Gastonia has a new stretch of trail to walk, run or bike along, as the city marked the opening of the Avon Creek Greenway Extension with a ribbon-cutting ceremony near E. 2nd Avenue and S. Poplar Street. Mayor Richard Franks and Councilman Glenn Silverman shared remarks at the event, while John Torbett, Dr. Dave Kirlin and Donnie Loftis joined the celebration.
The newly opened extension gives residents another place to walk, run, bike, explore and enjoy the outdoors.
It's worth noting that other city records describe the Avon Creek Greenway Extension's status differently. A city project notice had described the extension as moving toward bid advertisement this past fall, with completion expected by summer 2026 — a timeline that doesn't line up neatly with the opening announcement. Hoodline could not independently confirm how these two accounts of the project's status relate to one another.
A Project Years in the Making
The Avon Creek Greenway Extension traces back to at least 2020, when the city received a $140,000 grant from the Carolina Thread Trail Governing Board to help fund construction, as reported by cityofgastonia.news. At that time, plans called for roughly 2,500 linear feet of asphalt trail connecting Lineberger Park to Second Avenue.
A separate bid notice from the city identifies the Avon Creek Greenway Extension as running from Second Avenue to Belvedere Avenue, requiring bidders to be licensed North Carolina contractors.
Part of a Broader Greenway Push
The extension's debut comes amid a period of steady growth for Gastonia's trail network. The city's greenway system now totals approximately 7.8 miles of greenway trails, 10.7 miles of trails within parks, and 7.9 miles of multiuse corridors either completed or near completion, according to the Gaston Gazette.
Earlier this year, the city also completed the 0.51-mile Catawba Creek Greenway Southeast Extension, connecting two new subdivisions and surrounding neighborhoods to the Avon and Catawba Creeks Greenway, the same outlet reports. And Gastonia leaders recently cut the ribbon on another trail segment, the 0.7-mile Highland Branch Greenway, which links Rankin Lake Park to downtown Gastonia and the Highland Rail Trail near Bulb Avenue.
Why Greenways Matter to Gastonia
Proponents of Gastonia's greenway expansion have long argued the trails offer more than recreation. Earlier coverage from the Gaston Gazette noted that greenway advocates say the trails promote healthy lifestyles and help give residents an easy way to fight obesity, while potentially boosting the value of adjoining land.
For now, Gastonia residents have a freshly opened stretch of trail to explore near E. 2nd Avenue and S. Poplar Street, with city officials framing it as another link in a greenway network that keeps growing year over year.
