PATH Foundation Newsletter - April 2022

PATH CONNECTING COMMUNITIES ACROSS GEORGIA WITH 300 MILES OF TRAILS

April 2022, Issue #106

NEWS

Chastain Park Trail COMPLETE! Story on page 2

PATH Foundation A Non-Profit Organization Dedicated to Planning and Building Greenway Trails

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens cut the ribbon at the dedication of the new and improved PATH trail along Chastain Park Avenue (formerly West Wieuca Road).

Pete Pellegrini, Mayor Andre Dick ens, Greta deMayo, Rosa McHugh and Ed McBrayer.

Chastain Park Trail COMPLETE!

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oop trails tend to be the favored layout for most trail users. Starting and ending at the same place is a feature most cyclists and pedestrians prefer rather than an out and back or out and findyour-way-back-on-the-street-grid option.

That’s the main reason the Chastain Park Trail has been so popular from day one.

For twenty years, the Chastain Park Avenue (formerly West Wieuca Road) sidewalk has served as the northern connection for the loop around North Fulton Golf Course. On March 23rd, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens officially dedicated the trail along Chastain Park Avenue to finish the loop around North Fulton Golf Course.

In 1995, soon after Atlanta adopted the Atlanta Greenway Trail Master Plan, the first segment of a proposed loop trail around the golf course was under construction. Partnering with the City of Atlanta and the Chastain Park Civic Association, (The Chastain Park Conservancy was yet to be formed) PATH continued to develop the trail alongside Lake Forrest Road and through the woods

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Final phase trail enhancements along Chastain Park Avenue.

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Special thanks to the previous District 8 Councilmembers, Yolanda Adrean, J.P. Matzigkeit and current Councilmember Mary Norwood for keeping the funding in place while issues were resolved. Thanks to team PATH for delivering such a high-quality amenity for Chastain Park. l

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The project involved repurposing part of the roadbed, moving utility poles, and in some areas, adding a retaining wall to make room for the wider trail. Only a handful of parking places were lost during the conversion.

A narrower street will almost assuredly encourage slower speeds through the park.

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The new and improved trail between Powers Ferry Road and Lake Forrest along Chastain Park Avenue was largely funded by the 2018 Atlanta Transportation Special Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST). Your generous donations to PATH paid for design and construction oversight.

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to Powers Ferry Road. In coordination with The Galloway School, the Chastain Horse Park, and the Chastain Park Amphitheatre, PATH and the city added a loop trail north along Powers Ferry Road and eastward along the lake to the playground and Dudley Lane.

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The Arabia Mountain PATH I

By Ed McBrayer

f you’ve never experienced the incredible wonders of the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area, you’ve got a must-do excursion to take this spring.

PATH has built over 34 miles of trails (signed as the AMP) through this environmental wonder that is still my favorite PATH trail built during my thirty-year tenure as Director.

Whether you are chugging up the many hills on a bike or hiking it with your kids, the beauty of the area will knock your socks off.

There are mountain streams with waterfalls, a boardwalk bridge

Arabia Mountain PATH in the fall.

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across a lake, two magnificent bridges over the South River, a Monastery, a trail across a rock outcropping, and countless places to sit and enjoy the natural beauty of the area.

The idea for this incredible trail system was brought to us by my good friend, Kelly Jordan, who was instrumental in seeing that 6,000 acres surrounding Arabia

Mountain didn’t succumb to advancing development. Kelly discovered an abandoned rail line from Lithonia to the quarry southwest of Stonecrest Mall.

He identified the owner, Hanson Aggregates, and secured a donation of the right of way for the first segment of the AMP. From 2000 to 2010 PATH completed over 19 miles of the AMP, weaving through land Kelly was assembling for the National Heritage Area. Trail development was very complex due to topography, water features, and the ever-presence of rock. The

It rained for thirty-five days in a row that summer; the lake level actually went up despite having the ‘plug’ open. We changed our plan, had the Ranger reinstall the plug, and summoned a barge to drive the piles across the lake. The resulting boardwalk bridge was worth the effort.

