Mobile City Council to Consider $500,000 Grant for Three Mile Creek Greenway Trail Segment 5 and $20,000 Tree Lighting Drone Show

MOBILE, Ala. — The next stretch of the Three Mile Creek Greenway Trail could be one step closer to construction. A resolution set to be introduced at the Mobile City Council meeting this week would authorize the mayor to apply for, accept and receive a grant from the Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organization to fund construction of Segment 5 of the trail.

The council is also set to see a second, more festive item: a contract with FireFly Drone Shows to put on a drone show as part of the city’s Lighting of the Tree celebration.

What the greenway resolution would do

According to the council agenda item, the resolution would give the mayor authority to pursue and accept a grant from the Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organization, often called the Mobile MPO, to pay for building Segment 5 of the Three Mile Creek Greenway Trail.

The cost of the segment is listed at $500,000, with a 20% local match. Based on those figures, the city’s share would amount to about $100,000, with grant funds covering the remaining $400,000.

Local match requirements are common in federal and regional transportation funding. They ensure that the community receiving the money has a financial stake in the project and help stretch limited grant dollars across more projects.

About the Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organization

Metropolitan planning organizations exist in urban areas across the country to coordinate how federal transportation dollars are planned and spent. In the Mobile area, the MPO brings together local governments to set priorities for roads, transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects, and it helps direct funding toward projects in its long-range and short-term transportation plans.

Trails and greenways often qualify for transportation funding because they provide safe routes for people who walk or bike, not just recreational space. A greenway that links neighborhoods, parks and other destinations can serve both purposes at once.

A trail built in segments

The Three Mile Creek Greenway Trail is being built piece by piece, with individual segments designed and funded separately. That approach is common for long trail corridors, allowing a city to build sections as money becomes available rather than waiting for the full cost of the entire route.

The trail follows Three Mile Creek, one of the waterways that runs through the city of Mobile on its way to the Mobile River. For years, the creek has been the focus of efforts to improve water quality and reconnect residents with the waterway, and the greenway is part of turning the creek corridor into a public amenity that people can walk, run and ride along.

Where Segment 5 fits

According to the project page maintained for the trail by MAP for Mobile, the greenway is planned as a linear park of roughly 6.5 miles, while the city has described it as a nearly 7-mile network. The project is divided into seven segments. As of a September 2026 status update on that page, Segment 5 is listed as the stretch from Bush Park to Mill Street Park, with its design roughly 90% complete and one real estate transaction on a single parcel still pending.

Current plans call for the trail to link Bush Park, Mill Street Park and Tricentennial Park. The design consultant for segments 5 through 7 is listed as Dix-Hite, and the estimated cost for those three segments combined is listed at $14,850,000.

Segments already open

Two segments are listed as complete. In June 2024, the city unveiled Segment 6, which extends from Tricentennial Park to University Hospital, adding just over half a mile of trail along with an 80-foot pedestrian bridge and solar lighting.

Segment 1, at the Japanese Garden on Forest Hill Drive, marks the westernmost point of the trail. When the city broke ground on that segment in December 2024, it described a $1.7 million investment adding about three-quarters of a mile of trail, funded through an Alabama Department of Transportation grant. The segment was listed as open in August 2025.

Other segments remain in various stages. Segment 7, the MLK Jr. Avenue connector, is listed in pre-construction, while the Forest Hill and Moffett Road connectors are in design pending right-of-way purchases. An I-65 connector, described as the final connecting segment, is still seeking funding.

How the trail has been funded

The design and initial construction of the trail have been funded in part through Alabama’s allocation of RESTORE Act money, which flows from penalties tied to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Other funding sources cited for the project include ALDOT Transportation Alternatives Program grants, city capital improvement funds, Community Development Block Grant money and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Mobile MPO grant now before the council would add another source for Segment 5.

The council resolution itself does not spell out the route or include a construction timeline. If the council approves the resolution, the city could move forward with the grant process, and more details about the segment would likely come as the project advances.

Why greenways matter to cities

Greenway trails have become popular investments for cities of all sizes. They offer safe places for exercise away from traffic, connect neighborhoods to parks and schools, and can encourage people to walk or bike for short trips. Trails along creeks and rivers can also bring attention to waterways that were once overlooked, giving residents more reason to care about keeping them clean.

For many communities, trail corridors also become places for family outings, community events and everyday recreation, adding to quality of life in ways that are easy to see once a segment is complete.

Drone show planned for the Lighting of the Tree

A separate resolution set to be introduced at the same meeting would authorize a contract with FireFly Drone Shows for a Lighting of the Tree drone show. The cost is listed at $20,000.

Drone light shows use fleets of small, synchronized drones fitted with lights to create moving images in the night sky. They have become a popular addition to holiday celebrations and community festivals across the country, in some cases serving as an alternative or complement to fireworks.

The Lighting of the Tree is one of the city’s holiday traditions, marking the start of the Christmas season in Mobile. The resolution summary did not include the date of this year’s event or describe what the drone show would include.

How council introductions work

Items that are “introduced” at a Mobile City Council meeting are typically placed on the agenda for the council’s first look, with a vote often coming at a later meeting. That gives council members and the public time to review the proposals and ask questions before a final decision.

Residents who want to weigh in on either resolution can attend Mobile City Council meetings, which are open to the public, or contact their district council member. Council agendas are published by the city in advance of each meeting.

At a glance

• Three Mile Creek Greenway Trail, Segment 5: Resolution would authorize the mayor to apply for, accept and receive a Mobile Metropolitan Planning Organization grant to fund construction.
• Project cost: $500,000, with a 20% local match (about $100,000 from the city).
• Lighting of the Tree drone show: Proposed contract with FireFly Drone Shows for $20,000.
• Status: Both resolutions are set to be introduced at this week’s City Council meeting.

If approved, the greenway grant would keep the multi-year trail project moving forward, while the drone show would add a new attraction to one of the city’s best-known holiday events.