PATH’s partnership to develop trails in Columbus, Georgia can be traced back to a January 2015 visit to the PATH office by Ken Henson and Betsy Covington, both with the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley. Ken, Board Chairman, and Betsy, President and CEO, were familiar with our successful partnerships with Community Foundations in Carrollton and Atlanta. In the meeting, we suggested Ken, Betsy and Columbus officials take a trip to Carrollton to see one of our partnerships in action. A couple of weeks later, Ken and Betsy took Columbus City Manager Isaiah
In April 2015, PATH team members spent several days scouring Columbus for potential trail corridors. PATH recognized the importance of connecting all Columbus neighborhoods to the existing 14 mile-long RiverWalk. Columbus also had the Fall Line Trace, an 11 mile-long rail trail, which came within 1.5 miles of the RiverWalk. They needed a plan for retrofitting trails through the mostly urban environment that would connect the city in a whole new way. “The PATH master plan was what got us started,” said Betsy. “It is serving as our guide on what to build next.”
Ken and Betsy formed a Friends group to guide development of the master plan and advocate for the trail system after the plan was completed. The Friends group named the trail system the Dragonfly and it became Dragonfly Trails, Inc. The PATH team worked with Dragonfly Trails, Inc. and city staff to complete the Dragonfly master plan and a design of the initial project, connecting the Fall Line Trace to the RiverWalk.
In 2017 and 2018, PATH helped Columbus build the trail between the Fall Line Trace and the RiverWalk, and a trail along MLK Boulevard, as phase I of the connection between the RiverWalk and scores of
Hugley and Councilman Glenn Davis to Carrollton for a tour.
The popularity of the Dragonfly has encouraged the city to allocate additional T-SPLOST funding for trails...Photos by Trey Walker Studios
east and south Columbus neighborhoods. The city, aided by Dragonfly Trails, Inc., recently completed the connection from MLK Boulevard to the RiverWalk that includes the spectacular LED lighted tunnel on the cover of this newsletter. This tunnel is now one of the longest LED lighted tunnels in the U.S. The entrance on the west end has a mural that was designed and installed by current and former art students at Columbus State University.
The popularity of the Dragonfly has encouraged the city to allocate additional T-SPLOST funding for trails suggested in the Dragonfly plan. There is now over $20 million in funding allocated to connect Dinglewood Park and Lake Bottom Park to the trail system, add an extension of the RiverWalk north of Lake Oliver Marina, and build a trail from Midtown
With the trail segments recently completed, Columbus now has more than 33 miles of interconnected trails with an additional 30 miles planned and funded.
through Woodruff Farm Soccer Complex to the Industrial Park.
Becca Zajac was hired in 2019 as the Executive Director of the Friends of the Dragonfly. “Popularity of the Dragonfly makes it easier to raise private dollars to leverage the city’s allocations. People understand that the Dragonfly improves the quality of life for all Columbus citizens and enhances Columbus as a tourist destination,” Becca said.
With the trail segments recently completed, Columbus now has more than 33 miles of interconnected trails with an additional 30 miles planned and funded. The Dragonfly has indeed taken flight! If you ride beyond the RiverWalk into Fort Benning there are 20, 40, and 100 mile loops to enjoy. l
The first segment of the Westside BeltLine Trail to be completed was dedicated on October 19th. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Jim Kennedy, representing The James M. Cox Foundation, Atlanta BeltLine CEO, Clyde Higgs, and PATH Executive Director Greta deMayo, were among those dignitaries in attendance.
PATH and Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. partnered to develop the trail using primarily philanthropic funding, largely from The James M. Cox Foundation. The section that was dedicated extends from the Westside BeltLine Connector, built by the same partnership in 2020, to Huff Road in Atlanta’s booming upper Westside neighborhood. This phase of the BeltLine will serve as the primary BeltLine Trail and as a component of PATH’s Silver Comet to downtown trail initiative.
Philanthropic funding was supplemented by a Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program (GOSP) grant, money collected by the state as a tax on the sale of outdoor equipment, and distributed through a grant program to build recreational infrastructure such as trails. The planning, design, and construction were managed by the PATH team while ASTRA Construction was the primary contractor on the job.
The right-of-way for the new section of BeltLine Trail was created by reconfiguring Marietta Boulevard from a five-lane to a three-lane roadway, establishing a new curb line, and using the new, wider shoulder for a landscaped buffer and the trail (see photos above). There was no abandoned rail corridor for the BeltLine in this area.
