The city of Fort Oglethorpe has a 54 out of 100 walkability score, according to Walk Score, which measures how easy it is for residents to get around by foot in a specific area. But the final stages of renovations downtown may help this score.
The latest improvement, a sidewalk to be located along Battlefield Parkway in front of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School, was unanimously approved by both the Catoosa County Board of Education and the Fort Oglethorpe City Council.
The city is working with the Georgia Department of Transportation on the $625,000 project to create a multipurpose 10-foot-wide sidewalk along three-quarters-of-a-mile on Battlefield Parkway.
The new path will tie in with existing ones in front of the high school and up along the football field toward O'Charley's and down to the canoe launch, completing a stretch of sidewalks essentially from Barnhardt Circle to West Chickamauga Creek.
"We have plans to [finish] this by June of this year," said Public Works Director Jeff Long.
As part of the Catoosa County Joint Comprehensive Plan 2011-2031, the city has committed to adopting pedestrian standards with public sidewalk and trail networks to enhance the connectivity within the area. In 2011, the city received a federal grant of $500,000 for the sidewalk project.
Long said the county has been working with GDOT for nearly a year, going back and forth on priorities to get this finished. "We've been battling," he said. "This is one of the final steps through this hurdle."
Email Sabrina Bodon at sbodon@timesfreepress.com