The city of Chattanooga and Hamilton County are submitting a joint application for a grant to fund the Tennessee Riverwalk extension from Ross’s Landing to Lookout Mountain.
“The 2011 Transportation Enhancement Program typically funds nontraditional enhancement projects like streetscaping or beautification as opposed to just building streets,” said Louis Prosterman, development coordinator and supervisor for Hamilton County, who helped develop the application to the Tennessee Department of Transportation. “The state sets aside as much as one percent of federal funding for nontraditional projects aimed toward giving people a way to get around without getting into a car.”
The city of Chattanooga has received enhancement grants for the past two years which, combined with private contributions, total $3.5 million. Those funds are already allocated to complete Phase 1 and 1A of the Tennessee Riverwalk Downtown Phasing Plan.
Trust for Public Land Director Rick Wood, left, and Louis Prosterman, development coordinator and supervisor for Hamilton County, work together with the city of Chattanooga to finish the application for the 2011 Transportation Enhancement Program grant.Phase 1 begins where the current Riverwalk ends at Ross’s Landing and will follow Main Street or 19th Street to a terminus at Finley Stadium. Section 1A will then pick up from Main Street or 19th Street and bring the path through Alstom property to the I-24 underpass at South Broad Street. The grant contract for these two sections requires that they be completed by December 2013.
“We’ve projected this last segment (Phase 2) at $2.8 million,” Prosterman said. “That’s based on a length of 7,600 linear feet.”
If the 2011 grant application is accepted, the grant funds, along with the required 20 percent match in private donations, will provide enough financial push for Phase 2 to connect the remainder of the Riverwalk from I-24 to the base of Lookout Mountain in St. Elmo.
A public hearing held at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency introduced the plan, including a tentative map of the proposed trail to local residents. There were no concerns raised about whether or not the path should be built. Instead, residents brainstormed ways for project designers Barge Wagoner Sumner and Cannon Inc., to make the extension even more convenient and a bigger asset to the community at large.
Attendees asked whether 10 feet, which is the standard width for the current Riverwalk, is wide enough or if it could be designed at 12 feet. A resident asked if the design could include light poles placed farther from the walkway for safety and whether a gravel shoulder could or should be included in the design. Suggestions were also offered for a pavilion and perhaps a boat launch near the Chattanooga Creek crossing and a yellow line down the center of the path to encourage everyone to leave room for fellow walkers and bikers.
Whether or not the city of Chattanooga receives the grant, funding is only the first step. After the money is set aside, the Trust for Public Land will be responsible for approaching landowners to obtain right of way for the Riverwalk.
“The great thing about Chattanooga is that we can point to success,” said Rick Wood, local director for the Trust for Public Land. “The current Riverwalk is successful. People love it. It’s well taken care of and well maintained. We’re just asking [landowners] to help us build more of what we already have.”
Wood said right of way for the project is 30 feet at the absolute minimum. with a preference for 50 to 100 feet. If the Trust for Public Land secures all the land, then planners can complete more specific design details.