Kelly Jordan and Ed McBrayer

process of developing the AMP necessitated partnerships with county governments, the City of Lithonia, Stonecrest Mall, Georgia State Parks, and private land owners.

As we neared Panola Mountain State Park, Kelly and I visited with State Parks Director, Becky Kelley, a good friend from her days as DeKalb County Parks Director.

Becky immediately embraced the PATH plan to provide a trail system through Panola Mountain State Park, especially since it would connect to the mall, downtown Lithonia and the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Becky helped us obtain state and federal funding used to build the trail.

One segment of the AMP was proposed to be a circumferential trail around Alexander Lake.

There was a wetland at one end of the lake which we didn’t want to disturb. We decided to build a boardwalk across the lake. The Park Ranger agreed to lower the water level far enough to enable us to install the pilings for the boardwalk bridge.

If you decide to include the AMP in your spring plans, take the whole family and be prepared to spend the day. There are hills to climb, critters to see, and natural beauty to behold. We are proud to be associated with such a wonderful venue.

thanks to the staff at the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance for providing pictures and background for this article.

The design of the covered bridge at mile 5.9 was inspired by Horace King, a noted builder of bridges and other structures in the mid 1800’s. Mr. King was an AfricanAmerican gentleman born into slavery in 1807. His enslaver, John Godwin, a contractor, recognized Horace’s aptitude for designing and building bridges after working with him on several

ABOUT THE BRIDGES A book could be written about the wonders of the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area.

We have chosen to feature two amazing bridges on the AMP—a replica of an historic covered bridge and a really long trail bridge. These two bridges were significant milestones during the AMP development. Many

Two views of the covered bridge inspired by Horace King.

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Aerial view of the 525-foot-long bridge over the South River.

projects. In 1846, Godwin freed Horace and turned him loose to design and build on his own.

County and your generous donations to PATH.

The covered bridge over Stephenson Creek was designed

by Merle Grimes, a PATH design consultant, who passed away in 2010. Merle did significant research on Mr. King before contacting Steadfast Bridge builders in Scottsboro, Alabama to create an affordable bridge that honored the spirit of Horace King’s design. The result was a metal frame structure modified to accept wood cladding consistent with a King covered bridge.

The 525-foot-long bridge over the South River between the Monastery of the Holy Spirit and East Fairview Road remains the longest bridge PATH has built to date. It was erected in 2014 under the supervision of PATH Construction Manager Jonathan McCaig.

The 55-foot-long structure was built in 2011 by a Lewallen Construction crew led

by Kevin Rheinschmidt.

It was funded by DeKalb 6

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The bridge was delivered to the north shore in nine pieces and was assembled and lifted into place. The center section is 180 feet long with shorter segments spanning both shorelines and the flood plain. As the project was taking shape, the decision was made to build a rest area on the north shore so trail users could stop and enjoy

Bridge over the South River.

views of the bridge.

This bridge was funded by the Transportation Enhancement Program, Rockdale County, and your donations to PATH. Total cost of the structure was approximately $700,000. l

DeKalb County SPLOST

Vote YES for Atlanta TSPLOST! For three decades, PATH has been raising money from the private sector to leverage whatever public funding was available to build trails. On May 24th, the City of Atlanta will ask voters to approve extending the TSPLOST to provide, among other things, $28 million to match PATH’s private dollars for trail development.

PATH and DeKalb County developed the DeKalb Greenway Trail master plan in 1999 - 2000 that proposes over 120 miles for the county. The partnership has completed over 30 miles of trails from the plan as of 2022. PATH will seek to partner with DeKalb County to expand the trail system in DeKalb if the Commissioners propose another SPLOST. “We have identified multiple trail projects in DeKalb County that our donors would likely support if the County decides to include trails in a future SPLOST,” said PATH Director Greta deMayo. “I look forward to sharing our list with the Commissioners at the appropriate time.” Projects on the PATH list include closing the gaps in the South River Trail and extending the Peachtree Creek Greenway north of Brookhaven.