This trail segment with its connection to the Westside BeltLine Connector, creates a seamless trail from Huff Road at Marietta Boulevard to Centennial Olympic Park. Future segments of the Northwest BeltLine Trail, already in design, will connect Huff Road at Marietta Boulevard to Bobby Jones Golf Course and the Northeast BeltLine Trail. PATH’s effort to connect the Silver Comet Trail to downtown will branch off the future BeltLine Trail near the Top Golf facility. l
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Peachtee Creek
Upper Westside Trail
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Northside BeltLine Northeast BeltLine
Hemphill Water Treatment Plant
Westside BeltLine
Proctor Creek Greenway
Westside Trail
Westside BeltLine Connector
PATH Parkway
Piedmont Park Centennial Olympic Park
Eastside BeltLine
S.Fork Peachtree Creek Greenway Creek Walk
Westside BeltLine
Eastpoint PATH
Southtowne PATH
Zoo Atlanta
Stone Mountain PATH
Candler Park
PATH South River Connector
Southside BeltLine
$987,656 8.15%
$5,649,399 46.63%
$456,769 3.77%
21.99%
82.91%
$100,876 0.96%
$557,509 5.28%
10.32%
$56,065 0.53%
When I decided to write this story, I started listing the ‘heroes’ for each trail and the list literally filled the page. If I live long enough, I’ll write a book about all the passionate people that have contributed to my trail-building journey, but for now, I had to pick a few that would fit into my corner.
If not for Brenda Burnette (now Brenda Tate), and her connections at the Georgia DNR, I doubt the State of Georgia and PATH would have ever figured out how to partner and build the Silver Comet Trail. Without Joe Anderson helping me piece together the right-of-way west of Rockmart, I would have failed in my attempt to connect the Comet. And then there was Senator Nathan Dean, who walked me into countless legislators’ offices advocating for more state money for the trail. All these people had passion for what we were creating.
When we were putting our board of directors together, we asked Gloria Borders to join our board. Gloria lived in southwest Atlanta on Flamingo Road. At the initial PATH board meeting, Gloria told me her house backed up to 140 acres owned by the bandleader Lionel Hampton. She said her neighborhood would benefit greatly from having a trail and greenspace connecting through the parcel. Gloria and Maxine Rock contacted Mr. Hampton and the donation of land for the trail followed.
edwin@pathfoundation.org
Gloria and her daughters Lisa and Julie, introduced me to the neighborhood and helped me negotiate the politics at city hall. Without their support, the trail initiative would have failed. They had a passion for their neighborhood and the connectivity a greenway trail would provide. Without their passionate support the Lionel Hampton Trail, Atlanta’s first PATH trail would not have been built.
When Stephanie Stuckey was appointed Director of Sustainability by Kasim Reed, she immediately launched the effort to build a greenway and trail along Proctor Creek. The creek weaves through an underserved part of Atlanta. Stephanie was looking for ways to provide sustainable infrastructure in areas of the city that needed a little boost.
Stephanie knew me and was familiar with the work we had done in the city and DeKalb County. She lobbied to have the city allocate T-SPLOST funding for the project after we presented a plan for the whole trail and a design for phase 1. If not for the passionate support of Stephanie there wouldn’t be a Proctor Creek Trail or maybe even a Microsoft facility.
Former Parks Commissioner for Atlanta, Diane Harnell Cohen, was a passionate ally when we were proposing the trail along Tanyard Creek. Diane understood what a trail would add to the park and took the heat alongside me
when it was proposed. She had a passion for connectivity and the passion for greenspace. Without her support, the trail through Tanyard Park wouldn’t be there.
And I couldn’t write this story without heaping mountains of praise on my good buddy, Kelly Jordan. Kelly was always passionate about establishing a trail network on the land he assembled at Arabia Mountain. Kelly not only assembled the property; he cleared countless obstacles from our path that threatened to block trail development. His passionate pleas to the Dekalb County Commissioners netted numerous allocations of funding that kept construction moving. Aided by the support of Vernon Jones and his assistant Richard Stogner, Kelly was a dynamo when it came to lining up right-of-way and local funding to improve Arabia Mountain. The AMP would not be in place if not for the passionate support of Kelly.
Since semi-retiring, I enjoy reading all the blogs and posts that chronicle wonderful experiences on the trails we built. It reinforces my opinion that trails are an essential component of any community infrastructure. Trails are the ultimate venue for experiencing the outdoors.
To the passionate helpers that made trails happen, I hope you get an occasional ‘tingle’ when trail users praise a trail. I certainly do. l
PATH Foundation
P.O. Box 14327 Atlanta, GA 30324
Charlie Shufeldt, Chairman
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Jennifer Dorian, Secretary
Harry L. Anderson, Treasurer
William C. Fowler
B. Harvey Hill, Jr. Jaime Hockin
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John W. Somerhalder II
C. Austin Stephens Richard Tyler
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