Conway’s outdoor trails are isolated on ‘islands.’ City leaders want to change that.
Kurt Schwinger is in the market for a new bicycle.
When the weather is nice, Schwinger is on his 22-year-old bike nearly every day, often traveling out Long Avenue where he’ll see the countryside and wildlife, and even rescue turtles crossing the road.
Shipping issues have delayed him from being able to pick up his new ride from a shop in Mt. Pleasant, but the timing may work out in his favor: Conway is now looking to build new biking and hiking trails.
Schwinger was one of a handful of Conway residents who attended an open meeting Wednesday to tell city officials where they should build those new trails.
“There’s really not much in Conway,” he said. “If you’re riding the streets, great, (it’s) street, street street. But you gotta be out and get into the country, where it’s safe, quiet.”
“If they put a bike path out Long Avenue, because I go out there almost every day...oh, it’d be so nice,” he added.
City leaders began the process Wednesday of collecting public input on where the city should build new hiking and biking trails in the coming years. They set up maps, stickers and markers at Wednesday’s meeting where residents like Schwinger could point out where they want new trails.
Conway officials noted that while the city has several high-quality nature trails, the Riverwalk and other pedestrian-friendly areas, its trails are “trail islands,” meaning they don’t connect to one another. It’s not possible, for example, to hike or bike on a trail from Lake Busbee to the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge.
Working with a consultant, Colorado-based Design Workshop, Inc., Conway will develop plans for new trails in the coming months and then begin budgeting to complete the projects. The city has a $50,000 budget for the planning and consulting phase and is collecting public input between now and March, when leaders will host another public meeting. They’ve also launched an online survey.
Mary Catherine Hyman, Conway’s deputy city administrator, said the city will also interview members of conservation, transportation and recreation groups to get their feedback. She said the plan the city and consultants draw up will help leaders prioritize projects in coming years.
Hyman said the city doesn’t currently have a goal of how many miles of new trails it could build each year, but such a figure could be part of its planning process.
“For years, we’ve been pushing sidewalks and pathways and trails in different parts of the community, but we didn’t have an overarching plan of how to connect all of them, so this will help that,” she said. “At one point hopefully down the line, we’ll have a network of trails.”
That’s something that has Katie Benson excited.
She grew up in Conway before moving to California where she was involved in bicycle advocacy. She moved back home recently and said she was thrilled the city was even thinking about building new trails.
“I’m not a road cyclist, I’m a get-where-I-can-by-bike cyclist,” she said. “I’m going to run my errands by bike if I can. It’s tough to do that here.”
One project she said she’d like Conway to explore is a trail between Lake Busbee and the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge. Such a connection could help connect downtown Conway to Coastal Carolina University’s campus, she said.
Hyman noted that she’s heard from other residents that they’d like the city to look at a downtown-to-CCU trail connection as well.
“That’s the big thing we hear all the time,” she said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with information about the consultant Conway has hired.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 1:08 PM.
