Winter 2024

December 2024, Issue #114

Connecting Communities Across Georgia with 327 Miles of Trails

Newest PATH400 Segment PATH Foundation A Non-Profit Organization Dedicated to Planning and Building Greenway Trails

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Spanish Moss Trail

een thinking about where to go for a getaway this winter? You might be considering Hilton Head, Charleston, Savannah or St. Simons; somewhere that is bike/walk friendly with interesting restaurants and a manageable distance from home. Why not consider Beaufort, South Carolina rather than the same old places? You won’t be disappointed. You’ll get the coastal Carolina charm without the crowds and traffic you’ll likely experience at the larger, more frequented vacation spots mentioned above.

Beaufort is a city of roughly 15,000 full-time residents and a bustling tourist population on most weekends, so there’s no dearth of places to stay

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and eat. Beaufort is also home to the Spanish Moss Trail, an elevenmile rail-trail, just west of the downtown commercial area. PATH helped locals build the trail on the abandoned railroad that used to serve the Paris Island Marine Base.

The Spanish Moss Trail bridges surging tidal creeks, goes through an abandoned freight depot and offers tranquil views of the marsh.

It weaves through peaceful neighborhoods, a major shopping center and has a planned extension to Port Royal and popular restaurants. It is meticulously maintained by the City of

Beaufort Parks Department and sponsored by the Friends of the Spanish Moss Trail, a volunteer group set up to guide future improvements to the trail.

But back to eating: you can’t go wrong at the Wren or Breakwater Restaurant and Bar downtown and the Fishcamp on 11th Street or the Shellring Ale Works in Port Royal. There are many good places to stay and eat in Beaufort. Don’t forget your bike and gear. The Spanish Moss Trail is one of our most scenic trails. l

Scan QR code for a short peek at the Spanish Moss Trail.

PROJECT

UPDATES Scan QR codes for trail progress videos

PLANNING AND DESIGN Trails ATL Public meetings conducted throughout 2024 are complete. A report with all of the findings and recommendations will be available early in 2025.

Visit trailsatl.com for updates.

Northwest Beltline (Segment 5) Construction is underway in Blandtown to connect Marietta Boulevard to English Street.

Completion is scheduled for late 2025.

Northwest Beltline All segments (1-5) are expected to be fully designed by year end. PATH is providing Project Management of design, permitting and construction.

PATH400 - Loridans Drive to Sandy Springs Waiting for final approval and documentation from GDOT and the City of Atlanta. Expect to break ground in January 2025.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Northwest Beltline (Segment 1) Construction began in October and will connect Peachtree Hills with Brookwood Hills. Design includes elevated trails and a bridge over Peachtree Creek.

SCC – Woodall Rail Trail This segment will connect both the Silver Comet and the Northwest Beltline. It is on schedule to be completed by the end of the year.

Trail under PATH400 at Mountain Way

PATH400 - Wieuca Road to Loridans Drive The trail has been poured and handrails are being installed along the 80’ bridge. In 2025, the final wall will be constructed, allowing the Mountain Way Common spur to be completed.

Entrance to bridge over Peachtree Creek

SCC – Plant Atkinson Road to the Chattahoochee River Cobb County, in partnership with C.W. Matthews, will complete this project by June 2025.

SCC – MacArthur Trail Construction will be begin in early 2025 and will connect the Upper Westside and the Atlanta Beltline.

Woodall Rail Trail boardwalk

COMPLETED SCC – Silver Comet Trailhead to Plant Atkinson Road This segment of the SCC is now complete and open to the public. An official ribbon cutting will take place early in 2025.

Cricket Frog Trail – Alcovy River Trestle A new bridge was installed on the Cricket Frog Trail that completes their 14 miles of continuous trails through Newton County. A ribbon cutting was held on November 16, 2024.

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Cedartown, Georgia

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Piedmont, Alabama

Rockmart, Georgia

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Brushy Mo Tunn

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88

Jacksonville, Alabama 94

Anniston, Alabama Places to stay along the

Legend Hotel Bed & Breakfast Campsite

Scan for lodging details

Map not to scale for illustrative purposes only.

