McMinnville is peddling toward becoming more bicycle friendly.

The city of McMinnville was notified it was awarded a second grant designed to assist in planning bike and pedestrian walkways. 

“We heard on Friday that we also received a Rural Planning Initiative Grant from TDOT for another bike/pedestrian plan focused on the neighborhood around Warren County Middle School, Bobby Ray School and North Chancery Street,” said Katie Kemezis, community planner for the city of McMinnville. “I’m not sure how much the grant is worth yet.”

In June, Kemezis announced a $75,000 Community Trans-portation Planning Grant from TDOT to be used to look at how to incorporate alternative transportation infrastructure (a Barren Fork Greenway expansion) on the roads connecting Pepper Branch Park to downtown. 

“These two grants will be used to help create a more walkable and bikeable McMinnville,” said Kemezis. 

With this latest grant, the city will work with county government, Warren County Schools, Bike McMinnville and the general public to understand what would be useful to students, parents, teachers and residents in the area in constructing the plan, which focuses on connecting schools, parks and neighborhoods.

“The Rural Planning Initiative Grant assists rural communities with planning efforts that define the transportation cohesiveness between multi-modal transportation systems and local land use objectives that achieve TDOT’s statewide transportation goals,” said McMinnville city administrator Nolan Ming. “The grant aids with the creation of planning documents that support improvements in traffic flow, safety, and overall efficiency of the transportation system.”

Planning grants help communities achieve a vision by laying the groundwork for actual construction and promote future economic growth.