CID Receives 700K for New Trail

The Lilburn Community Improvement District’s desire to revitalize the Highway 29 corridor will soon start jumping off the drawing board.

The CID’s executive director said Thursday morning that it has been awarded $700,000 in grant money to build a multi-use pedestrian trail that will connect existing trails and create a pathway network encircling the heart of Greater Lilburn.

The , would loop from the Killian Hill Road terminus of the City of Lilburn’s to Bryson Park, the planned multi-use county park on Lawrenceville Highway that is currently under construction. Eventually, the trail will connect with on Rockbridge Road.

“This meets our overall objective of creating a walkable community,” Lilburn CID Executive Director Gerald McDowell said.

The transportation enhancement grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation is the first funding attracted by the CID’s since recently being to be part of its Livable Communities Initiative program. LCI designation, says McDowell, allows the CID to be more competitive in attracting funding through its corridor study.

“The Highway 29 Corridor Study provides the Lilburn CID and Greater Lilburn a playbook to help us navigate the creation of a ‘Boulevard of Opportunity,’” McDowell said. “This award is consistent with our study and the five-year CID strategic plan for revitalization and re-development.”

McDowell said he will meet with GDOT officials in the next couple of week to outline the next steps.