Watch: Public Meeting Thursday Night for Gills Creek Greenway Project

On Thursday night, community leaders will seek public input on the proposed greenway project for the Gills Creek area.

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) — The Richland County Penny Program is holding a public meeting Thursday night to get feedback from residents on the Gills Creek Greenway project. The project is proposing a greenway in three different sections along Gills Creek. Richland County Penny Program officials said the greenway would be roughly 10 feet wide and run almost parallel to the Creek.

Thursday night’s meeting will focus on the first section of the project, that would run from Kilbourne Road to Bluff Road.

“It’s part of a larger vision we have for restoring Gills Creek watershed,” said Valerie Marcil, President of the Gills Creek Watershed Association.

As part of the Richland County Penny Program, officials are proposing the greenway be developed to serve as a safe pathway for residents to enjoy the outdoors.

“People can walk, people can bike, people can jog, they can use it for recreation,” explained Program Manager David Beaty. “It obviously also provides health benefits and it provides an alternative route to get around Columbia.”

The project would be funded by the Penny Program, with an estimated total cost of more than $5 million for all 3 sections of the project. Officials said as part of the program, that money can only be used for that project, not other community fixes such as flood recovery.

“We don’t have the flexibility of taking this money and moving it to other projects,” said Beaty. “It can’t be used for any other purpose than what was specifically included in the referendum.”

According to community leaders, the proposal is sparking mixed reactions from residents.

“Many people are excited about it in general as a source of being able to get on a bicycle and walk and things like that,” said Marcil.

However, others worry about the potential dangers of more recreation running through their neighborhoods.

“We are just beginning to hear from neighbors that might be affected by it who are worried about change, worried about their neighborhood possibly being opened to crime.

The public meeting goes from 6:30-8 at Brennan Elementary School. Officials said they will listen to the public input and use the feedback to tailor the original concept. No construction start date has been set for the project.