Parks and Rec department restores greenway after responsibility comes into question

By Sabrina Bates

MVP Regional Editor

A question of maintenance responsibility of Martin’s Brian Brown Greenway prompted a clean-up effort this week of the public walking trail.

During Monday night’s Martin City Board meeting, Alderman Scott Robbins brought up the topic of the greenway and asked who was responsible for its upkeep. His concern was specifically the area between Farm Road and the pedestrian bridge.

The University of Tennessee at Martin was determined to be responsible for the greenway’s portion of Farm Road to University Street. The City of Martin is responsible for maintenance and upkeep from downtown’s Lindell Street to Farm Road.

Within two days of inquiring about responsibility, the Martin Parks and Recreation Department took action and worked to restore the paved walking trail.

“I want to give a big shout out to Director Brian Moore and his team with the Martin Parks and Recreation office. I inquired at the board meeting Monday night about who was responsible for the upkeep of the Brian Brown Memorial Greenway,” Robbins noted in a Facebook post.

“The university section had been neglected this year and Brian’s staff fixed that today (Wednesday) and cleaned the entire trail. It looks great again! Thanks for the great job! If you have never taken advantage of the Brian Brown Memorial Greenway, you should take a walk down it. It’s beautiful,” Robbins added.

The greenway was envisioned by UTM’s Campus Recreation Director, the late Brian Brown. Brown was known as an avid bicyclist throughout Martin. He drafted maps of a potential multi-purpose trail in and around the city. His life was cut short when he was fatally-injured after being struck by a truck while on his bicycle on the shoulder of the Highway 45 bypass.

The proposal included a continuous path along an old railroad right-of-way through UTM property to downtown Martin.

An old railroad bridge was converted to a pedestrian bridge that serves as a scenic backdrop for numerous photo sessions. The path winds along planted fields and under canopies of trees, eventually leading to downtown Martin. An interactive sculpture soundscape off of S. Lindell Street is a resting stop and family-favorite feature.

During the annual Tennessee Soybean Festival, local artists participate in a large-scale arts competition, where they showcase their work on large canvases that are displayed along the entire trail.