John Shearer: Exploring And Searching For Greenways, Part 1 – North Chattanooga And Its Gems

With seemingly constant news about all the residences and apartments being planned on former unspoiled fields and wooded areas throughout the Chattanooga area, it is obvious that pristine land here is disappearing at a steady rate.

While that might be good economically and even emotionally for builders, city leaders, and of course, the new residents, it does sometimes signal a change in enjoyment for established residents or passersby used to a more bucolic setting.

And then there are traffic issues, which are often brought up at zoning hearings by current residents hoping the status quo of their neighborhood is not changed too much.

With all that in mind, I thought it might be neat to go around to different areas of town and, at least in a general sense, examine not only the current greenways and parks, but also the undeveloped tracts as well and think of where future park space could be.

Of course, many builders are no doubt eyeing many of these same areas as future construction sites.

But the more environmentally and outdoors conscious – or even those cherishing a little peace and quiet among nature -- might argue that Chattanooga and Hamilton County need more greenways than they have.

What if some kind of greenspace other than a school ballfield was located every mile or two and was open to all?

That is the idealistic mindsight I had as I began my journey by first examining North Chattanooga.

On Monday, Jan. 6, I ate a quick and early – and delicious -- lunch at the Mojo Burrito in Red Bank and then drove through the Cherokee Boulevard tunnel to visit Stringer’s Ridge Park. I am literally going out on a limb here, but I would say that a great many people in Chattanooga have never set foot on these 92 acres.

Of course, I am not talking about those who are 25 or 30 years old and own five pairs of hiking shoes.

I had actually walked and jogged with our Westie on the section of the Stringer’s Ridge Park closest to the tunnel and Nikki’s last year. It was nice and had a flat bald spot where I ran a few laps. Also from there is a nice view of downtown Chattanooga, although the vantage point through parts of somewhat bland Cherokee Boulevard are certainly not the most spectacular in town.

But I thought the experience was neat enough to want to go back. I finally did on Monday, but this time I wanted to check out the other end of it. So, after passing the old entrance by the tunnel – which is apparently still closed due to a springtime mud slide – I drove across Bell Avenue, turned left on Spears Avenue, and drove north until the road ended.

While I was afraid it might be one of those desolate places where you feel a little uncomfortable getting out of your car, I was totally wrong. A nice parking area with a restroom building was there, and I saw several other people entering the trail.

It was a sunny, mild-for-January day, so I was ready to take a brief walk to at least see some of it and get some pictures. As I started walking, I saw some trees that were down, and the park initially did not have the look of a scenic spot.

But as I began to go up the trail – which was designed in a way that did not seem that taxing to go up in elevation, unless you are the king of couch potatoes – it started to look nicer. The woods had an aesthetically pleasing appearance and the hillsides were not overgrown with invasive species.

What I did notice on nearby ridges and adjacent properties, though, were homes, all of which seemed to have been built in recent years. Of course, everyone has wanted to move to this part of town to be near all the expanding offerings and excitement of downtown and the waterfront.

That made me appreciate even more this natural land, which was also almost developed. According to some online official information, about 500 condominiums were proposed for the site in 2007-08, but after they were protested by the citizenry, a campaign to buy the 37 acres from landowner Jimmy Hudson for $2.4 million was conducted by the Trust for Public Land.

Mr. Hudson also agreed to donate an adjoining 55 acres, and the land is now overseen by the city of Chattanooga, with the Tennessee River Gorge Trust holding the preservation easement.

The Greenway Farms park in Hixson was similarly saved amid initial plans for a development, and those in Mountain Creek are hoping something similar happens, too, with the area around the old Quarry Golf Course.

So, amid all the news about plans to develop dozens of more acres in Chattanooga currently, Chattanooga land preservationists can take pride in the Stringer’s Ridge Park – even though a slight physical effort is required to get there to enjoy it.

On the day I was taking a 15-minute climb to the upper part, I passed or saw about a half dozen people, so the park is getting some use.

When I reached the top of that end, I was actually a little overtaken emotionally after surprisingly seeing a site I did not expect to see – Signal Mountain off in the distance. And it looked beautiful.

I was also just as captivated in looking down as in glancing away, too, as I saw some moss, ferns and possibly rhododendron or mountain laurel. They stood out among the mostly brown and barren woods this time of year.

I understand a nice observation deck is in the middle of the park and I hope to see that sometime in the near future. But I still felt emotionally enriched as I walked back down the nicely maintained trail to my car and thought I had taken a 30-minute, Smokies-like trip in the heart of Chattanooga.

