Tucker awarded grant for trail to connect downtown, Northlake
City of Tucker officials announced Jan. 20 that they secured a grant from the federal government to fund part of a proposed three-mile trail connecting downtown Tucker to the Northlake retail district.
According to city officials, the trail would still require additional funding and approval from city of Tucker. Tucker-Northlake Community Improvement District (CID) is also contributing funds.
“Anytime your city is awarded this kind of grant, it’s a big deal,” said Mayor Frank Auman. “This trail was first proposed back in 2005 by the Atlanta Regional Commission’s (ARC) Livable Centers Initiative (LCI) and has been included in subsequent LCI updates. It’s a project that, when the time comes, our council will look forward to gathering public input and making a decision on how to proceed.”
City officials said plans call for the trail—which will be a predominantly off-road greenway with some side path segments—to originate at the site of the future Tucker Town Green in downtown Tucker and stretch all the way to Northlake Mall.
Plans also call for a connection to the anticipated Top End I-285 Regional Trail. City officials said the connection will give the trail access to Peachtree Creek Greenway, PATH 400, Silver Comet Trail, and other local trail segments.
According to a press release from Tucker officials, preliminary engineering could begin in 2022 with right-of-way acquisition beginning in 2023. City officials said parties involved would be eligible to apply for federal funding for future phases of the project.
The press release states that the federal government is contributing nearly $1.5 million in funding for the proposed project with almost $1 million of that being dedicated to right-of-way acquisition. City of Tucker would have to commit to just over $350,000, while the Tucker-Northlake CID has agreed to put up $50,000 toward engineering.
City officials said the funding plans have been worked on since 2019, when city and CID officials applied to ARC for federal funds for this project.
“With Council approval, this project will help close the gaps between residential and commercial property in Tucker and provide an opportunity for regional connectivity,” said Tucker-Northlake CID Executive Director Matthew Lee. “From the pedestrian bridge over Fellowship Road to the shared use path across I-285 at Northlake Parkway, the proposed Tucker-Northlake Trail will bring people together in ways that haven’t been available.”
The Tucker-Northlake Trail route is a part of city of Tucker’s 2018 Trail Master Plan, which lays out a network of more than 30 miles of multi-use trails throughout the City of Tucker. The Trail Master Plan can be viewed online at https://www.tuckerga.gov/plans_and_studies/trail_master_plan.php
