Spencer Accepting Plans For Bike And Pedestrian Trails

The city of Spencer is in the works of creating plans for public bike and pedestrian trails.

The city received a state grant for community transport planning in economically distressed communities. Center Hill Rural Planning Coordinator Virginia Alexander said proposal submissions from consultants are due this week.

“They are going to be looking at a planning document that the end result will be a document that shows kind of where they need to improve their connectivities,” Alexander said. “Where do they need crosswalks. Where do they need to add sidewalks.”

Alexander said the city wants to connect trails from the downtown square to Highway 111. Alexander said the city only reached out to consultants certified with TDOT.

“We are going to be taking the request for qualifications, or proposals rather, to kind of tell us what they can do with the grant,” Alexander said. “So, the consultants we have reached out to should be sending in their proposals this week.

The grant is through TDOT’s Rural Planning Initiative and is worth up to $25,000.  Alexander said creating the plans will not cost Spencer or Van Buren any money.