In January 2020, the Wilmington MPO and the Friends of the Wilmington Rail Trail kicked off the development of a multimodal master plan for the downtown rail corridor between 3rd Street and McRae Street. The effort is being funded by the WMPO’s federal Direct Attributable program and a donation from the Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County. The purpose of the plan is to address the feasibility for use of the corridor by bicycles, pedestrians, and future passenger rail service. The final plan offers potential alignment and points of access, as well as recommendations for the integration of public art into the corridor.
The development of the plan has been guided by a steering committee comprised of WMPO, City of Wilmington, and NCDOT staff, as well as members of the Friends of the Wilmington Rail Trail, the Arts Council, and citizen advocates for the project. Stakeholder involvement and the understanding of existing conditions and constraints was incorporated into the plan’s development as well as public input attained through a public survey and 14-day public comment period on the draft plan. The final plan, which can be viewed at the link below, was adopted by the WMPO Board on November 18, 2020.
Wilmington Rail Trail Final Master Plan
Please contact Abby Lorenzo (abby.lorenzo@wilmingtonnc.gov) with questions.
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