With a waning winter crispness in the air and the sun ablaze in a blue sky, dignitaries and citizens alike recently came together to celebrate the groundbreaking for The Hampline, the 2-mile pedestrian and bike connector between the western terminus of the
Shelby Farms Park Greenline and
Overton Park’s east end.
“This is just part of a continuing effort to make Memphis a better city and more livable city,” said Senator Steve Cohen, standing at a podium as cars raced by on adjacent Sam Cooper Boulveard at East Parkway. “To attract the type of young people, and to keep the type of young people that we need to make this a vibrant city in the 21st century, you have to have activities that young people like to do.”
The $4.5 million for the project came from several sources including FedEx, $2.3 million from the city through federal funds from the Congestion, Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Transportation Grant, $839,000 from local and national grants, and $383,000 from local foundations, corporations and other private donors including the
Hyde Family Foundation. More than $75,000 was raised through
IOBY, the crowd-resourcing platform for citizen-led neighbor-funded projects.
Memphis was the 500th city to become a
Complete Streets City, Mayor A C Wharton told the crowd, adding, “We’re now quickly hitting the national scale on a place with just a good quality of life, and plenty of choice as to how you get about.”
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