TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The Tallahassee Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) voted unanimously on Thursday to spend $5 million to install a wide walking trail, sidewalks on both sides of the street and roadside trees on S Meridian Street. <\/p>\n
The CRA is overseen by the city commissioners and mayor, though it\u2019s legally a separate entity from the City of Tallahassee. Each commissioner and the mayor voted for the project.<\/p>\n
Design will start soon, and construction is expected from Fall of 2028 to Fall of 2029. Mayor Pro Tem Dianne Williams-Cox, the chair of the CRA, said this project is an example of more momentum on Tallahassee\u2019s Southside.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see this happening and I see people pushing strollers and wheelchairs on the sidewalk. I think it\u2019s going to be awesome to be able to have sidewalks on both sides,\u201d Williams-Cox said.<\/p>\n
Renderings presented at the CRA meeting show a 10-foot-wide walking trail, numerous trees lining the street, and a sidewalk on both sides of the street. Right now, the sidewalk is only on one side.<\/p>\n
\u201dBut now we have great energy and a lot of investment taking place on the Southside and we\u2019re really glad to be a part of it,” Williams-Cox said.<\/p>\n
The project will encompass a half mile from Orange Ave E up to E Magnolia Drive. The roadside ditches, which multiple commissioners noted as dangerous, would also be enclosed.<\/p>\n
Engineers acknowledged the price tag is steep, but they say the outcome will be worth it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big price tag that\u2019s not lost on us, but we do really truly feel that this project is transformative. It\u2019s timeless and this will offer a new change to our built environment,\u201d said Jenna Duncan, a special projects manager for the City of Tallahassee.<\/p>\n
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