Kayaks and paddles lie by the Sterchi Farm Canoe and Kayak Launch Point. (Staff file photo)About the Greenway
TPL’s Chattanooga Greenway Master Plan connects Chattanoogans from East Ridge’s Camp Jordan all the way to the Chattanooga riverfront and beyond.
Bette Sterchi Malone fondly remembers wandering through her grandfather’s 24 acres of farmland as a child. The barn on the property was in better shape back then, she said. So was the large silo adjacent to it.
Sold to the Trust for Public Land and the city of Chattanooga for the public’s enjoyment in 2003, the land remains largely vacant and features only a canoe launch and a paved trail. And, of course, the longstanding – but rapidly decaying – barn.
If you don’t know where the Sterchi Farm Trailhead is, Noel Durant isn’t surprised.
“There’s not a lot of reasons for people to come out to Sterchi Farm right now,” the Trust for Public Land program director said.
That’s exactly what he and the rest of the local TPL staff are hoping to change.
Just past Shallowford and Addison roads lies a portion of the new South Chickamauga Creek Greenway, Chattanooga’s walkable path connector to downtown. But that portion, which begins at Sterchi Farm, could serve a variety of purposes beyond just a trailhead, Durant said.
And now, with the South Chick portion of the Master Greenway Plan complete, that greenscape deserves some attention, he said.
During a public meeting on Sept. 13, TPL staff met with locals to request input on potential development plans. Over and over again, area residents requested visibility, both within the park itself in the form of lighting and signage outside the park to direct more people to the property.
“There are a lot of possibilities,” Sterchi Malone said of her former family lands. ” I’m just excited something is going to be done with it, and my grandfather would be as well.”
TPL, in partnership with Public Art Chattanooga, the Benwood Foundation and Chattanooga Woodworking Academy, does not yet know what will be decided for the space, said Durant. However, the goal is to keep the existing feel of the greenway, while adding attractions such as a restored barn or pavilion to attract a larger crowd to the area.
“We just want ideas to activate the spot,” he said. “It could be artwork, a dog park, a structure – whatever people believe will make this space more attractive. There are people in this community who haven’t had access to that kind of recreational space or that open green space, but it’s here.”
To voice your opinion or to get updates about future public planning sessions for the Sterchi Farm Trailhead, contact TPL’s Andrea Hamilton at 265-5229 or andrea.hamilton@tpl.org.