In the regional transportation budget, the Greer-to-Taylors trail took up one line. The May 2025 version of the Greenville-Pickens Area Transportation Study's improvement program lists it as "City of Greer and Taylors Greenway," with $25,000 for planning and "TBD" for everything after that. The program's cost tables are in thousands, so 25 means $25,000.
In August 2026, that line was one of 19 projects GPATS removed from its funding program "for now." The greenway was never close to construction, so the cut took away a study, not a trail anyone had scheduled to build. Meanwhile, the work on Wade Hampton Boulevard that does have contractors and dates kept moving, because it sits in a separate SCDOT safety category that wasn't on the removal list.
A Trail That Stayed in Planning
The idea goes back years. GPATS's November 2017 bicycle and pedestrian plan describes a "Greer-Taylors Greenway" as a regional shared-use path along the US 29 corridor, linking Greenville County and Greer. US 29 is Wade Hampton Boulevard, the main road through Taylors.
After that, the project mostly drifted. By April 2023, GPATS Study Team minutes record its schedule moving from 2025 to 2026. The August 2023 program listed it as a $25,000 planning entry funded through the federal STBGP program. The May 2025 version still showed the same $25,000 and no construction year.
So in practical terms, the August decision ended a study, not a construction project. Nobody had set a date to break ground.
How Woodruff Road Took the Budget
The Taylors greenway was cut because of Woodruff Road, a project on the other side of Greenville County.
The minutes of the August 10, 2026 GPATS Policy Committee meeting lay out the numbers.
| Woodruff Road Congestion Relief | Original | August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Total project cost | $123 million | $277 million |
| Right-of-way acquisition | $43 million | $75 million |
| Final construction complete | n/a | 2034 |
City of Greenville Mayor Knox White asked whether the original estimate was lower because the project then ended at Miller Road. GPATS staff said the federal environmental review had since extended it across I-385 to Smith Hines Road.
The real limit is the size of the pot. GPATS gets about $29.2 million a year in Guideshare money for its Regional Mobility Program, and the cuts came from that program. Under the new plan, Woodruff Road uses up the construction money through FY2029. The budget stays tight through FY2032, and FY2033 is the first year GPATS expects to have money to start adding projects back. Staff described the approach as keeping active projects funded, even if delayed, and removing projects that hadn't started. The Greer-to-Taylors Greenway hadn't started.
The vote wasn't unanimous. Mayors from Mauldin and Fountain Inn questioned whether the Woodruff Road design would ease congestion. SCDOT's Director of Statewide Planning answered that once the environmental review is done, the project is GPATS's top priority. The amendment passed 11-3, with one abstention.
The removal list also includes a project simply named "Wade Hampton Boulevard," along with the Travelers Rest Shared Use Path and others. Projects that had already started were delayed instead. The Mauldin Golden Strip Greenway was pushed back two years, and SCDOT's September status report shows its preliminary engineering on hold until 2028.
What Is Still Moving on Wade Hampton
SCDOT's status reports show two Wade Hampton Boulevard projects under separate headings, "Corridor Safety Improvement" and "Vulnerable Road Users." Neither is on the August removal list. The reports identify both segments by their endpoints on US 29 and place them "in Greenville," so look up a specific address against those endpoints instead of assuming a stretch runs through Taylors.
| US 29 / Wade Hampton project | Limits | Status in the latest GPATS reports |
|---|---|---|
| Corridor safety improvements, including sidewalks | Karen Drive to East Lee Road | Under construction by Palmetto Corp. of Conway since January 2026; estimated completion July 2027 |
| Vulnerable Road Users corridor improvements | East Lee Road to Watson Road | In design; let date scheduled for November 2026 |
The first project is already a working job site. SCDOT's status report in the GPATS September 21, 2026 Study Team packet says signal work was planned to begin that day and that the contractor was submitting a recovery plan to finish on schedule. The second project picks up at East Lee Road where the first one stops. Its planned work includes pedestrian ramps and crosswalks, leading pedestrian intervals, new sidewalks, and traffic signal upgrades.
Together, those two projects are the walkability work on the Wade Hampton corridor that's actually funded. It's sidewalks and safer crossings along the road. A trail would have been a different kind of amenity. Anyone house hunting near Wade Hampton in 2027 is likely to drive past this work, either still under construction or finished, depending on how the recovery plan holds up.
The Next List Already Names Taylors
Some Taylors ideas are back on paper for the coming decades. GPATS is drafting Horizon 2050, its long-range plan, and the October 2026 draft chapters include several Taylors entries. All of them are draft items without funding:
- Orange Line SUP, Greenlink to Taylors: a new multiuse path, with an overall score of 67 in the draft rankings. The September Study Team draft placed it in the mid-term tier, 2037 to 2043.
- SRT Orange Line, Arcadia Drive to SC-80: a new multiuse path listed under Taylors and Greer.
- Brushy Creek Road/Old Spartanburg Road, Cunningham Road to Batesville Road: a corridor project in the short-term tier, 2033 to 2036.
- Main Street, Wade Hampton Boulevard to Taylors Road: a corridor project estimated at $28.25 million, scored 58.
The short-term tier starts in 2033, the same year GPATS says it can begin adding projects back to the current program. In the meantime, GPATS staff said the agency will need to apply for a federal BUILD grant in 2027, ideally $50 million, to help restore many or all of the removed projects. That application hasn't been filed yet. It's planned for next year.
Reading Any Project Promise Near a Taylors Address
The greenway spent nine years between the first two steps below. Each step is a public record you can look up, and each one puts a project further along:
- Is it in a plan? A long-range list like Horizon 2050 shows what someone wants to see built. The Greer-Taylors Greenway was in a plan from 2017 on.
- Does it have a line in the funding program, and how much? Check whether the money is for planning or for construction. A $25,000 planning entry marked "TBD" doesn't commit anyone to build.
- Does it have a let date? That's when SCDOT puts the construction contract out to bid. The East Lee Road to Watson Road project reached this step with a November 2026 date.
- Does it have a contractor and a completion estimate? The Karen Drive to East Lee Road work has both: Palmetto Corp. of Conway and July 2027.
The August cuts mostly hit projects stuck at the second step, so this is a good way to read the funding news too. You can read the August minutes and SCDOT's project-by-project status updates in the GPATS October 12, 2026 agenda packet, and the current funding lines in the GPATS 2025–2034 Transportation Improvement Program.
Short Answers
Is the Greer-to-Taylors Greenway canceled for good? GPATS removed its funding "for now" in August 2026. Staff said FY2033 is the earliest the program can start adding projects back, and a 2027 BUILD grant application could restore some sooner if it's awarded.
Will Wade Hampton be under construction if I buy near it in 2027? The Karen Drive to East Lee Road safety project has an estimated completion date of July 2027, and the next segment, East Lee Road to Watson Road, is scheduled to let in November 2026.
Did any Wade Hampton projects survive the cuts? The two US 29 safety projects aren't on the August removal list. SCDOT's status reports track them under their own safety headings, and one is already under construction.
If a home you're considering in Taylors is being marketed partly on a future trail or road upgrade, Laurel Caylor can help you check which of those four steps the project has actually reached before it affects your offer. Let's connect and schedule your consultation.
