STARKVILLE – City streets are getting a bit greener thanks to a Tennessee Valley Authority grant to line sections of Lynn Lane and Spring Street with trees.
The city announced the $50,000 grant from energy wholesaler Tennessee Valley Authority in a Thursday press release, saying that work had already begun planting the 63 trees along Lynn Lane between Louisville and South Montgomery. More trees will go in at the intersection of Spring Street and Kocksley Way, and City Engineer Cody Burnett said his department is eyeing further locations with surplus funds.
“We anticipate that the work won’t use all of our funding, so we will see another project come out of this same source,” he said. “We’ll either extend what we’ve done east or west, or we (will put them) at Cornerstone Park. We’ve got about a quarter of the budget left, and we’ve reserved that option for whatever’s best for the city.”
The city applied for the TVA grant in 2023, eventually getting 100% funding with no requirement the city match any of the contribution. Burnett said that was unusual, with most infrastructure grants from the state requiring at least a 20% match.
“Most grants we receive are federal transportation grants, which generally only give 80% with the match,” he said. “It’s unique. We don’t get that very often. … Trees always make a community look nicer, and you get some residual environmental effects as well as they soak up some of the sun.”
Lynn Lane and Spring Street were chosen due to their multimodal path, Burnett said. City planners had noted its use by cross country running teams, bikers and pedestrians, making it a perfect place for more trees to not just provide shade and beautify the area, but in slowing car traffic by giving drivers roadside markers to help judge speed, he said.
Work is expected to finish before February, the press release said. It also noted the use of native trees like southern red oak and willow oak to better fit the ecosystem and provide more natural homes for the city’s wildlife.
Burnett said that Cornerstone Park and the part of Lynn Lane near McKee Park are the most likely options for any surplus funding, or Spring Street.
“Cornerstone Park makes a lot of sense because of its robust walking trail,” he said. “Lynn Lane West is a bit more challenging because there are a lot more driveways, a lot more residential. We’d have to be more selective. Spring Street South from Highway 12 down to Loxely. That’s a great location but we have an MDOT grant to put in a sidewalk there, so it will get some trees as part of that.”
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