Accessibility Enhancement

 

Beaman Park Accessible and Interpretive Trail - Tennessee

New accessible boardwalk at Beaman Park

Construction of a paved, handicap accessible trail and boardwalk at the Beaman Park Nature Center.

In 2009, the Friends of Beaman Park was awarded $85,000 from the Federal Highways Administration Recreational Trails Program (RTP) for a trails project specified in the Beaman Park Nature Center master plan.

The project was to construct a paved, handicap accessible trail and boardwalk at the Beaman Park Nature Center in Davidson County, Tennessee. The grant required a 20% match, which the group was grateful to receive through an additional grant from the Memorial Foundation of Hendersonville.

Specifically, the project included: construction of a 500-foot paved accessible walking trail with trail signage; construction of a 300-foot accessible boardwalk and interpretive trail with signage; and construction of a 300-foot accessible firm-surface and interpretive trail with signage.

Volunteers working on the project

Volunteers working on the project

The Friends of Beaman Park provided grant administration and served as the general contractor on the project. The group committed to provide volunteer labor for as much of the project as possible, further stretching the benefit and value that the project provided to our community. Most expenditures were for the purchase of construction materials and supplies. The group estimates that over 1,500 hours of volunteer labor, valued at over $25,000, were used to complete the project.

Volunteers included:

  • Nashville Hiking Meetup
  • Tennessee Trails Association
  • Vanderbilt Outdoor Recreation Program
  • Vanderbilt Sierra Club
  • Vanderbilt Civil Engineering Society
  • Vanderbilt SAE Fraternity
  • Davidson County Sheriff's Department Inmate Labor Crew
  • Hands on Nashville
  • Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church Youth Group (Rockford, MI)
  • Two Eagle Scout Projects
  • Marrowbone Preservation Society
  • Beaman Park to Bells Bend Conservation Community
  • National Trails Day Volunteers

The project improved the connection between the park’s new nature center and the existing trail system and was completed in 2012.


More winners of this award

2023: Danada-Herrick Lake Regional Trail- Cromwell Drive Connector

2021: Chautauqua Bottoms Accessibility Upgrades

2020: Boardwalks and Observation Deck Rehab/Replacement

2019: Sassafras Mountain – South Carolina

2018: Camp Creek Greenway - Georgia

2017: Talisi Riverwalk Trail Extension - Alabama

2016: Graber Pond Accessible Trail - Wisconsin

2015: Rotary Park Accessible Trail (Phase 2) - Tennessee

2014: Merrimack County Four-Season Northern Rail Trail - New Hampshire

2012: The Children’s Center’s Life Trails and Therapeutic Park - Oklahoma

2011: Potts Memorial Park Trail Project - Missouri

2010: Laurel Fork Trail at Holly River State Park - West Virginia

2009: Southwest Key Trail - Texas

2008: Johnny Henderson Park Trail - Alabama

2008: Trails Accessibility Program - Florida

2007: Penny Lake Trail/Boothbay Harbor - Maine

2006: Springs Valley Trail - Indiana

2005: Trail Access Information for Northern Nevada

2004: Camp ASCCA Environmental Trail - Alabama

2003: Upper Roaring Brook Accessible Walkway and Fishing Pier - Rhode Island