Cromwell Connector

For over thirty years, Trust for Public Land has helped the City of Chattanooga steadily grow its trail system, transforming its industrial past into a thriving greenway network that has sparked a remarkable urban renaissance. But many Chattanoogans—especially those living in low-income communities of color—can’t access these trails and still don’t meaningfully benefit from the significant investments their city has made.

Together, we’re working to change that with trails like the Tennessee Riverwalk and the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway, which form a 25-mile network of off-street trails winding along waterways, old rail lines, business districts, and residential neighborhoods throughout the metro area.

In 2022, we completed the final segment of the South Chickamauga Creek Greenway known as the Cromwell Connector. This connector runs along the creek behind the extremely isolated Cromwell Hills low-income housing community and creates a new pedestrian, bicycle, and other non-motorized access into and out of the neighborhood.

Cromwell Hills has approximately 415 residents with 93 percent identifying as Black and 48 percent are youth under the age of 20. Many residents do not have access to a personal vehicle, and public transportation is extremely limited. By developing this walking and bicycling path, we helped create a much-needed new route that is free, accessible, close-to-home, and connected to both everyday and citywide destinations.

The closest grocery store is currently a two-hour bus ride away, but with the Cromwell Connector, it’s now expected to take 25 minutes on foot and 10 minutes by bicycle on the greenway. This new connectivity to Chattanooga will bring significant opportunities to the whole community, facilitating travel to work, school, shops, and other destinations.