City

$4 million to improve pedestrian safety + connect communities in Chattanooga

The US Department of Transportation has granted the City of Chattanooga two federal grants that will be used to study and design pedestrian-friendly infrastructure that will connect more areas of the city together.

March 15, 2024 • 
Haley Bartlett
The road system heading into downtown from the highway with a flowering tree.

Chattanooga has secured more funds for ongoing research on increasing pedestrian-friendly avenues.

Photo by NOOGAtoday

The City of Chattanooga will use two federal grants from the US Department of Transportation to focus on pedestrian safety + overall connectivity within the city.

With a combined amount of $4 million, there will be two separate plans on how to address the overall concern on how walkable and pedestrian-friendly the streets in Chattanooga are.

“We can’t have One Chattanooga when our neighborhoods are literally disconnected and inaccessible to each other, or when people don’t feel safe crossing the street,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly.

Reconnecting Communities & Neighborhoods

This federal program awarded the city a $2 million planning grant for a community-led reconnection of the Westside neighborhood, identified in the Westside Evolves project.

According to the project summary (page 123 of the awards fact sheet), the key issue addressed will be the isolation induced by US-27 and Riverfront Parkway. The highlights include:

  • Conduction of feasibility studies and preliminary design work
  • Focus on extending West 12th Street and Grove Street + broad site-wide street improvements like safety features
  • Implementation of an over 10-year road map to connect the neighborhood to the opportunities of the Downtown and Riverfront districts

Note: The estimated total cost of this plan is $2.5 million.

A photo of the "Health Corridor " in Chattanooga (aka East 3rd Street) showing the hospital buildings.

Data collections will help identify what these focus areas need to improve pedestrian safety.

Photo by NOOGAtoday

Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART)

With another $2 million given through this federal grant, Chattanooga has entered Stage 1, which will allow for the implementation of the “connected vehicles” strategy over the course of 18 months. During this time, the city will:

  • Employ Cellular Vehicle to Everything technology (known as C2VX)
  • Focus on the 3rd Street “Health” Corridor (between Siskin Drive and Glenwood Drive)
  • Use findings to improve safety at mid-block crossings for pedestrians, bicyclists, and others not in vehicles
  • Collaborate with UTC, Audi, Leidos, Qualcomm, Harman, and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America

Note: All grant recipients have an opportunity to apply for Stage 2 (up to another $15 million in funding + 36 months).