Main Street Toccoa awarded $25,787 Grant

Doyle Street will be greener and more pedestrian friendly in a few months, thanks to a grant from the Georgia Forestry Commission.

A $25,787 grant was awarded to Main Street Toccoa to replant and maintain the heritage dogwood trees that line Doyle Street. The Toccoa Woman’s Club originally planted the dogwoods some 40 years ago.

Georgia Forestry Commission Representative Gary White will make the announcement at the Main Street Toccoa Arbor Day celebration at Pruitt Park on February 19, at 4 p.m.

The funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through a Georgia Forestry Commission program entitled “Tree Planting for Ecosystem Restoration and Green Jobs: Georgia’s Growing Green Jobs.”

The project will expand Main Street Toccoa’s urban forest of some 200 trees in downtown Toccoa to include the popular walking areas that lead to downtown shopping and dining destinations.

Main Street Toccoa’s application, “A Walk in the Shade: Creating Green Jobs in Toccoa” was awarded full funding and will enable the City of Toccoa to plant and maintain 59 dogwoods and 12 trident maples along Doyle Street, a portion of Boulevard Street, and a portion of Tugalo Street.

“This project will provide shaded sidewalks for the people who walk along Doyle Street,” said Toccoa’s Community Planning and Downtown Development Director Connie Tabor. “The trees will encourage more people who work downtown or live in the area to walk to and around downtown on their lunch breaks as well as before and after work, and increasing pedestrian traffic will boost sales in our Main Street district.”

No matching funds were required for the grant, however Main Street Toccoa will set aside some funding to keep the plants watered and maintained until they are self sustaining.

Work on the project is expected to begin in the fall.