grove Memorial Bridge, with the first 0.5-mile of the trail corridor running along the former Atlantic Coast Railway, which may someday be used by NCDOT to provide passenger rail service to Raleigh. The Phase 1 project is currently being designed, and efforts are ongoing to identify future funding for construction.
The main goal of the Downtown Trail Phase 1 is to reactivate the unused space in the Northside community of Downtown, connecting to services and cultural assets. The urban trail is proposed for walking and biking, and may be accompanied by art, wayfinding, and pedestrian amenities.
The project will benefit stakeholders who live and work in the district, the Greater Wilmington community, and area visitors alike while motivating sustainable economic development to the area. This trail will fill gaps to existing or planned trail and bikeway projects, serve lower-income areas with lower car-ownership rates, and improve safety within an area that contains high numbers of bike and pedestrian crashes.
Trail Design - Before and After
The rendering below illustrates a conceptual design of the trail in relation to potential future passenger rail in the corridor between 3rd and 8th Streets. Please note that there are currently no funded projects to construct passenger rail in this area. This image was developed for preliminary planning purposes only. For more information about NC By Train planning efforts and the Corridor Identification and Development Program, click here
