AARP awards Chatham wayfinding grant

The $15,000 grant supports Chatham’s wayfinding signage for the Chatham trail system, currently under development.

“The Community Challenge grant is huge, and being awarded a national grant speaks extremely well for our community,” said Alisa Davis, Chatham’s mayor. “Chatham is now nationally recognized as an AARP grantee. And, our town is well-positioned to build on the Chatham trail system’s development.”

Chatham’s grant submission requested support for placemaking with its Chatham trail system. The Chatham trail route plan is: Going clockwise from Town Hall, the trail incorporates Military Drive to Hargrave Military Academy’s campus trail system. The trail will cross Main Street near the former Gilbert’s Restaurant and follow Peach Street to Hurt Street/Chalk Level Road. The trail will depart from Chalk Level Road and follow Tanyard Brach, a creek flowing south on Chatham Hall property. Once the creek is behind the former Chatham Elementary School/Chatham Lofts, it will head west on Whitehead Street toward Ennis and a connection to the Chatham train depot. The last leg will take the trail from the Chatham train depot back to Town Hall.

“Signage is the last key piece needed for several established sections of the trail,” William Wiebking, Chatham’s town manager, said. “It has taken many volunteer and community hours to get this this point, and it is exciting to see this vision manifest. The completed trail will make an outstanding addition to the town. The AARP grant will make large sections of the trail viable and useable.”