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Silver Co Trail

8 Coot’s Lake

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Dallas, Georgia

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umpkinvine Trestle

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Hiram, Georgia

Smyrna, Georgia

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ATH was formed in 1991 someone’s donation to PATH likely because no government entity played at least a part in the planning, or private organization was design and construction of the trail focused on providing they frequent. safe places for people to ride a If you are a trail user who bike or even walk. Trails are part enjoys seeing extensions and of the city’s infrastructure as a expansions of trails in Georgia, result of PATH. We introduced consider donating to the trails to Atlanta long before the Scan to organization that had a hand Beltline was ever imagined. donate in building the trail you use on It is gratifying to see the popularity of trails that we have developed. Most of the people using trails think they were developed by their local government, when in fact

CASH/CREDIT

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IN HONOR OF

a regular basis and is actively involved in providing more trails in the future. We make it easy to contribute by using one of the methods below, and thank you. l

MEMORIALS

GIFT OF TRAILS

STOCKS

Photo: Seth Bollinger

We Depend on Donations

PATH’s Past

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s some of you know, I’m chronicling the first thirty years of PATH with the much-appreciated help of colleagues, staff past and present, and people who have supported our mission since the beginning. I have enjoyed my trip down memory lane and my conversations with old friends that shared my journey.

I have spent days trying to organize our plight and looking at old photos in preparation for writing the history of our journey. I have experiences to share about each trail we built; stories that no one else can (or should) tell. I realized during my quest to be all inclusive, that it’s just as important to cover the projects we didn’t implement and why they didn’t get built.

The most notable (to me) was our proposal to connect Centennial Olympic Park to the Mercedes-Benz stadium with a “SkyPATH.” We reasoned that there was not a good way for people to walk between the major hotels downtown and

the stadium that was about to be built. Plus, we needed a trail connection to the Westside of Atlanta.

I had just returned from a visit to China for an international trade show where I saw thousands of baskets of flowers hanging from viaduct railings at the entrance to the Trade Center. Arthur Blank had just started building his stadium.

The whole city was focused on improving the connection to Westside neighborhoods.

I pictured an elevated trail between the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) and the new stadium with flowers hanging from the railings to tie into a pedestrian bridge over Northside Drive. I pictured the images from overhead, on game days, as crowds from downtown hotels traveled along the SkyPATH to the big game. The project was deemed too disruptive by the GWCC and too expensive by Mr. Blank. In fairness, both gave it consideration, but in the end decided it was a no go.

ED’S

CORNER edwin@pathfoundation.org

Fast forward a few years and we had the notion to connect all the major universities by trail. We had recently built a trail through Atlanta University Center, Georgia Tech and Georgia State; we needed to link the Emory campus and Agnes Scott in Decatur. Agnes Scott was adjacent to the Stone Mountain Trail so that left Emory.

Being a linear park and trail buff, I looked at the greenspace next to the Paideia School and thought we could develop a spur to Emory by ducking under the Ponce de Leon Avenue viaduct, skirt the Druid Hills Country Club golf course and utilize the gap between the shops at Emory Village to make the connection. Boy was I wrong! We had no visible support from the get-go, aside from trail buffs like me.

I wonder if the parties involved in saying no to these projects ever lay awake second guessing their decision to oppose them.

Could it be that old, retired people like me are the only ones who have time for such thoughts? Maybe someday… l

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

PATH Foundation 1601 West Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30309

PATH Foundation Board of Directors Charlie Shufeldt, Chairman Alexander C. Taylor, Vice Chairman C. Austin Stephens, Secretary Harry L. Anderson, Treasurer Jennifer Dorian B. Harvey Hill, Jr. Jaime Hockin Ciannat Howett James C. Kennedy Sarah K. Kennedy Scott Kitchens E. Cody Laird, Jr. Stephen Lanier Tree McGlown Lyle Ross

John W. Somerhalder II Stephanie Stephens Richard Tyler Lauren Wilson W. Douglas Ellis, Jr., Emeritus William C. Fowler, Emeritus Carol Muldawer, Emeritus Greta deMayo, Executive Director Ed McBrayer, Executive Advisor

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