Jefferson County, Alabama
The Red Rock Trail Master Plan was a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Freshwater Land Trust to develop a greenway and trail system for Jefferson County and the Birmingham metropolitan area. The trails are planned to improve people's active lifestyles, general health, economic opportunities, reduce flooding, and increase community awareness for the environment.
As the basis for the planning effort, the design team held over fifty open houses and six design charrettes to gather public input for the Greenway Plan. An interactive map was also available online for people to provide their thoughts about connectivity. During those events hundreds of people contributed ideas that were identified in the plan and resulted in over 200 miles of greenway and 300 miles of street-based trails.
The Greenway Plan is divided into six main corridors along the major creeks running northeast to southwest pattern parallel to the ridges and valleys of the county. The corridors act as the major pedestrian high- ways and are linked by connectors. The plan played a critical role in the City of Birmingham obtaining ten million dollars of TIGER Funding (Transportation Funding) toward implementation of 29 miles of the Jones Valley Corridor. Other Cities in the county use the plan as reference in grant and funding applications for their projects and as a guide for connectivity.
Team
Project Landscape Architect - Jane Reed Ross, Goodwyn Mills and Cawood
Owners - Freshwater Landtrust and the Jefferson County Health Department