It's official. We've made it through 2020! Last year was one full of ups and downs, and while it would be easy to say it was more downs than ups, there were a lot of positives. We’ve all learned some important lessons about not taking family, friends and & "normalcy" for granted. And we've all learned the importance of carrying on, and learning to work around difficulties like we've never faced before. That's certainly true for the City, and I want you to know that your City Council and staff have worked diligently throughout the pandemic to keep operations running, to keep the City thriving and to lay the groundwork for a successful future.
Pandemic or no pandemic, every organization needs a plan, and Tucker has plenty. They are what give method to what can seem like the madness of running a city. You might remember several years ago we completed a comprehensive plan called Tucker Tomorrow. It serves as the over-arching plan and our collective vision for Tucker - what it is and what it wants to become. With that in place, we developed a range of other plans over a couple of years, including a Transportation Master Plan, a Parks Master Plan, and others for Trails, Downtown and our Historic Resources. Believe it or not, those plans form the basis for our operations and our priorities. They drive our budgets and our short- and long-term work plans. We'll be talking more about them in the new year, but you can always view all our plans on our website at https://tuckerga.gov/plans.
Here are a few highlights that those plans will lead to in 2021:
Road Resurfacing
- We've allocated about $4 million to repave nearly 60 of the most poorly conditioned roads in the City. We're estimating around $2.7 million of that money will come from the SPLOST, and the balance from our general budget. This is the fourth year of our resurfacing program and the impact it's made is immeasurable.
Road Evaluation
- Three years ago, we had contractors take a hi-tech look at the condition of our roads, driving every single mile of public roadway in the City of Tucker. Over time, conditions change, and some roads deteriorate faster than others. So, in 2021, you'll see us do a new inventory of our roadways, helping us to understand which are in most desperate need of resurfacing.
Fitzgerald Park
- One of the newest additions to our Tucker parks, this is one in need of a lot of love. It also is one where we see a ton of opportunity. Our parks staff has been working with consultants on plans for a really exciting rehab of the old stadium. The $4.9 million project will be done in three phases, but you can look forward to new lighting, scoreboard and space for about 1,500 fans. It's going to create some exciting new uses for this park.
The first two items speak to the ongoing work we’re doing under our Transportation Master Plan. That plan, which was adopted by the City Council in 2019, lays out our short- and long-term priorities as a city for all modes of transportation, including the many safety improvements you’ve seen. The Fitzgerald Park stadium is an offshoot of our Parks Master Plan, also adopted in 2019, which looks at how best to offer our residents parks and recreation services, including the need for additional park space.
One other plan I'd like to highlight is our Trail Master Plan. You may remember the discussions – or you may have even been part of the planning process for the Trail Master Plan back in 2018. We hired consultants to look at how best to get people moving on foot or on bike throughout our city, connecting public spaces like the schools and the library to downtown, as well as to connect Tucker to surrounding cities and attractions. The result was an ambitious plan that will require long-term commitment to complete. Our team is working with property owners in the downtown area on a segment of path that would transform the downtown Tucker experience, and serve as a model for future trails. You should see dirt moved and have a great idea of what this project is going to look like as we move through 2021.
Above all, the biggest thing I’m looking forward to is getting us all together again. I have no idea when we'll be able to enjoy some of the traditions we cherish most, like Tucker Day or our Summer of Fun. There's just no way to know. But what I do know is that we can be doing our part right now to ensure this pandemic ends sooner rather than later. Please be diligent in wearing masks, socially distancing and doing things like frequent hand washing. This is no time to be complacent. If we can finish strong until the vaccine helps us put all this behind us once and for all, we'll be running, not walking, into a bright future.
