The BLVD is a grassroots organization working under a nonprofit called ELLA Library and is seeking to improve safety, transportation, aesthetics, and business along the Rossville Blvd corridor.
The passage begins at the I-24 overpass and continues 2.2 miles south to the Georgia State Line. The BLVD plans to address issues identified in a Chattanooga Regional Planning Agency study conducted in 2004, which outlines the need for economic development, lower crime rates, pedestrian safety improvements, and beautification.
The Rossville Blvd. corridor dates to 1907 and serves as a major connector facilitating transportation and commerce between Chattanooga and North Georgia’s surrounding communities. Living in the area for nearly a decade, BLVD’s Executive Director Heather Herweyer says despite the corridor’s significance to the local economy, the surrounding commercial district and neighborhoods have been largely neglected over the past several decades.
“Our community is better than how we are being represented. I know that our community has a lot of good bones. We have good parents who love their kids and value education. We want to honor the people who live here by giving them a pleasant environment to live in. We’re considered a food desert, and there’s no place to get your hair cut, buy clothes, no entertainment, and no community gathering spaces. Our community has great potential for beautification and revitalization,” said Herweyer.
Founded in January of 2018, The BLVD formed the Rossville BLVD Action and Planning Committee to understand the community’s needs better. Herweyer and co-director Jazmine LeBlanc distributed a survey and the feedback suggested that the group focus on economic development and beautification.
Last year, the organization helped install street lamps and painted several traffic control boxes. The BLVD will continue to develop new strategies for economic development and increased access to local foods this fall through community workshops facilitated by the EPA.
The Blvd is a group made up of neighbors, businesses, property owners, and passionate citizens. The nonprofit operates on grants and donations. For more info, please visit theblvdproject.com
Image courtesy Google Maps