Our first batch of seeds has been planted!
Adam Tetzlaff
Planted this seed
Browntown Road, Red Bank, Tennessee 37415, United States
One of the prettiest bike rides in Chattanooga is on Browntown road. The views of Signal Mountain are amazing and the twists and turn make the road so much fun to ride.
Gardeners
Roots~$400,000
We don't own the land. This is the big one. 13 acres of private ridgeline, and every grant on the list needs the land to be publicly or nonprofit owned first. The whole project hinges on the current owner being willing to donate, sell, or grant an easement. No yes from them, no trail. Finding and reaching the owner. Step one is a parcel lookup to figure out who holds it, then an actual conversation. They may be local, may be an estate, may be a holding company. We won't know the appetite for donating until we ask. Jurisdiction is unclear. The ridge sits near the Red Bank, Chattanooga, and unincorporated Hamilton County lines. Which one it falls in decides who our government partner is and which grants we're eligible for. That has to be pinned down early. Grants need a government or nonprofit applicant. As residents, we likely can't apply directly. We need the City or a 501(c)(3) land trust to carry the application, which means winning over people who aren't us. The terrain. It's a ridge, not a flat field. Steep grade and rock mean switchbacks, drainage work, and possibly machine time on the tough sections, all of which cost more than easy tread. Liability and long-term upkeep. A public trail needs an owner of record for liability and a plan for ongoing maintenance. Grants build the trail. They don't mow it in year three. We need a steward, likely a volunteer group like SORBA, committed for the long haul. Neighbors. Some adjacent homeowners will love it. Some will worry about parking, traffic, and strangers near their property. Getting them on board early is easier than fighting them later. Timeline. Godsey took years from idea to ribbon-cutting. Grant cycles are annual, land deals are slow, and volunteer builds happen on weekends so we know this isn't an easy ask.
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