Brainerd Road and the community that has matured around it long has played a significant role in community life. Their importance should increase now that the road connects downtown to the new Volkswagen plant. Given that, revitalization of what is being called the Brainerd Road Corridor is vital to Chattanooga's continued development and to the quality of life for those who live and work in the Brainerd area.

The corridor encompasses several distinct neighborhoods and a variety of commercial and retail districts. It stretches from the Missionary Ridge tunnels to the Enterprise South site where VW will begin manufacturing operations in 2011. City officials, urban planners and public and private groups have worked for more than a year on ways to redevelop and enhance the corridor. That visioning process bore fruit last week when a master plan for the area was unveiled to the public. It contains much to consider.

The plan calls for major changes along Brainerd Road. Many of the proposals are centered on Eastgate, located about halfway between downtown and Enterprise South. Revitalization at Eastgate, officials believe, will serve as a catalyst for additional and positive redevelopment toward both the ridge and Enterprise South. That is certainly a reasonable scenario.

The centerpiece of the master plan is a museum and park near the historic Brainerd Mission Cemetery adjacent to Eastgate. It includes, as well, a new library branch to replace the current facility. That reflects the desire expressed by Brainerd residents to create a community hospitable to lifelong living and learning. That's an admirable goal that fits neatly with the presence of five institutions of higher learning in the area,

Additional plans call for a botanical garden near the South Chickamauga Greenway, for community gardens and orchard near the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport and for the replacement of abandoned buildings and underutilized parking lots in the area with sidewalks, tree-lined streets and additional greenspace. It is, at first glance, an attractive blueprint. The unveiling of the plan, however, is no guarantee that it will come to fruition. It is, rather, the important first step in a long process.

Chattanooga City Councilwoman Carol Berz is right to remind those involved that the initial plan is subject to revision and refinement. She and others are correct, too, to temper the understandable enthusiasm for renewal with fiscal and political reality. Revitalization of the Brainerd Road Corridor, whatever form the final plan assumes, will depend on the availability of money to pay for it.

Revitalizing a corridor that ties the commercial heart of the city with a potent manufacturing enterprise serves the community's long-term interest. Plans to make it an attractive connection are promising. Fund-raising, Ms. Berz, reports, has started and is generating a lot of initial excitement from the public and private sectors. Translating that enthusiasm into funding and grants to underwrite the project in part or in whole will not be an easy task given the current economy and the strain it continues to place on the public treasury and on private pocketbooks.