The City of Birmingham, Alabama received a $10 million U.S Department of Transportation,Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to partially finance a bicycle and pedestrian trail through the city.
This trail is part of a larger planned system, the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System, created with the input of over 3,000 residents of Jefferson County.
Thanks to the TIGER grant, the trail will connect residents to some of the city’s Civil Rights Heritage Sites, as well as provide options for physical activity and access to jobs, schools, and public transportation. When completed in 2014, the trail will span 29-miles and link 21 communities.
Part of an effort to include neighborhoods in ongoing downtown revitalization, Mayor William Bell said, “It will build trails that are walkable and trails that will allow folks in our community to get out and really experience the outdoors like they have never done before. “The ground breaking was held this week in a Birmingham neighborhood known as Dynamite Hill, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of 1963 bombings that took place during the Civil Rights Movement.
The Partnership for Sustainable Communities works with communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to create more housing and transportation choices. If you want to see more projects like this, ask Congress to fund these programs today.