Prattville Making Improvements To Promote Travel By Foot
The City of Prattville has finished and made plans for multiple projects to promote traveling by foot.
Bill Gillespie, Prattville Mayor, said they saw a need for sidewalk and bridge improvements so residents can walk, bike, and run safely around the city.
“Several years ago as I was going out to Prattville East, I noticed that someone was heading out Prattville east as well, but they were pedestrian,” Gillespie said. “They were actually hanging on to the guard rail as they were going across. Its about a 30 foot, one step down to the creek bed.”
This week they began construction on a new pedestrian bridge over Pine Creek on East Main Street.
“Main street is like a lot of small towns and big towns across the country, its pretty busy,” Gillespie said. “So we want to make certain our citizens are able to get out and get some exercise if they can or want to.”
This will allow residents of nearby neighborhoods to get outside and walk to downtown Prattville. They have plans to build a hanging bridge later this year on Bridge Street near the Prattville Lake Dam. The city hopes that residents will take time to notice the little things the Fountain City has to offer, and get Prattville back to its roots.
“Sometimes, we have a very fast paced life, and we need to slow it down a notch to really sit back and hear the water, listen to the birds, and smell the roses,” Gillespie said.
Money being used for these projects is a combination of in-house dollars and federal grants.
