Sidewalks on South McGregor Avenue and accompanying road improvements are finally a work in progress!  The Village of Spring Hill, Inc. (TVSH) has dreamed of and worked toward the installation of sidewalks on McGregor for almost ten years.   Though we did not receive the highly competitive state TAP grant the City applied for on our behalf, City Council members Joel Daves and Gina Gregory (whose districts overlap parts of the McGregor corridor) shared our passion for the project.  They agreed to fund the majority of the cost as a Capital Improvement Project, made possible by the renewal of the 1% sales tax.  The community rallied around the project as well and raised $50,000 from private contributions, which, when added to Sidewalk-A-Thon proceeds, enabled TVSH to contribute $80,000 to the sidewalk portion of the project as an incentive. Thank you to all who helped make this possible!  And thank you to Joel and Gina for partnering with us and working so hard for the Village!

Sidewalks are only a part of this mammoth undertaking.  The City determined that extensive infrastructure upgrades needed to be made at the time the sidewalks were installed.  The project has been challenging with the twists and turns of McGregor Avenue, the drainage improvements, the added curb and gutter infrastructure, the street re-paving, and of course the RAIN!  But everyone has patiently persevered, and all eagerly await the completion of another outstanding project for the Village.

Enhancing the neighborhood ambiance of our new sidewalks will be an Old Mobile bench placed along the route just south of Spring Bank Road by T. Lee Robinson and family in memory of Helen Robinson, who was one of The Village of Spring Hill’s earliest supporters and advisors.  Another bench will be placed in the sharp curve near the intersection of McGregor Avenue and Vickers Lane by a friend of The Village of Spring Hill.

Phase II of the project on the west side of McGregor Avenue will begin in 2018.

When all is complete, at a cost of over $1,000,000, McGregor Avenue will indeed shine, with sidewalks on both sides all the way from Old Shell Road to Dauphin Street!  It will be a point of pride for all of Mobile.