Entries by Chad Carson

From Plan to Pavement: What You’ll See in 2026

On a typical morning in our community, it’s already happening.  Children are walking to school with a parent along Berkeley Dr. College students are riding a scooter or bike to camp us along Hwy 93. People are walking for exercise and a breath of fresh air on Pendleton’s Hall Trail. These people-powered trips aren’t a […]

5 Types of Paths You’ll Find on the Green Crescent Trail

The Green Crescent Trail isn’t just one kind of path. It’s a network built from different types of connections.  Some paths are fully separated from traffic. Others follow roads, move through neighborhoods, or connect through natural areas. Together, they will form a network that makes it safer and easier to get where you want to […]

The Places the Green Crescent Trail Will Connect

Ten years ago, I was frustrated that I couldn’t safely push my daughter in a stroller from my house to a nearby park. Maybe you’ve had your own version of this story. The goal of the Green Crescent Trail is to change that. We want to make it safer and easier to walk or bike […]

How 15 Miles Get Built by 2030

Fifteen connected miles do not build themselves. Behind every trail segment are years of planning, budgeting, engineering, and coordination. Nearly ten miles of Green Crescent Trail segments now exist across Clemson, Central, and Pendleton because elected officials, university trustees, municipal staff, engineers, donors, and residents chose to prioritize safe, connected movement over many years. What […]

Guiding Principles of the Green Crescent Trail

A child should be able to walk to school safely. An employee should be able to bike to work easily. A grandparent should be able to stroll to the park, unhurried and unafraid. Movement should not be a luxury. It should be built into the places we live, work, and play. These are some of […]

15 Miles by 2030: A New Chapter for the Green Crescent Trail

The Green Crescent Trail has a new goal: 15 miles of connected walking and biking routes by 2030. Not scattered sidewalks. Not isolated greenways. A safe, usable network that links: Neighborhoods to schools Parks to downtowns Campuses to surrounding communities The goal is simple: make it safer and easier to move around our community on […]

A Simple Question That Led to the Green Crescent Trail

In 2014, I attended a community meeting about the City of Clemson’s comprehensive plan. Like most people in the room, I talked about how much I loved living here. The sense of community.The natural beauty.The energy that comes from being a university town. Clemson is a special place. But there was also a shared frustration. […]

A Look Ahead (and a Big Year on the Horizon)

Hey Green Crescent Trail friends, Last weekend, our board gathered for a working retreat. No speeches. No press releases. Just a room full of people asking hard questions about where the Green Crescent Trail goes next. A few takeaways I wanted to share with you. This work has grown bigger than individual trail segments. We […]

Why Central Has a 585-Foot ‘Random’ Trail

If you’ve driven in Central near Bolick Field recently, you may have noticed a short but unusually wide sidewalk next to Mugshot Coffee — about 585 feet long, 10 feet wide, and not connected to much of anything. It looks a little random, doesn’t it? If you’ve ever wondered why it’s there, the backstory helps […]