On Wednesday, Dec. 4, members of Brevard’s Ecusta Trail Advisory Board (ETAB) received updates on possible trail amenities and the damage done to the Transylvania County section of the trail by Hurricane Helene.

Christy Staudt of TPD (Traffic, Planning and Design, Inc.) said she walked the Ecusta Trail corridor in Transylvania County for two days and found less damage than estimated. Fortunately, there was no damage related to wetlands and streams and much of the damage occurred in areas where items were going to be replaced anyway. For example, there was a pipe washout at Pisgah Labs but those pipes were already scheduled for replacement.

At another location, a concrete control culvert instead of a stick bridge will be constructed.

“There are many areas of the trail that flooded,” said Staudt, but the water receded with little impact to the railroad bed.

She said future designs will focus on providing drainage to minimize impacts from flooding and that more resilient materials, such as concrete instead of asphalt, should be used.

Staudt said a detailed report of the damage and changes along the trail in Transylvania County would be presented at a future meeting.

There was much more damage to the trail in Henderson County, where Helene caused about $500,000 in damage.

Chris Burns, who represents Henderson County on the Brevard ETAB, said it has been difficult finding companies to remove debris since they are busy elsewhere. Due to delays in cleanup and construction, the first six miles of the trail in Henderson County is now projected to open in June.

Burns added that they are going to assess the damage on the second section in Henderson County, Ecusta West, but “no delay” is anticipated for that section.

Teresa Buckwalter said work continues on identifying the types and possible locations of amenities along the trail in Transylvania County.

At a prior meeting, board members prioritized location markers, orientation (wayfinding) signs, information kiosks, waste receptacles, benches and bicycle racks as the top Level 1 amenities. Those amenities would typically be within the trail right-of-way and could be paid for with federal funds.

Buckwalter then gave board members information to access an online map detailing the proposed location of all possible amenities on the Transylvania section of the trail. The board members “homework” is to review those suggestions and provide commentary. Those comments and more information will be presented at the board’s next meeting.

Sarah Schafer of Watermark Landscape Architecture, which has done some design work on the signage and stations to be placed along the trail, said there are five proposed stations where information kiosks would be placed. Location markers would be placed every half-mile.

She said about 1,800 linear-feet of fencing might be necessary to delineate adjacent private property from the trail.

Other amenities, such as bike racks, waste receptacles, etc. would be placed at logical points along the trail where users might stop.

When Larry Chapman, who represents the county commission on ETAB, asked about the location of bathrooms, Buckwalter said those, along with parking lots, have not yet been designated because they would require some construction outside the trail right-of-way, for which federal funds may not be available.

He then asked when those amenities would be addressed.

Staudt said they have been reaching out to property owners along the trail who would be amenable to having parking and bathrooms on their property.

“We’re working hard on that,” said Staudt.

Board member Meredith Carli said a security or call box should be placed in the Blantyre area since cell phone service there is poor and asked if there would be any lighting along the trail.

Schafer said there would not be lighting along the trail and use of the trail at night should be discouraged.

Burns said the trail in Henderson County will be open from dawn to dusk, and any commuters who would use it outside that time would have to rely on the lights on their bikes.

Staudt said Henderson County is not using federal funds for amenities on the Ecusta East section of trail, but federal funds would be used for amenities on the remainder of the trail, and federal funds require more guidelines be met.

In other items, John Ditillo, Friend of Ecusta Trail (FOET) representative to ETAB, said he and other members of FOET had met with Bruce Gilliam, the head of Henderson County’s Parks and Recreation Department, which will oversee the trail in Henderson County, to discuss trail rules and etiquette. Those items will be discussed at the next meeting of the Henderson County Recreation Advisory Board on Jan. 14, and Ditillo encouraged the Brevard ETAB to have representation at that meeting.

The next meeting of Brevard’s ETAB will be Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 3:30 p.m. in Brevard’s City Council chambers.

John Lanier