By Anne Ruisi
Improvements are coming to Jemison Trail, including replacing the concrete walkways with asphalt, widening those paths and rerouting sections of the walkway along Shades Creek that tend to flood, a city official said.
Cost of the $2.7 million project is being shared by the city of Mountain Brook and the Friends of Jemison Park, said Shanda Williams, superintendent of parks and recreation for the city of Mountain Brook. The city is allocating $1.4 million over the next three years, and fundraising by the Friends has netted $1.2 million of its $1.4 million goal to match the city’s contribution, she said.
The 54-acre linear park is a greenway along Shades Creek used for walking, jogging, reading, bird watching and picnicking, according to the city’s website. Owls, hawks, raccoons and fox are among the animals in the area, as are abundant native plant species.
The 1-mile concrete trail along Mountain Brook Parkway connects with the Nature Trail and the Watkins Trace Trail. When finished, it will be 1.5 miles long.
“It’s a popular trail. More people are using it since COVID,” because they were isolated at home and wanted to get outdoors when they could, Williams said. So, it needs to be improved to accommodate heavier use.
The asphalt will be friendlier to runners; concrete is a harder surface, Williams said.
Trail width will be expanded from its current 5 feet, but the final width is to be determined. When finished, the trail will be ADA compliant.
Parking areas will be improved, with dedicated paths leading from the lots to the trails. Currently, if it’s been raining, people getting out of their cars have to deal with muddy conditions.
Work should start by summer and wrap up by the end of 2024. It will be done in sections so portions of the trail not under construction can be used, she said.
Meanwhile, the Friends group used some of the money it raised for work underway on the new woodland trail across the creek from Jemison Trail, Williams said. This trail will give people a place to use the park while portions of the Jemison trail are closed for construction. It should be finished in fall 2024.
