Little Sugar Creek Greenway

Little Sugar Creek

Unlike many large cities, Charlotte is not sited on or near a sea, lake, or significant river; its hydrogeography is based on small streams and creeks, Little Sugar Creek being perhaps the most prominent. The name of Little Sugar Creek (which has also been called Sugar Creek, a name that has also been applied to what is now called Irwin Creek) derives from the Sugaree tribe indigenous to the area.

Running through some of Charlotte's oldest neighborhoods, over time parts of the stream became hidden by houses, factories, parking lots, riprap, highways, and culverts. Over time, Little Sugar Creek also became very polluted by runoff from factories and sewers, and litter.

As recently as 2000 Little Sugar Creek was "the most polluted stream in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, a fetid stew of runoff and industrial waste trickling beneath parking decks and buildings on the fringe of downtown." Businesses dumped waste straight into its water, the fumes so noxious they were said to peel the paint off nearby buildings. Morever, flood-prone buildings had to be razed, and much of the stream was covered by concrete which had to be removed. The pollution problem began to be solved when straight-piping of wastes was outlawed in 1998; nevertheless Little Sugar Creek Greenway became the most expensive stream restoration in Mecklenburg county.

The Greenway

In 1968 Charlotte city council member Jerry Tuttle, inspired by San Antonio's River Walk, proposed an urban “Charlotte waterfront” on Sugar Creek. In 1974 the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Commission first studied the feasibility of a greenway system. A master plan was created in 1980 involving 20 creeks and streams. The final report was based on the graduate thesis for Joan Sigmon, a geography major at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The idea of a comprehensive greenway system was also promoted by Mecklenburg county commissioner Tom Ray who authored the concept known as "Sugar Creek Projection 70".

Demographics provided further impetus for preserving green space in the center city. Bucking the general trend, Charlotte experienced growth in the central core while other cities were losing population to the suburbs. As a result "The Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department embarked on an ambitious update to its earlier 1980 and 1991 Greenways Plans to not only extend and create new greenway corridors, but also improve established corridors."

Finally, in 1999 a bond plan was approved; the money was used to buy property along the stream bed, begin construction or paved walkways, restore wetlands, build water gardens, and generally launch a major stream restoration project. In the end, the urban section of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway cost $43 million.

Although the master plan remained the guideline, little was done until 2000 when a 10-year growth plan was formulated.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced the completion of the Charlotte portion of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway at a celebration on April 24, 2012.

Finished sections

The completed part of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway can be divided into four sections going downstream from north to south.

Cordelia Park to 12th Street

Paved walkway follows Little Sugar Creek and extends for .95 miles from Parkwood Avenue on the southern border of Cordelia Park to Greenway Crescent Lane and East 12th street just south of Alexander Street Park. Gulf Coast spiny softshell turtles can be seen in this part of the creek. This section does not currently connect with the rest of the greenway.

East 7th Street to Morehead Street

The “urban section” of the greenway runs for 1.29 miles along Sugar Creek in uptown Charlotte and was completed in April 2012. It begins at 7th Street, goes southward past Central Piedmont Community College, passes through Thompson Park, connects to the showpiece Midtown Park at Pearl Park Way, and ends at the Morehead Street underpass. It is the most highly developed section of the greenway and incorporates paved walkways, stonework walls and plazas, fountains, dining, many newly planted trees, large decorative rocks, gardens, public event areas, numerous statues and sculptures, and a clock tower. There are overpasses and underpasses to facilitate unimpeded walking and biking. Included also are the usual park amenities such as benches, bike racks, restrooms, decorative lampposts, and a snack stand.

Morehead Street to Brandywine Road

This section connects with the urban section through the Morehead Street underpass. The first part going south is a straight section directly on the banks of Sugar Creek known as the Liz Hair Nature Walk, completed in September 2005. It extends for .65 miles from Morehead Street to East Boulevard and is adjacent to the Carolinas Healthcare System complex. The next section runs from East Boulevard to Princeton Avenue, passing by the Charlotte Nature Museum and through Freedom Park. Next is a so-called overland connector which utilizes existing sidewalk for .42 miles along Jameston Drive. The paved part of the greenway resumes again at Hillside Avenue and continues on to Brandywine Road, ending behind the Park Road Shopping Center. This last section features wetland filtration ponds and explanatory signage.

Huntingtowne Farms Park Section

The southernmost existing section of the Little Sugar Creek Greenway is .79 miles long and is almost entirely contained in Huntingtowne Farms Park. It is more than 5 miles from the rest of the completed greenway. This part of the greenway known as a haven for hawks and barred owls.

Reviews

Gene Conti of the North Carolina Department of Transportation praised the greenway "for providing Charlotteans with an accessible place to run, walk and bike," and called it "an example for the rest of the state." The Charlotte Observer called the Little Sugar Creek Greenway a “sweet resurrection”. Fish have returned to the stream; and ducks, Canada geese, and herons are often seen. The mixture of natural restoration and urban redevelopment draws “gushing praise”—although some people, such as Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James, have criticized the project for its cost. James compared the project to proposed uptown baseball stadiums, asserting that the county overpaid for land for stream restoration and helped “well-connected developers”. However, one business owner said that sites along the greenway offer the “best view of Charlotte from Charlotte—a view that will remain unencumbered forever.”

Despite being a vast improvement over the toxic pollution of the past, trash–particularly plastic bags-remains a problem along Sugar Creek. In 2015 Richard Maschal of the Charlotte Observer reported, "The creek is festooned with such detritus, particularly near the bridges spanning Morehead Street and Kings Drive."

Awards

2012 Best Place to Get Back to Nature, Creative Loafing: Best of Charlotte

2011 Best Use of Tax Money, Creative Loafing: Best of Charlotte

Activities

Since 2011, the annual Kings Drive Art Walk has been held on the greenway between Midtown Park and Morehead Street. It features artists and craftspeople and is held in late April.

Every Thursday evening starting in late April, MetLive presents Music on the Greenway on the nearby Metlive stage at 1224 Metropolitan Avenue.

The popular Kings Drive Farmers Market, open from April to October, is right by the greenway at S Kings Drive and E Morehead Street.