And this end seemed overall nicer looking than the other end, which had been cleared in small places.

Kudos to all involved in giving Chattanooga an exercise gem instead of just another exercise gym.

I also wanted to stop by and examine more closely Renaissance Park down by the river, so I did that next. This might be pure conjecture, but I would guess that a lot more Chattanoogans have spent time in Coolidge Park than Renaissance Park. The unfortunate killing during a robbery at Renaissance Park in the summer of 2017 obviously did not make more people want to go there.

Although I have spent countless hours in Coolidge Park, I had admittedly not been to Renaissance Park since I moved back from Knoxville in 2017 until I decided to keep jogging under the Market Street Bridge from Coolidge Park one day around Christmas. I realized there was much more to it than the small climbing hill I had seen from the front side near Manufacturers Road.

And I went back Monday to examine it more closely.

Coolidge Park, which was named for World War II Medal of Honor recipient Charles Coolidge, needs no introduction. It was opened in 1999 on the site of the old Naval Reserve Training Center and features well-manicured grass, a stage for concerts, a pavilion and the carousel, which came from an 1894 carousel frame used at Atlanta’s Grant Park. Whether one is there with only a sprinkling of people like Monday or with thousands of others for a concert, the atmosphere and views are usually enjoyable.

Renaissance Park, on the other hand, almost seems more intriguing. While the Coolidge Park site was once used to keep America a military power, the Renaissance land dates to America’s days as an industrial power.

According to a marker on the site, the Samuel Stamping and Enameling Company had started there in 1926 manufacturing porcelain enamel, and the plant was later acquired by Roper Co. When the plant closed in 2002, RiverCity Co., the Trust for Public Land and the city of Chattanooga began looking at using the land as a reclaimed brownfield/wetlands site for riverfront park enjoyment.

A stone marker there apparently has a typo calling it the “Enabling” company instead of “Enameling.”

But the park, which opened in 2008, has a correct feel to it, as if it is itself a big piece of art or a natural sculpture. It features countless piers/bridges that offer nice elevated views, even if one or two have a “bridge to nowhere” look.

Designed by the out-of-town landscape architecture firm now known as Hargreaves Jones, the site has an active role as well as a passive one. It is set up to treat and clean polluted water naturally, and the two hills no doubt enjoyed by children cover material from the old industrial site.  

I know I probably would have enjoyed playing on those manmade hills as a child.

The hill that is a straight slope looks like it could host a ski jumping competition if Chattanooga could ever have a decent snowfall again, and the mound-like one looks as though it could be mistaken for a Native American cultural site.

There is also a pavilion covered with grass to keep the environmental theme, and one enclosed area closer to the river puzzles me a little as to what it is.

The amphitheater is nice, but it looks a little out of place right above the water, unless some fish ever decide to put on a concert.

Among the other unique amenities are the small wooded area, a small creek and lowland area, as well as a grassy space surrounded by a circular sitting area. The walkway along the river looks like something out of a bigger city.

And somewhat surprisingly, the newer residential buildings constructed along Manufacturers Road, which almost seem too massive compared to what all used to be there, have a much better scale when viewed from the rear inside Renaissance Park.

The park overall is nice and creatively designed, and I hope to visit it more whenever I am taking a jog or walk through Coolidge Park. I just don’t plan to go there after midnight, and hopefully this area that has more places to hide behind than in Coolidge Park is under better watch now after the tragedy of 2017.

Stringer’s Ridge Park is obviously not a place to go after dark, either. In fact, it is closed then.

Going to any greenway area obviously involves using common sense, despite the fun involved.

Regarding what places in North Chattanooga near Hixson Pike might make potential good greenways in the future, how about opening up the Bird Sanctuary area of Riverview off Riverview Road into a place that can be walked through and visited more easily?

And hopefully the plans for the development around the old Lupton City golf course will include trails and greenspace for all.

The old Frank Harrison land going down to the river from Minnekahda Hill and Bright School would also make a great greenspace one day, and what if those Girls Preparatory School-owned soccer fields at Lupton Drive were somehow more accessible to the public? Or maybe a neat walking trail/sidewalk could be put beside them running all the way to whatever Lupton City greenspace is developed.

And maybe somehow Coolidge Park could connect with the razed former site of Fehn’s restaurant – the setting of which taught Chattanoogans how to enjoy the riverfront decades before about any other site other than Ross’s Landing Park did.

But North Chattanooga/North Shore – in contrast to some other areas of town -- already has enough unique outdoor places to make an idealistic greenspace lover content.

Jcshearer2@comcast.net