The Creekline Trails initiative is a citizen-driven effort to create local nature trails for public use and appreciation of Opelika’s unique watershed design. Local couple Rocky and Shealy Langely have a vision to orchestrate a new system of nature tails and ADA-friendly multi-use paths lining local streams.
According to the Langleys, the Creekline Trails initiative seeks to create a place where everyone can engage with nature.
“It adds so much to the living experience to just be able to get outside, even if it’s not the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen,” Shealy Langely said. “Just having a place to get outdoors is so crucial for physical health and mental health.”
The idea for the trails first came to them in summer 2018. The young couple was inspired while exploring with their dog, who loves to swim in the neighborhood creek. They noticed how much the landscape had to offer. Following the creeks, they then went to each road crossing to see the environment at that particular site.
“We were continually blown away by each new place we stopped at,” Rocky Langely said.
The couple created a presentation to demonstrate their vision. At the time, Shealy Langley was a board member for the Envision Opelika Foundation. They said their idea was greeted with support and excitement. The Foundation recommended that the Langleys present their idea to the Opelika City Council.
In September 2018, the couple asked the Council to incorporate their idea into the City’s master plan. While the council saw how beneficial these trails would be for citizens of Opelika, they needed verification that the community supported and wanted this.
The couple applied to The Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program, run by The National Parks Service. They were awarded a grant which provides technical assistance from a local team of engineers, designers and architects. The RTCA program helped with the construction of the Creekline Trails master plan.
Opelika City Engineer Scott Parker has been both a technical expert and guide to Rocky and Shealy throughout the groundwork process. He has both worked with landowners and obtained the necessary legal documents that are required for a park with public access across private land.
“For starting out as just a young couple with a dream, the project has gone a long way,” Parker said.
The City of Opelika has been offering guidance to the couple despite having no decision-making authority over the project. Included in the grant awarded from the National Parks Association was a memorandum of understanding that the City’s workers had the right to work with the Langleys during their job time in efforts to help get the trails built and implemented.
Also included in this agreement was the understanding that the City would provide appropriations to this program, beginning with $30,000 for the 2021 fiscal year.
“I personally also volunteer with them on their construction and planning committee,” Parker said.
The couple originally envisioned all paved, multi-use trails, with each facility being handicapped accessible. However, they said it is very difficult to accomplish this while simultaneously maintaining the conservation needs of the surrounding natural environment, Rocky Langley mentioned.
A huge focus of this project, aside from appreciation of nature, is the conservation of the surrounding area. To make an area handicapped accesible, structures would need to be built that would disrupt the environment. Rocky and Shealy are trying to be creative while grappling with the question of how the paths can be accessible without being concrete.
“Right now, we are leaning towards implementing trails that are handicapped friendly but aren’t as disturbing to nature,” they said.
The couple found it only right to take their first step by conducting a public forum. They are confident that appreciating public opinion will help them start in a way that will promote long-term success for the Creekline Trails initiative.
“We are passionate to ensure the way we move forward best serves the community, all across Opelika and beyond,” they said.
The Langleys said they have been adamant about getting those with more experience involved, removing themselves from the forefront so others can lead. With the project shifting from a vision to reality, Susan Brinson volunteered and has taken lead since August 2020, forming an advisory board and committees to divide up the workload.
There are five volunteer committees: planning, design and construction, media, public relations and outreach and fundraising. Community members interested in volunteering can contact the project with a description of their interests and skillsets so they can be put to work in an area that is best suitable. Updates regarding the Creekline Trails initiative are found on Facebook, Instagram, or through subscribing for email updates. The project is accepting donations and offers a survey on what activities citizens deem appropriate on the trails.
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