The good news is there are trail projects yet to be constructed, that were funded by the existing SPLOST. PATH will work with DeKalb County Commissioners and staff to advance these projects to construction. l

Previous Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, TSPLOST for short, has been used sparingly to advance trail development, e.g. Proctor Creek Greenway and the soon-to-be-developed Eastside Trolley Trail. This time around, our new Executive Director, Greta deMayo, took the initiative to meet with councilmembers and city staff to propose a more comprehensive partnership. The result, if passed by the voters, will be a trail project in almost every quadrant of the city using TSPLOST funding and PATH funding from our next capital campaign.

DeMayo said, “PATH has encouraged cities and counties to allocate local funding for years, rather than applying for federal funding. Atlanta has the chance to advance trail development to an unprecedented level if the voters want to extend the tax.” The proposed TSPLOST has the largest component devoted to trails, sidewalks, and quality of life projects in SPLOST history.

The proposed TSPLOST will also fund street, sidewalk, and bridge improvements, including future work on DeKalb Avenue. l

Rendering of the proposed East Side Trolley Trail at Arkwright Place and Whiteford Avenue. Funding for this trail will come from the current Atlanta TSPLOST.

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Construction Updates

Newly completed Northside Drive underpass.

Northside Drive – PATH crews recently finished pouring the trail under Northside Drive at Peachtree Creek. The trail underpass connects Atlanta Memorial Park and neighborhoods west of Northside Drive to the PATH trail around Bobby Jones Golf Course.

This connection would not have happened without the support of the Peachtree Battle Alliance neighbors and the extraordinary cooperation from the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).

PATH approached GDOT with a proposal to move the southern abutment of the new road bridge away from the creek to allow room for the trail. GDOT agreed to include the PATH proposal in the final plan if PATH and the City of Atlanta would pay for the trail connection.

A special thanks to the Atlanta Memorial Park Conservancy, former Atlanta Councilmember J.P. Matzigkeit, and PATH donors for securing funds for the connection.

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Westside BeltLine along Marietta Boulevard.

Westside BeltLine - PATH crews are nearing completion of the Westside BeltLine trail segment from Jefferson Street to Huff Road. This segment is a collaborative effort between Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. and the PATH Foundation. This project will join the Westside BeltLine Connector Trail to the downtown Atlanta area and the westside neighborhoods. This segment is also a component of the Atlanta to Silver Comet Trail connection and provides the opportunity to have a trail connection to the Proctor Creek Greenway and the Westside Park.

Bridge over Cricket Frog Trestle k. ee Dried Indian Cr

Covington Mayor Steve Horton (middle) at the Cricket Frog Ribbon Cutting on March 2, 2022.

Construction along McIntosh Parkway.

Newnan LINC - Construction crews are making incredible progress on two segments of the Newnan LINC. Once the segments under development are completed, the growing neighborhoods east of I-85 to historic downtown Newnan will be connected. The Newnan LINC master plan suggests 25 miles of trails connecting outlying neighborhoods and important destinations to the downtown commercial district.

Hats off to Newnan for allocating the funds necessary to build this great connection. Many thanks to PATH donors for enabling us to be a part of this great project.

Covington Cricket Frog – Every trail user enjoys crossing trestles on rail-trails. The recently refurbished Cricket Frog trestle will be just as big of a thrill as any.

At 300 feet-long, it’s not the longest or highest trestle we’ve encountered, but the feeling one gets crossing it is superb. The trestle is at mile 4.6 of the Cricket Frog, which curves gently through older neighborhoods only a few blocks north of the historic downtown square.

The Cricket Frog has been a longtime project of Newton Trails who have persevered when little support could be found. Fast forward to 2020 with new city and county leadership and the project is progressing nicely. PATH agreed to provide project management services and a few dollars for design and construction once local support was in place.

