The City of Spring Hill’s first wave of Neighborhood Sidewalk Program projects have been completed, and residents are encouraged to submit new projects for consideration for the upcoming project cycle.
The Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen last year identified a need for the program to allow quick response to requests for multi-modal projects, which traditionally can take a long time to prioritize within a standard capital improvement construction program due to their short length, disconnected nature, and perceptions related to public support.
The Neighborhood Sidewalk Program provides a separately funded annual budget allotment of $50,000 specifically for small-scale projects, including sidewalks and multi-use trails, which are based on the availability of funding. Each must meet specific project criteria. The main criteria and goals of the program are to provide improved safety; pedestrian mobility; partnership with neighborhoods to complete projects; and improved connectivity to schools, park and recreation facilities, multiple land uses, and transit options.
[quote font_size=”16″ bgcolor=”#” color=”#” bcolor=”#” arrow=”yes”]“We sought to put in place a program that would help us toward our goal of truly becoming a more walkable community,” said Alderman Jonathan Duda, who proposed the program and wrote the introduction to the policy. “Our first few projects have been completed. I’d say the program has definitely been a success.”[/quote]
The 2014-2015 fiscal year Neighborhood Sidewalk Program projects included:
[icon size=”16″ icon_bg_color=”#” icon_bg_colorh=”#” icon_bd_color=”#” icon_bd_colorh=”#” square_radius=”0″ type=”vector” icon_color=”#e28f2f” icon_color_hover=”#” icon=”momizat-icon-stop2″]A pedestrian crossing walkway installed across Campbell Station Parkway allowing residents of The Highlands at Campbell Station to safely walk across the street to the swimming pool and other neighborhood amenities.
[icon size=”16″ icon_bg_color=”#” icon_bg_colorh=”#” icon_bd_color=”#” icon_bd_colorh=”#” square_radius=”0″ type=”vector” icon_color=”#e28f2f” icon_color_hover=”#” icon=”momizat-icon-stop2″]A section of sidewalk was added across from the entrance to the Peter Jenkins Walking Trail within the Wyngate Estates neighborhood along Burgess Lane, and an entry area was added to an existing sidewalk across the street. The new section completes the sidewalks leading in and out of the neighborhood giving residents full access to walk safely to and from the trail.
[icon size=”16″ icon_bg_color=”#” icon_bg_colorh=”#” icon_bd_color=”#” icon_bd_colorh=”#” square_radius=”0″ type=”vector” icon_color=”#e28f2f” icon_color_hover=”#” icon=”momizat-icon-stop2″]A sidewalk gap was filled within the Crowne Pointe neighborhood, along New Port Royal Road, connecting this road to Campbell Station Parkway via Stewart Campbell Pointe. A new crosswalk also was added.
For the 2015-16 fiscal year:
Work will begin soon on an additional sidewalk project that will be built in two phases within the Benevento neighborhood. It will provide a neighborhood sidewalk connection for children to safely walk from Benevento to Allendale Elementary School along Hurt Road.
The three completed projects total about $50,000, and the Benevento projects will total roughly an additional $50,000 more, completing the 2014 and 2015 sidewalk projects.
[quote font_size=”16″ bgcolor=”#” color=”#” bcolor=”#” arrow=”yes”]“Walking is a healthy activity, a way to meet your neighbors, an environmentally conscious form of transportation, and the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office has long highlighted the important health benefits of walking as a means of combating diabetes, obesity, and other diseases,” said Mayor Rick Graham, whose Fitbit measures his own walking steps each day.[/quote]
“And what better way to encourage walking than by building sidewalks. We want our residents to be able to get out and enjoy their neighborhoods and walk throughout the City and feel safe doing so. These Neighborhood Sidewalk Projects make critical safety connections to key pedestrian networks and add to our city’s quality of life. I encourage all residents to submit the
sidewalk projects you feel are needed in your neighborhoods.”
Homeowner associations, neighborhood groups and individuals are encouraged to submit requests for sidewalk or multi-use trail projects to be installed in their neighborhood for the 2016-17 budget cycle. To do so, neighborhoods must demonstrate support for the proposed project by submitting a petition to Public Works for verification. Projects will be scored according to their safety need and ability to connect to other pedestrian networks. These projects require neighborhoods to share in the cost of the project with the City.
For questions and an application to submit sidewalk project requests, contact Amanda Knobloch at City Hall at [email protected] or (931) 486-2252, ext. 204. The application must be turned in to Mrs. Knobloch by noon Sept. 18. The application also can be printed from our website.
All details on the City of Spring Hill Neighborhood Sidewalk Program and related documents are available at
http://www.springhilltn.org/index.aspx?nid=515.
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