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Suffolk Parks and Recreation Department conducts an open house-style public hearing next month to present proposed trail alignments for the 3C and West segment portions of the Suffolk Seaboard Coastline Trail. 

The meeting is from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, at the East Suffolk Recreation Center, 138 South 6th St. 

The open-house style meeting provides those attending the flexibility to join anytime during the two-hour period to share their input on the proposed trail alignments without a need for a formal presentation, according to a department news release. Project concept plans, design plans, display boards, information regarding the tentative project schedule, environmental documentation, and informational brochures will be available for public review. 

City staff and design personnel will be available during this time to answer questions and offer insights.

The Seaboard Coastline Trail is a multi-modal trail planned along the abandoned Seaboard Coastline rail corridor. The original master-planned trail extends from downtown Suffolk in a northeasterly direction toward the Suffolk/Chesapeake City line, the release states. 

Ultimately, the trail will be part of the planned multi-city 41-mile-long South Hampton Roads Trail that will link the cities of Suffolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Virginia Beach. Officials said a typical trail section will consist of a 10-foot wide asphalt path with a two-foot wide gravel shoulder.

Segment 3C is a 2.7-mile segment from Nansemond River High School to the northern terminus of Segment 3B, about 1.3 miles east of the U.S. 58 overpass at Nansemond Parkway. Segment West will extend the existing trail an additional 3.3 miles from the end of Prentis Street to Kenyon Road. 

For those unable to attend the public hearing, comments may be submitted by mail or email to the Department of Parks and Recreation, Attention: Christy Fisher, 134 South 6th St., Suffolk, VA 23434, or cfisher@suffolkva.us.