West Montgomery, where much of the city’s civil rights history took place, began crumbling with the construction of Interstate 65, which tore neighborhoods apart and destroyed homes and livelihoods.
Now, the city of Montgomery is using $36.6 million in federal dollars to pump life into the Selma-to-Montgomery trail and parts of west Montgomery. And those involved in the community hope it accelerates the progress that’s already happening there.
Community activist Ja’Mel Brown sees it as something the federal government should do “to give back what was stolen from us.” “I hope it don’t end here,” Brown said. “Don’t come up and just do a temporary fix. Let’s go into some of these deprived and neglected communities. Let’s do more.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded the city the grant through a competitive application process. The money represents the largest competitive grant in Montgomery’s history.
“When we’re working together truly, truly great and transformative things can happen in this community,” Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said while announcing the $36.6 million grant in March.
The money will pay to repave and stripe West Fairview Avenue from the Interstate 65 underpass to the Mobile Highway intersection and U.S. 80. It will also add a bike lane and landscaping along the same stretch of road.
The grant will create wi-fi hotspots along Mobile Street, South Holt Street, West Fred Gray Avenue, Oak Street and West Fairview Avenue as well as lay down an extensive fiber optic infrastructure, creating the infrastructure for greater wi-fi in the area.
Reed listed adding covered shelters at bus stops and creating more than 2 miles of sidewalks as additional goals of the grant.
Restoration efforts on the west side
Kevin King, the founder of King’s Canvas, wants to see the city invest in the arts as an economic driver. Studies show that public works, such as murals, can boost an area’s economy as well as the public’s safety. Meanwhile, blight, which is prevalent throughout west Montgomery, attracts criminal activity and impacts the physical and mental health of those who live near it.
“Hey it is decoration and entertainment but it’s also synonymous with economic growth,” King said.
King has seen this firsthand through his work with King’s Canvas in the Washington Park Community.
“Putting paint on a wall is a sign of hope for a community but what it’s also doing is activating spaces that haven’t been activated in 50 years,” King said.
More: Path to the future: West Montgomery neighborhood undergoes historic changes
The C.H.A.N.G.E. Community Resource Center offers a leg up to the people of west Montgomery. At the center, people use its computer lab and receive food, clothing and haircuts.
“Our goal is to be able to help where we can,” Founder Ashley Robinson said.
Robinson said a large problem in the community is the culture that has developed in hopelessness.
“I sometimes think they don’t remember what this street contributed to our race, our community,” Robinson said of the center’s home on Oak Street, where marchers from Selma passed by on the way to demand civil rights at the state Capitol in 1965.
The west side does not have a grocery store or restaurant. There are no coffee shops or book stores.
“You don’t have your Starbucks,” Robinson said. “You don’t have you know things like that. You don’t have your Panera Breads, Tropical Smoothies. … Why do we have to drive all the way across town to get worthwhile things?
“I don’t want people to be scared to come to this side of town.”
Jeff Jones is the founder of the West Montgomery Action Committee. His group created a community garden and organizes neighborhood cleanups. He wants to see green spaces added to west Montgomery.
“It’s needed for sure to help with quality of life,” Jones said. “I also think it makes the community more equitable. I also think it would bring back that focus on that historical legacy that that side of town is known for.”
‘We’re working’
Since taking office as a city council member last year, Franetta Riley has worked hard to clean up her side of town. She has called in club owners, gas station managers and store employees, holding them accountable for making west Montgomery safe and clean.
Riley sees the $36.6 million as a starting point. Bringing focus back to the trail will bring hotels and restaurants to the area, she said.
Besides work on the trail, Riley said additional plans are in the works. The city purchased the land previously owned by St. Jude Catholic Church on West Fairview Avenue. The goal is to transform the area into affordable housing for the elderly.
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One of her major goals is to clean up the west side of Montgomery. Riley said she would also like to add grocery stores, green spaces, walking trails and community gardens.
“We’re working,” Riley said.
Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser’s public safety reporter. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @gladlyalex.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: In historic West Montgomery, massive grant fuels optimism about change
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