It was early February when leaders from Healthy Savannah and Bike Walk Savannah took to Savannah City Hall to celebrate approval of a construction contract for Tide to Town's next phase.
Monday those leaders gathered again on Savannah's east side for a groundbreaking to commemorate the start of construction on Truman Linear Park Trail Phase 2b, set to stretch from 52nd Street to DeRenne Avenue.
"Once complete, this section will provide a safe, separated path for people biking, walking, rolling from 52nd Street to DeRenne Avenue," said Bike Walk Savannah Executive Director Caila Brown, "creating an accessible connecting point for residents east of Truman Parkway, which really hasn't been done before."
Monday's event featured various city leaders including Mayor Van Johnson, the area's alderwoman Linda Wilder Bryan and City Manager Jay Melder. Over 50 people, from mobility advocates to city staff, attended the event.
Once completed, this new phase will connect Police Memorial Trail (From Daffin Park to 52nd Street) to Truman Linear Park Trail Phase 2a (from DeRenne to Lake Mayer). The connection will create about seven miles of continuous bike and walking trail from Lake Mayer to Daffin Park.
The new stretch will be constructed by Newnan-based JHC Corporation at a cost of $8.2 million. The total project budget is $18.8 million, with $10 million planned for the next five years from the hotel-motel tax.
"This project was a dream until we got some dedicated funding," Melder said.
This new phase will feature an improved crossing for the 52nd Street bridge over Truman Parkway, which will add a new bike lane on the bridge's north side. Project manager Tina Bockhold said the goal is for construction to be completed within two years.
Tom Bullock, Healthy Savannah's vice chairman, said he is excited for the improved bridge crossing because it is "dangerous." Bullock said he uses the Lake Mayer to DeRenne stretch for exercise and sometimes commutes, and he plans to use future connections, he said.
"This next phase and subsequent phases I hope to use to commute from where I live on the south side, all the way to downtown Savannah," Bullock said.
The final Tide to Town trail will comprise a 30-mile loop around the entirety of Savannah. Johnson said it will be the first connection of bikeable, walkable paths from the south side to downtown in the city's history.
Savannah City Council approved at its meeting last Thursday a contract for equitable growth planning for the project. The contract will go toward public engagement on the westside portions of the trail to ensure residents and businesses on those future trail segments will be allowed to grow in place.
Melder said he hopes to think ambitiously about connectivity across the region.
"Let's take this opportunity to think bigger. Let's not stop at Tide to Town," Melder said. "How about Bay Street to the beach, how about Bonaventure to Bloomingdale, how about Pooler to the Daffin Park pool? Let's connect our entire region with the pathways and the infrastructure we know we need for our future."
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