The Fort Oglethorpe Downtown Development Authority and the city's Refresh Committee are moving forward with plans to revamp LaFayette Road, the entryway into the Chickamauga Battlefield.
The related Master Plan Report accepted by the city will change the entire look of the road in an attempt to attract motorists to stop. The plan calls for trees to line the roadway on both sides and added grass on the side of the road as well as medians, ornamental lighting on the sidewalks and shared bike lanes all the way down LaFayette Road.
The DDA anticipates receiving funding for phases 1 and 2 this year and beginning the projects in 2014. The group is applying through ARC for grant funding administered through the Georgia Department of Transportation.
"Our whole goal is to make sure the area looks good," said Fort Oglethorpe DDA Chairman Jeff Epperson in regards to the Refresh Committee, of which he is also a member. "We want to make sure LaFayette Road looks nice to encourage people to locate their business here."
Epperson owns Classic Blades on LaFayette Road and said the area is "a great place to live, work and play."
"We want the park to look like it extends down LaFayette Road," he said. "We will create what we call pocket parks. One park will be off Thomas Road near Classic Blades."
In future phases, Epperson said the DDA would like to put utilities underground to add even more appeal to the corridor.
"Through training in West Virginia we learned how a city takes advantage of being the corridor to a national park," he said of his fellow DDA members: Ron Davis, Derek Rogers, Fort Oglethorpe Councilman Louis Hamm, Fort Oglethorpe interim City Manager Harold Silcox and Park Place Restaurant co-owner Karen Goodlet. "The essence is how does the park help us as an area? It logically made sense to develop a plan for the area. We don't want empty buildings. Our job is to stimulate this area."