TAYLOR COUNTY

Butler ♦ Reynolds

 

Transportation: State Route 96 traverses Taylor County from east to west and US

Highway 19 runs north and south. Both corridors are prime areas for potential

development.

 

Recreation: The County Recreation Department, working with the Cities of Butler

and Reynolds, maintains several baseball fields, tennis courts, playground

facilities, and two walking trails. 

 

Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities:  State Bicycle Route 40 follows State Highway

Route 96 through the county.  Walking trails are located at the county recreation

complex west of Butler, on State Route 137, and  along Liberty Street in Reynolds.

 

Cultural and/or Natural Resources:  The Taylor County Courthouse in Butler is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  The Flint River comprises the county’s northeastern boundary.

Education: The Taylor County Public School System serves all of Butler, Reynolds, and the remaining areas of the County.

Land Use: The majority of land in Taylor County falls into two major land use categories. These are agriculture/forest and undeveloped/unused. Together these categories make up 96.6% of the total land area for the county.

At the time of the last survey, 370 (0.2%) acres were in Commercial use, and 1,300 acres (0.5%) were Industrial.  Park/Recreation/Conservation land uses totaled fifty acres (0.1%), Public/Institutional land use accounted for 220 acres (0.1%), and Residential was the third largest land use in the rural area, accounting for 5,280 acres (2.1%).

In the City of Butler, the predominant land use is Residential (37.2%), followed by Undeveloped/Unused (27.9%), Transportation/Communication/Utilities (15.8%), Agriculture/Forest (9.5%), and Commercial (6.9%).  No other use constituted more than 1.7% of the total land area.

In the City of Reynolds, the predominant land use is also Residential (36.2%), followed by Undeveloped/Unused (27.8%), Agriculture/Forest (11.5%), Transportation/Communication/Utilities (9.3%), and Commercial (7.4%).  No other use constituted more than 3.6% of the total land area.

Related Projects:  Using Transportation Enhancement funding from the Department of Transportation, the City of Butler proposes to construct a five-foot sidewalk along Cedar Street and State Route 137 from the western city limit to US Highway 19/State Route 3.  The project proposes to connect residential neighborhoods in the western portion of the city, the County recreation complex, and the downtown area.

The Middle Flint Region is characterized by rural, agricultural counties with relatively small, compact community centers.  The region is crisscrossed by a network of federal, state, and local highways and roadways that provide access to the area’s various communities and cultural and natural resources, and good inter- and intra-regional access.  The region has an abundance of cultural resources; the Flint River and Lake Blackshear provide the area’s primary natural resource attractions.  Schools are variously located in towns or in less accessible rural locations.  Because of acreage needs, recreational facilities also tend to be developed in less accessible locations.  Existing facilities generally do not incorporate pedestrian elements.

As an agricultural region with a relatively small population base, the Middle Flint area does not suffer from traffic congestion and, therefore, pedestrian and bicycling activity are, and are likely to remain, primarily recreational and fitness activities.  Nonetheless, cycling and walking should be encouraged and developed as viable transportation alternatives for those who desire additional mobility choices.  For example, cycling and walking are sometimes the only transportation modes available to the young, the elderly, and the poor.  Beyond providing a cheap and efficient means of getting around, these transportation alternatives also provide significant health benefits.  As obesity rates continue to increase nationally and represent mounting future public health costs, cycling and walking, whether for transit or pleasure, provides important exercise activity for communities. Promoting cycling and walking will require education programs that explain both the benefits of those activities as well as safety concerns for its participants and the general public.

As much of the cycling and pedestrian activity is likely to be recreational in nature, regional partners should also encourage tourism development for riders from outside the area.  The region’s abundant cultural and natural resources provide a unique opportunity to connect a large number of resources within a relatively small area.

Generally, the region lacks significant bicycle and pedestrian programs or facilities.  The development, promotion, and implementation of any programs and projects will represent significant progress toward the meaningful inclusion of cycling and pedestrian interests in area transportation planning, recreational enhancement, and economic development.