Parks, commercial development and safe streets have long been needs for Gainesville’s poorest neighborhoods, where residents often feel underserved by government and community services.

But partnerships, grants and a renewed commitment to the residents of historic African-American neighborhoods like Newtown and Morningside Heights are showing results in Hall County’s work to complete a sidewalk construction project along Floyd Road.

“Concerned Citizens of Gainesville-Hall County has been among many community groups and churches to work for change in this area,” said Michelle Mintz, an officer in the group and minister at St. John Baptist Church.  

The narrow streets, heavy traffic and frequent pedestrians on their way to church, school and the grocery store made the project important to the quality of life and safety of residents.

“One of their concerns was pedestrian traffic in the area with no sidewalks to walk on,” Hall County Public Works Director Ken Rearden said. “Three years ago, with the help of the Concerned Citizens, we started the sidewalk project that ran along Athens Street and turned up Floyd Road to terminate at Garden Street.”

County officials have approved a $116,000 contract with Atlantis Construction and subcontractors to complete the project.

Meetings with citizens and residents helped pave the way, Rearden said, including their work to secure right of ways from area property owners needed to extend the sidewalk.

Work began this week with crews cutting tree limbs and clearing vegetation to make way for the expansion.  

“They were instrumental in helping us secure right of way for that project,” Commissioner Jeff Stowe said. “The amount of effort they put forward over the last four or five years … made it easy on my part to get behind it and help fund it.”

Mintz said the city’s black community has come together once again to show their faith in the prospect of change.

She hopes the success of the sidewalk project can be a model for how community organizing can get things done for residents in the future, and that it will help galvanize more residents to action in their neighborhoods.

For example, the group has spearheaded petition drives to get street lights installed on neighborhood streets, including on Floyd Road, and plans to continue similar efforts.

“The positive side is citizens can make difference when they come together,” Mintz said.

Stowe said he hopes to continue working on road and housing projects in the area to better serve the residents there, including making it a focus of the county’s next comprehensive plan to manage growth.

“It is definitely an area that we have to plan to move forward on,” he added.