Haywood County tourism officials have formally selected a specialized engineering and design team to spearhead a comprehensive $300,000 feasibility study, initiating an ambitious master plan aimed at unlocking public recreation along the Pigeon River.
The initiative is being financed entirely through room tax revenues collected from overnight visitors by the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority. Rather than drawing on general municipal funds, the agency is reinvesting these tourism dollars into long-term infrastructure planning intended to benefit both local residents and regional visitors.
The Pigeon River winds through more than 40 miles of Haywood County, stretching from the mountain community of Cruso all the way to the Tennessee state line. Despite the river's extensive geographic footprint and picturesque surroundings, local leaders have long identified its recreational and public access potential as largely unrealized across the county's lower valley corridors.
Efforts to organize the countywide river plan commenced earlier this spring when the tourism authority recognized a clear discrepancy between community interest and physical infrastructure. Research reviewed by the agency revealed an overwhelming public desire to recreate along the river, contrasted sharply with a historical absence of designated access points and organized waterfront amenities.
A cornerstone of the emerging strategy involves integrating vacant flood buyout properties situated directly along the riverbanks. Following severe flooding caused by Tropical Storm Helene, numerous riverfront parcels were left unoccupied, creating a distinct land-use challenge for local municipalities seeking ways to utilize the restricted acreage safely.
Because federal regulations severely restrict what can be built on flood buyout real estate, municipal planners must focus on passive recreation. Tourism leaders emphasize that repurposing these dormant riverfront tracts into low-impact community green spaces represents an effective method for transforming otherwise unusable land into accessible public assets available every day of the year.
The development plan will not exist in isolation. Instead, the design team is tasked with coordinating directly with concurrent planning initiatives across the region, including the Haywood County Parks and Recreation master plan as well as ongoing greenway expansion projects.
Local board representatives have voiced strong support for establishing a connected river corridor. During recent authority discussions, officials noted that Haywood County possesses exceptional natural waterways but has lagged behind neighboring jurisdictions in the development of formal greenway and blueway networks that allow people to reach them easily.
Civic leaders in neighboring towns have already observed a significant public appetite for waterfront recreation. In communities where riverside park space currently exists, such as Canton, riverbanks regularly attract heavy crowds of families, tubers, and pet owners on warm days, demonstrating strong public demand that could be replicated across newly established access points.
Beyond expanding outdoor leisure, tourism officials view the river corridor master plan as an essential economic development vehicle. Local leaders anticipate that increased public river access will funnel visitors toward downtown business districts in towns situated along the waterway, generating new commercial activity at area shops, eateries, and lodging facilities.
The resulting commercial growth is projected to bolster local sales tax revenues, generating funds that flow back into community budgets. Officials note that these financial returns can help local governments offset the tax base previously lost when flood-damaged riverfront parcels were removed from the property tax rolls through federal buyouts.
The selection of the planning team followed a competitive procurement process that began in March and drew proposals from eight design and engineering firms. The tourism board ultimately awarded the contract to a joint effort between Robinson Design Engineers and the Coastal Dynamics Design Lab.
Agency leadership noted that the chosen partnership stood out because of its deep familiarity with Haywood County’s unique terrain and its ability to tie together ongoing projects rather than beginning the planning process from scratch. The designers will also align their work with independent riverfront efforts currently led by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Haywood Waterways Association.
In addition to site planning and community mapping, the $300,000 contract includes specialized grant-writing assistance. The consulting team will develop grant-ready application packets for individual towns along the Pigeon River, positioning local governments to aggressively pursue millions of dollars in state and federal grant funding required for future construction phases.
With the contract officially awarded, project leaders and design consultants have already conducted their initial timeline meetings. The comprehensive feasibility and master planning process is scheduled to take roughly one year to finalize, after which local municipalities can begin moving toward active construction.
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