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Staff outlines three route options to extend Talent Farm Greenway; commissioners favor most direct creek-side alignment
Summary
City engineering presented three alternatives to extend the Talent Farm Greenway toward Tucker Road, varying by cost and bridge crossings. Staff recommended the most direct creek-side route; commissioners asked for further outreach on easements and floodplain design considerations.
City engineering staff presented three alternates to extend the Talent Farm Greenway from the dog park toward Tucker Road, with differing bridge and easement implications and estimated costs.
The options: Alternate A follows the creek and an existing sanitary-sewer easement, includes two short bridge crossings and was estimated at about $1.65 million. Alternate B would attempt to reuse an older Tucker Road bridge alignment but requires a new bridge because TDOT is removing the existing structure; staff estimated that option at about $2.0 million and noted it is the most expensive and therefore a less-preferred choice. Alternate C follows a slightly different alignment that reduces one bridge, was estimated at about $1.55 million, and sits closest to Asher Village and existing neighborhood connections.
Staff recommendation and concerns: Staff said Alternate A is the most direct connection from Tucker Road to the existing greenway and would add roughly 5,000 linear feet of multiuse trail. Commissioners expressed interest in Alternate A but asked staff to confirm property‑owner easements (staff said land ownership along parts of the route is concentrated among a small number of owners) and to address floodplain constraints. Engineering said the route follows low-elevation creekside corridor; design will need to avoid increasing flood elevations and may require cut sections or boardwalks in places.
Accessibility and emergency access: Staff recommended a 12-foot concrete trail (wider than some existing segments) to support two-way uses and allow limited emergency-vehicle or maintenance access, and said proposed new bridges would be built to carry small service vehicles. Commissioners asked about lighting; staff noted a past city decision to avoid continuous lighting on greenways to discourage lone-night use, but said running conduit for future lighting or considering solar lights are options for later.