The Cricket Frog will connect Porterdale through Covington to Mansfield, once all phases are complete. l APRIL 2022

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PATH is a 501©3, non-profitBeltLine organization. Our very existence depends on Connector your contributions! All the work we have done to make metro Atlanta Upper S.Fork Peachtree and the state of Georgia a better place to walk, run, and ride were Westside Trail Creek Greenway dependent on donations from philanthropic agencies and individuals Creek Walk that shared our vision for safer, more enjoyable places for nonmotorized commuting and recreating.

PATH has consistently delivered an abundance of trails while maintaining a very low overhead. Year after year, we have utilized more than 90% of your contributions to build trails. We need your philanthropy to leverage city, county, state, and federal funding to build Eastside more trails.

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If you enjoy PATH trails, help us become the most trail connected PATH South River Connector region in the U.S. by investing today!

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ED’S CORNER edwin@pathfoundation.org

The Grass is Greener Over Here, but...

If you’re lucky in life, you get to enjoy a few years in the pasture before you are faced with the eternal dirt nap. You can count me as one of the lucky ones. I (sorta) retired in March of 2020, so I’ve got one and a half feet in the pasture now. The board and staff at PATH are keeping me plugged in to some degree, but most days I’m roaming around the pasture as a care-free soul. PATH is in good hands and I’m still close enough to be drawn in if they need to know where a body is buried or how something was done in prehistoric times. Lol Since most of us work 50-60 years of our lives preparing for our time in the pasture, I thought it would be helpful for those immersed in the daily grind if I shared some observations from the retirement side of the fence. First of all, I recommend not waiting ‘til you’re an old geezer like me to pass through the gate. Do it when your body is still able to do what your mind wants to do.

I’ll be 78 in June so you get some perspective. If you wait too long, you may end up sitting on the dock and reading a book rather than doing all the things you’ve saved money for and planned to do in retirement (note - sitting on the dock is not a bad gig).

rule. You can’t count on good health ‘til you’re my age. I can visualize a time when I won’t want to go, go, go all the time. I enjoyed my job so much that I lost track of time (I should have looked in the mirror more often).

Secondly, stay current with the friends and hobbies that you want to enjoy after retirement. I lost touch with so many people when I was immersed in PATH. Now, they’ve either divorced, remarried and moved away, gone senile, or they died.

I didn’t nurture my hobbies.

I pictured myself building an elaborate model train layout when I retired. After visiting with my good buddy Tyrone Burkette, I now realize it takes years to build a set. I’m not sure I can even duck under the plywood to access the control station anymore.

assumed I would be flying for fun in retirement. Problem is, I didn’t stay current when I was working, and while I’m healthy enough and my skills are still intact, the technology is too sophisticated for an old VOR and DME pilot to master.

My PATH years were great. Not sure I would trade any one year for an extra year to build model railroad set or hone my flying skills. My advice is when you start graying out, evaluate your life every year and make sure you are leaving adequate time to spend with old friends, enjoying hobbies, or sitting on the dock and reading a book. The pasture will be a fun stop on your journey if you plan carefully and leave time to enjoy it. l

Another passion of mine is recreational flying. I always

Don’t get me wrong; I’m in pretty good shape for 78. I do three cycle classes a week and travel somewhere almost every month.

But I may be an exception to the APRIL 2022

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Presorted First-Class Mail U.S. Postage Paid Atlanta, GA Permit No. 8163

PATH Foundation P.O. Box 14327 Atlanta, GA 30324

PATH Foundation Board of Directors Tree McGlown Charlie Shufeldt, Chairman Lyle Ross Alexander C. Taylor, Vice Chairman John W. Somerhalder II Jennifer Dorian, Secretary C. Austin Stephens Harry L. Anderson, Treasurer Richard Tyler Brian Cosgray Lauren Wilson William C. Fowler B. Harvey Hill, Jr. Jaime Hockin Sam Friedman, Emeritus Chairman Ciannat Howett W. Douglas Ellis, Jr., Emeritus James C. Kennedy Carol Muldawer, Emeritus Sarah K. Kennedy Greta deMayo, Executive Director Scott Kitchens Ed McBrayer, Executive Advisor E. Cody Laird, Jr. Stephen Lanier

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