West Ashley Bikeway Trail Cleanup
Keep Charleston Beautiful recently joined forces with neighborhood volunteers and the Charleston Parks Conservancy to conduct a litter sweep along the West Ashley Bikeway Trail. The trail system is 2.7 miles long, running from the intersection of Wappoo Road and Highway 17 in the west, to Higgins Pier and the Ashley River in the East. After the Seaboard Coastline Railroad abandoned the line in 1976, the state wanted to build an expressway along the route. When that plan fell through, the City of Charleston negotiated to lease the corridor from the state for $1 a year and completed the trail in 1983.
The West Ashley Bikeway links several suburban Charleston neighborhoods, providing a safe cycling and walking path for residents and connecting the community around it. It is important to note that one of the neighborhoods the bikeway passes through is known as Maryville. This residential area was previously a charter territory (1886) with a majority black population. The town was unique in that it allowed its members to form a self-sufficient community and government. Black people in Maryville were able to buy land, create a government and elect officials during the Jim Crow period. In recognizing the powerful history behind this neighborhood, it is no wonder the bikeway has such a feeling of community and togetherness. The people of historic Maryville laid this foundation through strength, and the bikeway is just one example of the interconnectedness found in these neighborhoods.
The Bikeway path itself is somewhat elevated, compared to the drainage ditches on either side running parallel to the pathway. These drainage ditches flow into stormwater retention ponds that also periodically dot the sides of the trail system. As one can imagine, these ditches tend to catch a lot of litter, from both people utilizing the pathway and from water flowing into this system from nearby roadways and parking lots. The steep sides of the ditches make it difficult to clean regularly.
On August 20th, a group of volunteers joined forces to remove litter from the ditches along the West Ashley Bikeway. Over 20 volunteers crawled down embankments in the hot summer heat, to help beautify this public space. In total, over 300 pounds of litter was removed from the trail in just under 2 hours. Our weirdest find along the trail was an entire vacuum! Thanks to a generous grant from Extreme Terrain, our hardworking volunteers were treated with lunch afterwards, a much needing refueling. We'd also like to thank our community partners, the Charleston Parks Conservancy, who assisted with volunteer recruitment and coordination of the event.
