Map were splayed across a table at the Adrian Shuford YMCA on Tuesday afternoon, as joggers and other fitness enthusiasts stopped for their afternoon workout.

    The Conover Planning Department organized the meeting with Greenways, Inc., which is helping the city become more pedestrian friendly.

    The work will be paid for with $20,000 grant funding from the North Carolina Department of Transportation with $5,000 being spent of the city's money.

    

   "We want a document that will be a comprehensive bike and pedestrian plan that will help more in the future for planning," Planning Director Lance Hight said.

    He said a preliminary plan will be finished in April and the plan should pass the eyes of the DOT and Conover's City Council over the summer.

    Right now, though, the city is soliciting information from citizens about possible improvements to amenities throughout the city. A survey is available on Conover's Web site at www.ci.conover.nc.us.

    Matt Hayes, a senior project manager and planner with Greenways, Inc., said he spent Tuesday afternoon looking at the different thoroughfares in the city.

    "We saw a lot of great facilities out there and we saw some of those with gaps," he said. "It's just going to be a matter of making this into a connected system."

    Throughout the meeting at the Conover YMCA, blue and green highlighters circulated the table with local runners telling  the group about their struggles.

    Hayes said there two areas that he liked were Thornburg Drive and to some extent Wal-Mart, but throughout the city he said there are gaps in the sidewalks.

    He said that throughout the day he was looking for pedestrians walking, but he said the rainy weather probably discouraged them from the outdoor contact.

    He said eventually he'd like to see greenways along stream buffers and easements for transportation that make it safer for the pedestrian.

    "Really, (a greenway) is a multi-functional trail system," he said.