The Northwest Georgia Regional Commission wants to know if bicycle and pedestrian trails can help connect area towns to North Georgia natural treasures such as the Chickamauga Battlefield, Lula Lake Land Trust and Cloudland Canyon.
A request for proposals distributed by the NWGRC calls for a feasibility study of the area’s existing multi-use trails, their connections to parks and for the recommendation of trails, bike lanes or sidewalks to improve the quality of life and health for residents and attract tourists.
“We work on behalf of our local governments,” said NWGRC Director of Regional Planning Julianne Meadows. “And they have come to us and said they want to see some of these connections, that they want to highlight some of the resources in their communities. This is one way, I think, to be able to do that.”
Catoosa County, Fort Oglethorpe, Ringgold, Walker County, Rossville, Lookout Mountain, Ga., Chickamauga and Dade County are the areas identified as stakeholders in the project, which is being partially funded through a grant from the Lyndhurst Foundation.
Consultants have until May 9 to submit a proposal before the stakeholders get together to make a selection. From there, the selected consultant would work with the municipalities and formulate a draft study by this time next year.