Monk to Mill Trail

Monk to Mill Trail A path to creativity

By Corey Davis

ere’s a buzz around town about a rail trail’s potential to be part of a much larger project, which could draw residents, tourists and businesses to Rocky Mount. e proposed Monk to Mill Trail is designed to be a 2.5 mile multi-use trail, connecting elonious Monk Park to the Rocky Mount Brewmill. e late Monk was a Rocky Mount native and a renowed jazz composer.

Brad Kerr, director of engineering for the city of Rocky Mount, said the trail would be created by converting unused railways into multi-use paths for bicycling or walking. e trail would connect many of downtown Rocky Mount’s significant infrastructures and public investments such as the proposed downtown community facility, Rocky Mount Farmers Market, Braswell Memorial Library, Rocky Mount Veterans Memorial at Jack Laughery Park, Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences and the Douglas Block, which includes the Monk Plaza. e Monk to Mill Trail would cost between $1.2 million and $1.5 million, Kerr said.

Bob League, principal transportation planner for the city of Rocky Mount, said the project also would include “complete” streets - making them usable to all people in all types of travel.

“Whether you are walking, bicycling, riding a bus or driving a car, it serves all users equally,” League said.

EHI Consultants Project Manager Ryan Holmes said the goal of the project is to connect Rocky Mount’s heritage of railroads, jazz and the upand-coming craft brewing industry.

“Extending the energy from the Douglas Block down Washington Street to Monk Park is essential as is extending the energy surrounding the Rocky Mount Mill to downtown,” Holmes said.“We want to commission local artists to incorporate that creative side with local history. We want to bring that history to life and connect it.”

Despite the potential and excitement of the trail and street enhancement projects, League acknowledged there’s a chance neither will come to fruition. e city is continuing to seek funding for both projects through the N.C. Department of Transportation and a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Grant.

The TIGER grant provides a unique opportunity for the Department of Transportation to invest in road, rail, transit and port projects that promise to achieve national objectives, Kerr said. He added the city was passed over for receiving the grant last year while places like Wilson earned a similar grant.

“We applied for $16.5 million and this year, we’ve done some refinements and that figure will be increased,” Kerr said. “If we have to go through another grant it will take a whole lot longer, so we’re hoping this works out.”

Holmes said many residents expressed their vision about how the trail could be similar to the 22mile American Tobacco trail, North Carolina’s longest rail-trail and the Charlotte Rail trail, drawing tourists and locals.

“All of these projects are about improving and connecting the urban core and creating an opportunity to get from the surroundings neighborhoods to downtown and not neccessarily need a vehicle,” Kerr said. “Also, by creating this project and creating this re-investment, we’re creating additional recreation and an environment where people want to be and live. Once those things happen, you’re going to get economic development.”

An artist’s rendering of plans for the proposed Monk to Mill Trail in Rocky Mount

Celebrating a century of Monk

Part of the allure of the proposed Monk to Mill Trail is celebrating Rocky Mount’s native son and jazz legend Thelonious Monk. Monk, who died in 1982, is considered one of the giants of American music. He was known for his unique improvisational and idiosyncratic jazz style and renowned for his distinctive style in suits, skullcap and sunglasses. Monk moved away from Rocky Mount when he was 4. He is one of five jazz musicians to have been featured on the cover of Time magazine. He was inducted into the N.C. Hall of Fame in 2009. Monk also is the second-most recorded jazz composer after Duke Ellington. Rocky Mount has honored Monk by building the Thelonious Monk Park located where Monk grew up in the Around The “Y” Community off South Washington Street and Monk Plaza in the Douglas Block in downtown Rocky Mount. While Monk’s son, T.S. Monk, has made Rocky Mount a regular stop in his own musical career as a drummer, another relative has stepped up efforts to create developments in Monk’s hometown to further commemorate one of the great musical geniuses of the 20th century. Bobby Monk, a cousin of Thelonious Monk, is in the process of raising money for a $200,000 bronze statue to go in front of the Rocky Mount Train Station. Bobby Monk’s plan is to unveil the statue in October to celebrate his famous legendary cousin’s 99th birthday. But Bobby Monk’s dream does not stop with a statue. He envisions a downtown cultural center that would offer scholars and fans a place to study Monk’s life and music with hopes of completing and opening it as part of Thelonious Monk’s 100th birthday celebration. The projects could put a spotlight on Rocky Mount and create an economic development opportunity, he added. “Once the statue and the culture center are done and everyone knows about them, it’s going to turn little Rocky Mount into a destination place, where people are going to come to see where he was born because he had fans all around the world,” Monk said.