ARC Awards $70,000 to Norcross Projects

The Atlanta Regional Commission's Livable Centers Initiatve awarded $654,000 last week to nine metro-area communities, including the city of Norcross and the Gwinnett Village CID.

The LCI grants aim to help create new plans for quality growth and develop innovative policies that support more vibrant, connected communities, according to a news release. While the top recipients for the grants are DeKalb County for the Medline Regional Activity Center and the city of Newnan for a new town center, supplemental study funds were given to Norcross for $40,000 and Gwinnett Village for $30,000.

Norcross' grant money will be used toward a study for downtown railroad intersection improvements. A study to improve the walkability and road along Holcomb Bridge was suggested when the city's final Town Center Downtown Plan was unveiled in May.

The $30,000 given to the Gwinnett Village CID will go toward studying the feasibility and cost of a multi-use trail from Norcross to Lilburn. As a project the community improvement district has explained in its Bike/Ped Study, the proposed path would be along Indian Trail Road connecting the two cities.

"This is the next step in moving it forward," said Joel Wascher, the communications director for the CID.

“LCI has helped communities across metro Atlanta re-tool and redesign over the years, creating more places that attract residents and businesses alike,” ARC Chairman Tad Leithead said in the release. “Our local government partners have used these grants to the benefit of their communities and the entire region.”

Since its inception in 1999, LCI has assisted 111 communities with more than $154 million in planning and implementation grants to devise strategies that reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality by better connecting homes, shops and offices, according to the release. LCI communities cover only 5 percent of the region’s land area, but they contain 7 percent of its residential development, 24 percent of its commercial development and 38 percent of its office development.

The LCI program is funded with federal transportation dollars. The grants fund 80 percent of the study, with the recipient making a 20 percent match.

See also:

• How Would You Solve the Truck-Railroad Issue at Holcomb Bridge?
• Norcross Tweaks Final Town Center Plan
• Gwinnett Village CID Outlines Top Projects in Bike/Ped Study

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