WNC Bike Fest is May 10th |
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Join FOET from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM on May 10th at the First WNC Bike Fest sponsored by SORBA at Ecusta Brewing Company in Brevard for a pedal-powered party celebrating biking, trails, and our vibrant community. Look for our new tent showing off our refreshed branding. We'll have new hats for sale and stickers to give away. This FREE, family-friendly event is poised to become the ultimate gathering for Western North Carolina cycling enthusiasts, bringing together riders of all ages and skill levels to connect, celebrate, and give back to the trails that make our region a riding destination. There will be music throughout the day and beer and food available for purchase. Click here for all the details! |
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Green Drinks: Ecusta Trail Rebranding and Updates April 10th |
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| Mark Tooley, president of Friends of the Ecusta Trail (FOET), will provide an overview of the rebranding of the Ecusta Trail and the new website. He will also provide an update of the latest activity concerning design, engineering, and construction of the trail including amenities. And the more connectivity a trail has to other trails and popular destinations, the more useful and desirable it becomes. We will take a look at other trail activity that is planned or already occurring in the region that will provide some of that connectivity. |
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5:30 p.m.: Grab a drink and network with like-minded locals. 6:00 p.m.: Enjoy the presentation and learn something new!
Hendersonville Green Drinks is presented by Conserving Carolina, MountainTrue and Trailside Brewing Co. Come to Green Drinks to learn more about current environmental issues, have relevant discussions, and meet with like-minded people. This is a monthly event and everyone is welcome. You don't have to drink at Green Drinks, just come and listen. Trailside Brewing Co. offers beer, wine, cider, prosecco and non-alcoholic beverages. A limited food menu will be available.
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Henderson County Rail-Trail Advisory Committee |
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Construction of the Ecusta Trail is proceeding as planned, including completing the last of the Helene storm damage repairs. With the arrival of warm weather, the work is expected to accelerate, and first phase completion is still anticipated for this June. Ty Houck from the Greenville County (SC) Parks & Recreation Department spoke with the committee about their experiences hosting "events," such as fundraising walks and races on their trails, and offered the following recommendations: They never close the trail, but they do publicize the event on their websites and post "real estate" type signs to provide advance notice of events so that regular trail users may plan accordingly. |
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Brevard Ecusta Trail Advisory Board |
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On Wednesday, March 26, members of the Brevard Ecusta Trail Advisory Board (ETAB) received an update on the two federal grants – RAISE and NSFLTP – the city had received for the trail, but have been frozen by the Trump administration.
Brevard City Manager Wilson Hooper said he received an email via former state representative Chuck McGrady, an advocate for the trail, from the DOT stating that both grants are "under review at the federal level."
Hooper said the grants do contain some of the things the president objects to, "like bicycle infrastructure."
Hooper said he is "not sure" what that means for the grants going forward. "I don't know if this grant will survive the review. I don't know if it will have parts of it that are clawed back by the feds or what," said Hooper. |
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Regional Transportation Planning YOUR INPUTS ARE NEEDED! |
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The French Broad River MPO is offering online surveys and public meetings in April to gather input on two important regional planning initiatives. Online survey links for Elevate 2050 and Safe Streets for NC are below. Elevate 2050- a federally-required 25-year plan for the region that looks to 2050 and prioritizes transportation improvement projects over that timeframe. If you have highway, public transportation, rail, or bike/ped projects you think should be priorities in your community and across the region, please come out to let us know what you think! Having projects identified in this plan is a key requirement for federal funding and we want to make sure this plan reflects our region's priorities! More information is available here: https://publicinput.com/fbrmpo2050mtp Safe Streets for WNC- a five-county plan that examines high-crash locations across the region and develops strategies to reduce crashes and fatalities on our region's roads for drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians, bicyclists- everyone. We want to reduce the number of people being harmed on our roads- please come out to one of the meetings to learn more. More information on Safe Streets for WNC is available here: https://frenchbroadrivermpo.org/safe-streets-for-wnc-regional-safety-action-plan/ The meeting date and location is: Henderson Public Library (301 N Washington Street, Hendersonville), April 7th, 3-6 PM A contact with the MPO is below if you have any specific questions on the plans. Daisy O'Conner, Transportation Planner II, daisy@landofsky.org. |
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Volunteers Needed for WNC Flyer |
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| We need volunteers to help the Friends of Ecusta Trail (FOET) help our friends at the Blue Ridge Bike Club. Since we can't have folks out on the trail yet, please check your calendars to see if you can participate in this fun event on June 1st at Oskar Blues Brewery in Brevard. Sign up here: https://raceroster.com/events/2025/98926/wnc-flyer/volunteer |
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You will need to set up a Race Roster account if you don't already have one. Once you sign in, the link will take you to the list of open positions. The race promoter has a list of positions they want FOET volunteers to fill. You may have to scroll down a little to see the FOET list. |
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Henderson County R-TAC Meeting
April 9, 2025 @ 10:00am – 11:00pm https://www.hendersoncountync.gov/bc-rtac Brevard Ecusta Trail Advisory Board Meeting
April 23, 2025 @ 3:30pm – 5:30pm Open to the public. Meeting at City Council Chambers. |
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FOET NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTORS: Bernard Grauer, Lynn Huffman, John Lanier, Mark Miller, RJ Miner and Cindy Ruzak.
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| FOR TRAIL CONSTRUCTION QUESTIONS CONTACT:
Marcus Jones, P.E. Henderson County
Director of Engineering
(828) 694-6526
mjones@hendersoncountync.gov |
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