Tunison Community Path Recommended to Receive Grant for Planning and Refinement

April 5, 2021 - The City of Corvallis Public Works Department has received notice that a $500,000 grant request for preliminary planning and project refinement work on the Tunison Community Path, a proposed shared-use path in south Corvallis, will be recommended to the Oregon Transportation Commission in May. The money will come from the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Oregon Community Paths Program, which is funded by a combination of state and federal sources. The project was given a priority ranking of #11 out of 57 projects statewide that applied. There were $34.5 million worth of projects requested, with $11.6 million in funding available.

This is the first step in a larger project and will focus on examining potential path alignments and selecting one that is the best fit, given the constraints of right-of-way and environmental complexities.  Future phases will be necessary to acquire right-of-way, design, and construct the path.

The Tunison Community Path is an active transportation corridor proposed to link neighborhoods and provide travel alternatives for bicyclists and pedestrians in south Corvallis. Active transportation advocates in the community have worked proactively to engage their friends and neighbors and help build support for this project over many years. The project was recently included in several long-range plans for the south Corvallis area.

“This grant will really help kickstart a project that the City and the south Corvallis community have been working on for many years,” said Active Transportation Program Specialist Josh Capps. “We’ve been building momentum for better travel options in this part of our community, and it’s exciting to see the first steps starting to take shape.”

Based on the timeline in the City’s proposed budget, the project is slated to begin in 2022. A project web page will be developed later in 2021 to inform the public about funding sources, key milestones, and other important updates.

For more information on the Tunison Community Path, contact Active Transportation Program Specialist Josh Capps at josh.capps@corvallisoregon.gov or 541-754-1730.