Gadsden will receive an infusion of nearly $3 million in federal money to facilitate what officials say will eventually be a complete loop around the city’s urban core.
The city learned last week that it will be the only entity in Alabama to share in $254,685,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program, Land and Water Conservation Fund.
It will use that $2,996,000 to develop the Downtown Gadsden Greenway, which is described in a press release as “an urban, multi-use nature trail built on an old railroad bed that runs parallel to Tuscaloosa Avenue and connects to the Black Creek Trail System .”
Connecting Noccalula Falls, the route’s highest access point, to downtown is a key component of “The Natural City” component of GROW Gadsden, the new city’s comprehensive master plan approved earlier this year.
“This will be a game-changer for Gadsden,” Mayor Craig Ford said in the release.
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The grant will cover about half of the project’s estimated cost of $5.99 million.
According to the release, when completed, the Greenway will feature an 8-foot-wide asphalt trail, two trailhead facilities with parking areas, facilities along the route, signage, kiosks, bridge safety reinforcement, removable safety posts, safety pedestals and two wooden overlooks and rest areas.
Sidewalks are planned in adjacent neighborhoods and pedestrian lighting will be installed.
According to the release, the city plans to purchase additional property along Black Creek in the future to connect the greenway to the James D. Martin Wildlife Park behind the Gadsden Mall. There are also plans to develop a pedestrian bridge over the Coosa River, which would connect Noccalula Falls to East Gadsden.
City officials say the expanded trails will provide opportunities for active transportation, outdoor recreation and pedestrian mobility.
The routes, according to the release, will also allow residents to “connect with diverse ecosystems, waterways, neighborhoods, sports parks, schools, public transportation facilities, community centers, grocery stores and healthcare services.”
Ford is part of the City Parks Alliance’s Mayors for Parks initiative, which advocates for urban green spaces and the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program.
He thanked his chief of staff, Brett Johnson, and Kenneth Boswell, director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, for their work and support of the project and grant.
Launched in 2014, the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership is tasked with providing grant funds for community-sponsored park projects in underserved urban areas with more than 30,000 residents who do not have direct access to outdoor recreation.
“Everyone deserves to experience the restorative power of nature, but increasing access to outdoor public spaces has not always generated the investment and drive needed to make an impact,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement press release from the ministry.
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Grants are dollar-for-dollar and cover up to 50% of total project costs.
This is the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership’s largest investment ever, following a record number of applications, and will fund 54 projects in 24 states.
Grants range from $15 million for projects in Los Angeles County and West Sacramento, California, Rock Hill, South Carolina and Washington, DC; up to $390,000 for a project in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
Gadsden’s grant was the 32i.e largest of the 54 issued. California received funding for the most projects, fourteen, followed by Texas with five and Florida and Ohio with four each.
Other states receiving money include Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington.
This article originally appeared in The Gadsden Times: Gadsden gets nearly $3 million to connect Black Creek Trail System to downtown
