The Town of Pike Road was established in 1997 by a group of individuals living in the historically significant community located in the eastern part of Montgomery County. The people of the Pike Road area had watched with interest the growth that was surrounding them and, while not opposed to progress, they were concerned about the lack of consistent planning for the growth. As a result, the people living in Pike Road decided to seek incorporation and form their own municipality. The goal was to guarantee that local people would make decisions about important growth issues like schools, recreation, business development, etc. The incorporators set in motion a process to build a town that would maintained a high quality of life and increase overall value to its citizens. Further, they developed a town model that would welcome all of the people in the Pike Road area.

Each of the crossroad communities, located in the Pike Road area, have historical significance. Whether it be Merry, McDade, Cecil, Waugh, Mathews, Carters Hill, or some other location, these communities each have an important story to tell. For example, the crossroads positioned at the historical center of Pike Road received its name because it was located on a toll road that allowed for travel between Montgomery and Union Springs. As a frequently used connector, the toll road had economic importance and began to draw growth that eventually helped strengthen each of the crossroad locations. The toll road helped bring people together. The Pike Road area shares historical bonds that transition from the strong ties to agriculture to the common schoolhouse to the common mail route to the common way of life.

Today, the Town of Pike Road, which ties all of the crossroads communities together, continues to be positioned along important economic and transportation corridors. Retail, professional and agricultural opportunities are fast approaching and must be appropriately blended with residential development and recreation to paint the landscape for tomorrow’s Pike Road. It is these facts that encouraged the people, who initiated the incorporation of the Town of Pike Road, to understand the lessons of the past and plan for the growth.

To achieve a depth of understanding, Pike Road leaders have studied numerous towns in similar locations and hired the national firm, Placemakers, to assist in planning for growth. As a result, Pike Road has learned that properly planned growth will be a compliment to the economic, social and cultural advancement of the area. Frankly, proper planning will benefit the people of the town.

Eight years after it was incorporated, Pike Road is ahead of schedule with its plans. The town has grown to over 1300 citizens and expects this growth to continue in a steady manner.

Pike Road has an active town government complete with an elected mayor and town council. It has a town hall and a full-time clerk with other staff on contract. It has a planning commission boasting Alabama’s most flexible and advanced zoning options. It is the first town in the state to officially embrace Smart Code planning. Further, the town has a public relations campaign, county-like ordinances, a simple tax structure (that is the lowest of any surrounding municipality), a recreational long-range plan, public safety services, and a long-range educational strategy.

The Town of Pike Road has set up a plan of action that will allow it to provide unique opportunities and maintain emphasis on priority issues. Through a series of town hall meetings and public surveys, the individuals living in the Pike Road area have identified and prioritized the issues that they want the town to address. The good news is that the Town of Pike Road is ahead of schedule in every area of development.

Goals for Pike Road:

• Maintain a High Quality of Life: Pike Road is a town with vision and potential. It is a town that will be a model for many to follow. Although Pike Road is planning for the future, it already has much to offer. Right now, people are moving into Pike Road and experiencing an improved quality of life. In Pike Road, they have found a town where proper planning is a priority and a high quality of life is emphasized.
   
• Family Life is Important: Pike Road is a town for families to live and establish homes. A part of making people at home in Pike Road is creating new and different opportunities. The Town of Pike Road will continue to sponsor and host community-wide activities designed to bring people together (Fall-fest, fireworks shows, parades, open-houses, etc.)
   
• Recreation Should Enhance Family Life: This pristine, rural, community will continue its tradition as a great place for horses, bikes, joggers, etc. with its recreational plans. A proposed horse trail will stretch across the area and connect the town centers. Parks and green spaces are an integral part of our town center planning. We will also create bike trails, outdoor educational stops, and little league sports fields.
   
  A local teen was recently quoted as saying, “There are lots of the kids out here that love living here, just like me. Sure we love to go out and have fun, but the fun we get just being out in nature is something extra the kids in the city don’t get to experience on a daily basis.”
   
• Quality Public Education Will be Available to Everyone: The conditions available to create quality schools in Pike Road are unparalleled anywhere in the state. The town has two major options. First, Pike Road can work with the county school system to bring new facilities to our area. It can increase the quality of those schools with added local support. Secondly, the town can create a new school system, supported by the citizens of Pike Road, and controlled by the citizens of Pike Road. Whichever choice is made, the citizens of the town will set the rules and enforce adherence to the standards that the people desire.
   
  A Pike Road citizen commented on the schools, “We moved to Pike Road to make a better life for ourselves. A large part of that is the quality of education my kids will receive. Schools can make or break a community, and we know that great local schools are going to be available in Pike Road.”
   
  The town is currently working with nationally acclaimed educational consultants to develop quality school options for Pike Road. With so much interest in quality public schools, and the cost of private schools climbing, the opportunity to create a fully-funded school system, with highly qualified teachers, and ample educational and recreational programs, is an exciting prospect.
   
• Planning for Long-Term Sustainable Development is Essential: An exciting difference about Pike Road is its town planning. Much of the fallout experienced by neighboring cities is due to hap-hazard planning and development. Entire blocks paved over, and empty structures scattered across city-scapes is not the desired outcome for Pike Road. The Town of Pike Road does not want abandoned “concrete-boxes’ and parking lots that will never be reused. The town is committed to avoiding the scenario where entire communities were developed around retail areas, only to see neighborhoods crumble because businesses abandoned those areas. Pike Road has created a master plan that includes Conventional and Smart Code development. Pike Road is focusing on town centers, which provide retail, professional, and residential opportunities. Pike Road wants a style and pattern of growth that maintains its heritage, provides a higher quality of life and gives businesses the economics they need for long-term success. Through careful planning the town will foster this outcome by allowing sustainable, quality growth to occur.
   
  A well respected local planning expert described Pike Road’s planning, “The future growth of any town is based on its ability to plan for that future. Smart Code development takes into account the environmental impact, growth trends, population density, residential and commercial property concerns and balances these into a master plan that is a road map to the development.”
   
  Pike Road is modeling its development after America’s most successful cities and towns: Franklin, TN; Alexandria, VA; Sarasota, FL; … These communities all feature town centers, green-scapes and warm, inviting neighborhoods designed to last for generations.
   
• Public Safety and Municipal Services will be a Priority: As a rural community, Pike Road has an excellent safety and service record. However, the town is developing plans now for additional coverage. Pike Road has sheriff’s coverage, fire, water, sewer and road maintenance options. As the town grows these services will evolve and increase. In Pike Road, municipal services are more concentrated like they are in all small towns.
   
• Local Decision Making is Fundamental: As citizens, the people of Pike Road will be in charge of their community. Other cities may have one council person for every 25,000+ citizens. Currently, Pike Road has one council member for every 300 citizens. In Pike Road, local people make decisions. When it comes to the plans for the town, each citizen will have an equal influence in how they are carried out.
   
• Pike Road Setting an Example for Progress: According to Gordon Stone, Mayor of Pike Road, “Once a town has made every effort to achieve input from both the residents and the business community, it develops a plan to see that the vision is carried out. Along the way, the plan can be updated as needed. Pike Road has great resources and wonderful people, I thank the Lord for the opportunity that Pike Road has to develop into a premier city".

What began over 100 years ago as a crossroads community on a toll road is now a destination all its own. From our development plans and economic goals to our school and recreational opportunities, it’s easy to see why Pike Road is the right choice for your family, your business, and your lifestyle. If ‘home is where the heart is,’ you’ll find your heart in Pike Road. Welcome Home.