Hundreds turn out for opening of Greytown-Woodside Trail

The first half of the Greytown-Woodside Trail is now open 24/7, after an estimated 300 people turned out for the opening day on Sunday 6 November. Among the crowd were a group of greyhounds, tandem cyclists, prams and a modern day version of a penny-farthing.

The Trail was formally opened by Greytown Community Board chair Christine Stephenson, with help from Ella and Jack Gray, grandchildren of local contractor John Gray who has done the majority of earthworks and surfacing of the Trail.

Greytown Trails Trust member Bob Tosswill thanked the large number of organizations, Trusts and individuals who had supported the project over the two years since its inception. “Ideally, we will be able to finish the final 2.5 km of the Trail over the next six months,” he said. "The next task is fundraising, with around $50,000 needed to complete Stage 2 of the Trail, taking us the full 5km to Woodside Station. We will need lots of support to achieve that within the desired six months."

The Trust are awaiting news of a funding application to the Eastern & Central Trust, and will will be reapplying to other trusts for the completion of Stage 2.

Greytown Trails Trust chair Gerad Taylor says another important priority is getting the Friends group up and running: "Lots of people signaled their support on the day so we hope that someone will step up to drive this along and get some fundraising activities underway."

The Trust was thrilled with the opening day, he said: “The turnout by the community was huge, and we were pleased to see lots of children and families joining in. We are hoping that this experience of the Trail will switch young people onto cycling, and this will be an asset to Greytown that people of all ages will be able to enjoy into the future.”

The Trail follows the Greytown-Woodside branch rail line, which operated from 1880 to 1953. It is fully fenced with pasture on either side, and several stands of historic oak trees. The Trust and volunteers have also planted a poplar avenue and large areas of native shrubs.

ENDS

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