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Parks commission wins $200,000 federal-state trails grant for universal-access trail; local donors add funds
Summary
The parks commission announced a $200,000 Recreational Trails Program grant and about $55,000 in local donations, and said a pending Georgia EPD grant decision in February could add about $235,000 to bring total project funding near $500,000 for a 1-mile accessible trail.
Diana Wilson, chair of the Chattahoochee Hills Parks Commission, told the council the commission has secured a $200,000 recreational trails grant to build the "Wheel Beautiful Universal Access Trail," a roughly 1-mile, universally accessible trail in New Riverlands Park with viewing platforms over the Chattahoochee River.
Wilson described in-kind and cash donations that lift the project above the grant award: Vulcan Materials volunteered 100 tons of aggregate, community groups and two parks commissioners pledged cash, and the commission has raised about $255,000 to date. She said a separate Georgia Environmental Protection Division grant application was submitted before a September 30 deadline and that the city will learn in February whether that award — about $235,000 if approved — will come through. "We will find out in February whether or not we received that grant," Wilson said.
With both grants and local support, Wilson said the project's total could reach nearly $500,000, largely through outside grant funding. Council members and staff praised the parks volunteers and noted related work to expand trails and parkland, including recent rezonings and land acquisitions that have added trail miles and acreage.
