The long-awaited expansion of Greenville's popular trolley system is set to begin Thursday with two new trolleys bringing service to the Village of West Greenville and the Augusta Road and Cleveland Park areas.

The trolley buses the city invested in this year will also make way for greater reach of the fare-free service into the North Main community and new connections with Overbrook and Park Avenue.

The addition of two new trolleys to the two already in operation downtown required a re-drawing of the trolley map that created routes that each have a distinct brand — Heart of Main, Top of Main, Augusta and Arts West.

The times of operation will remain the same — Thursdays and Fridays 6 to 11 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sundays 1 to 8 p.m.

The trolley system has evolved over the years, from experiment to tourist attraction and, to some degree, an alternative means of public transportation.

In 2006, the Greenville Drive bought trolleys as a way to transport fans to and from County Square as the organization sought a solution to parking in a dense urban environment.

The novelty spread as city public works employees began to drive the trolleys on Main Street on days when the baseball team wasn't playing.

Soon, the trolleys became a downtown attraction in and of themselves.

Three years ago, the system was handed over to city-operated Greenlink, the brand name for the Greenville Transit Authority.

Last year, 118,000 passengers used the system, Greenlink marketing director Nicole McAden said, which was 10,000 more users than the bus system's most popular fare-based route.

The city spent $137,000 of hospitality tax revenue this year to buy the new trolleys.

The city uses a mix of public funds, the largest portion being hospitality tax money, to fund the trolley system, which means they must serve tourism-related travel.

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Trolley service on the Top of Main route will expand through the North Main community and pass by The Community Tap on Mohawk Drive and head down Stone Avenue before turning right onto East Park Avenue, an intersection where Stone Pizza Company opened earlier this year.

The restaurant picked its location in the former Park Avenue Pub partly to connect with the budding Overbrook community nearby. Now, co-owner Wayne Gathings said, the restaurant connects with the larger circuit of downtown and promises to help business.

"We have a lot of families that can walk, ride their golf carts or just take a short drive to our location," he said. "But now being one of many businesses on the trolley route, it just makes it easier for our community to venture out in a fun and safe way."

The use of the trolley as residential transportation has been an unforeseen development. When the trolleys first operated on Main Street, they needed a place to turn around, and the route through Earle Street served that purpose.

The North Main community embraced the route, as did residents of the low-income Towers East housing development. They use the trolleys for transportation when service is available.

The success led other neighborhoods to request trolleys.

The new Arts West route will connect downtown with the Village of West Greenville, which has established itself as a destination for arts, restaurants and other creative businesses.

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Darin Gehrke, a potter who operates a ceramics gallery in the district, said that the service should help bring more downtown tourists, particularly during the monthly "First Fridays" open gallery event.

However, he said the trolleys will help residents who don't have vehicles to make it downtown, allowing them to do grocery shopping with free transportation.

The Arts West route extends to serve residents along West Washington and Mulberry Street and creates full-time access to the Heritage Green cultural campus.

"For people in the neighborhood who don't have transportation, it could be a benefit for them, and they shouldn't be excluded," Gehrke said.

The Augusta route serves the Augusta Street commercial corridor, then travels through the neighborhoods on the eastern side and through Cleveland Park to the Greenville Zoo.

More:Cleveland Park a 'joyland for children'

City leaders have mentioned that the trolley's path through the park could help relieve ongoing parking pressures.

Jay Anthony, president of the Cleveland Forest Neighborhood Association, said that the community welcomes any relief, though neighbors are still hoping for a larger plan.

“We trust that the trolleys will come through without disruption to the neighborhood," Anthony said. “We still think the park needs a bigger solution."

The Heart of Main route runs a traditional course from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena to the Drive Stadium and County Square.

That route and the Top of Main will run year-round.

The Arts West and Augusta routes will operate between May and October.

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