High Ore Line latest addition to Jefferson County trail network
Area residents try out the brand-new High Ore Line trail that runs through parts of west Birmingham and Midfield. (File)
New York City has its famed “high line” elevated walking trail. Now Jefferson County has a place where people also can safely walk, run or ride bicycles above and away from the dangers of street traffic.
The new, two-mile “High Ore Line” is the latest development in the county’s growing network of walking and biking trails. Its grand opening comes just weeks after the opening of the Rotary Trail, which invites walkers and bikers to stroll or ride safely just below street level in downtown Birmingham.
It also comes as land conservation experts from around the Southeast converge in Birmingham for a major regional conference to talk about how “green infrastructure” is transforming urban communities for the better.
High Ore Line latest addition to Jefferson County’s fast-growing greenway network from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
“Birmingham is certainly one of the leaders” in the Southeast, said Kevin Brice, Southeast director for the nonprofit Land Trust Alliance (LTA). For the first time, the Alliance is holding its southeast conference in the Magic City. Officials representing about 100 nonprofit land trusts from 12 Southeast states are arriving in town today, along with land trust volunteers and board members. Joining them are representatives from municipal, county, state and federal agencies who are working to protect important lands and expand parks, greenways, and walking and biking trails.
Last year, the LTA held its Southeast conference in a more rural setting, western North Carolina, to showcase projects that are preserving the best in that rural community. “This year we wanted to turn that around,” Brice said, and highlight “what conservation means in a more urban setting.”
LTA conference attendees will have a choice this afternoon of touring the Rotary Trail or hiking at Red Mountain Park, another recent addition.
The Rotary Trail, Red Mountain Park and the High Ore Line are all part of the county’s swiftly expanding Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System. Thanks to multiple community partners, the network is on track to add 50 miles of walking and biking trails in its first five years. The long-term goal for the Red Rock is to complete and connect 750 miles of trails, sidewalks and bike lanes across the county.
Price said green infrastructure in urban communities not only serves as connectors that unite neighborhoods and people. The trails are economic development engines. But they also serve an important public health role: providing places for people to exercise and connect to nature and the outdoors, close to their in-city homes.
Wendy Jackson, executive director of the Birmingham-based Freshwater Land Trust, couldn’t agree more. She said the new High Ore Line is a great example of the many benefits urban parks and walking trails provide. It connects neighborhoods in west Birmingham and Midfield. It will eventually tie in to Red Mountain Park. And if all goes as planned, it will ultimately connect to other trails and sidewalks, providing a walkable path all the way to downtown Birmingham.
Built on a discontinued, elevated rail line, the High Ore Line provides a safe place for people to walk, run and bike, up and over the dangers of street traffic. It also helps connect people in these urban neighborhoods with the nature that is right in their backyards. A stroll down the High Ore Line takes walkers over a beautiful stretch of Valley Creek and under mature shade trees, offering distant glimpses of the north side of Red Mountain Park. You might even catch sight of a couple of horses in their corral on a neighboring property – all right in the middle of urban Jefferson County.
Dr. Mark Wilson, Jefferson County health officer and CEO of the Jefferson County Department of Health, is particularly excited about the potential health benefits of the High Ore Line, which is just a block from the health department’s Western Health Center. The health department was one of multiple partners that supported the High Ore Line.
Wilson, Jackson and hundreds of residents, community leaders and supporters participated in the High Ore Line’s ribbon cutting on May 7.
“These are very important projects for our community,” Wilson said. “Building this kind of infrastructure – places for people to walk, get outside and get connected together – helps to improve the overall health of our community.”
Alabama Power has long supported efforts to expand parks and greenways in the region, because of their conservation and economic development benefits.
