PATH Newsletter April 2019

PATH NEWS

April 2019 Issue #98

PATH & ATLANTA BELTLINE TO BUILD WESTSIDE BELTLINE CONNECTOR PATH Foundation

A Non-Profit Organization Dedicated to Planning and Building Greenway Trails Pictured: Chastain Park

PATH & ATLANTA BELTLINE TO BUILD WESTSIDE BELTLINE CONNECTOR Atlanta BeltLine, Inc (ABI) and PATH are partnering to build a major BeltLine connector into downtown Atlanta. The trail will begin at Boone Boulevard and Northside Drive and end at Marietta Boulevard and Huff Road. It will connect with the recently completed PATH on Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard and Luckie Street to create a seamless trail to Centennial Park and downtown.

This incredible connection is possible due to recent acquisitions made by ABI. The abandoned rail from PATH Westside BeltLine Connector Marietta Boulevard through English Avenue will be right-of-way for most of the new trail. A few acquisitions near Boone coupled with alterations to Marietta Boulevard will serve to complete the connection.

“The Atlanta BeltLine and its partners are paving the way for a more unified Atlanta,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said in a February 20th press release. Clyde Higgs, newly appointed CEO of ABI said, “ We are thrilled to have an opportunity to work with PATH and Westside communities to advance connectivity between downtown, the Westside BeltLine, and Westside Park.”

A portion of the trail will be mainline BeltLine Trail from Huff Road at Marietta Boulevard to the abandoned rail corridor south of Jefferson Street and along the abandoned rail line to the wye intersection. The balance of the new trail will be classified as PATH BeltLine Connector similar to the Southwest and Northwest BeltLine Connectors.

The PATH design team started working on the construction documents for phases of the trail several months ago. As a result, construction on certain segments could be underway before the end of the year. PATH has an ambitious goal of completing the entire trail within three years.

Donald Lee Hollowell Tunnel

Boone Bridge Connection

Next steps include public outreach, coordinating with adjacent property owners, and solidifying the partnerships necessary to complete the project.

Watch the PATH and ABI websites for the schedule for public meetings. This is going to be fun!

Marietta Boulevard

CONSTRUCTION UPDATES Peachtree Creek Greenway Great progress is being made to complete phase I of the Peachtree Creek Greenway in the City of Brookhaven.

Virtually all clearing and grading was completed by the end of February. Many of the retaining walls and supports for the bridge over the creek are poured, stripped, and backfilled.

Small sections of the trail have been poured and backfilled.

PATH400

PATH crews are currently working on two segments of PATH400 between Lenox Mall and Peachtree Creek. PATH crews have broken through the soundwall just south of Lenox Square to provide construction access to the segment being constructed under the active Norfolk-Southern track.

Most of the retaining walls for this section have been completed and backfilled. Work on the covered underpass will begin this month.

In addition, PATH is altering the Adina Street right-of-way to provide space for PATH400 between Garson Drive and Lindbergh Drive. Both projects should be completed in time for summer walks and rides.

International Park PATH crews are wrapping up grading and drainage work for phase 4 of the International Park trail in Clayton County. This segment will be finished this summer completing the circumferential trail around International Park.

Commerce Drive in Decatur Work recently began to provide one way cycle tracks on Commerce Drive in downtown Decatur. This project is a joint effort by the City of Decatur and the PATH Foundation.

The lanes of Commerce Drive will be manipulated to create a vegetated buffer and two, one-way cycle tracks from the recently completed North McDonough cycle track to the soon-to-be-constructed cycle track on Church Street.

‘d In

T

he first phase of the Newnan LINC between Summer Grove and Newnan Crossing Boulevard was dedicated on February 9th at a ceremony at the Newnan Center. The 1.9 mile-long trail has been heavily used by surrounding neighborhoods for several months while PATH crews installed signs, benches, and other amenities.

At the February 9th ceremony, Newnan Mayor Keith Brady welcomed the crowd and thanked PATH, the Kaizen design team, and Lewallen Construction for their efforts to deliver the trail. Jim Thomasson, chairman of Friends of the LINC, announced the appointment of Kim Learnerd as the first Executive Director of the group.

“It is the LINC that will bridge physical divides such as railroads and interstates, connecting our community, promoting health and wellness, and spurring economic development,” Lynn said.

Phase I includes a tunnel under Lower Fayetteville Road and connections to the Newnan Center and Newnan Crossing Elementary School. The City opted to close Lower Fayetteville Road for approximately thirty days last summer so PATH crews could expedite tunnel construction and minimize the cost. The result is a seamless trail through woodlands with no street crossings.

The PATH design team has been busy designing three more phases of the LINC including a 200 footlong bridge over I-85 which will join phase I at Newnan Crossing Boulevard. The bridge over I-85 and the connection to the Cancer Treatment Center should be under construction later this year.

Other phases being designed will connect historic downtown Newnan to Grieson Trail, including a boardwalk over a lake and a tunnel under Farmers Road at CJ Smith Park. These segments will be under construction in 2020 and completed in 2021.

Funding for the LINC is being provided by the City of Newnan TSPLOST program. Design and construction oversight is being funded by your donations to PATH.

Nearby residents enjoy an early spring walk on LINC, Phase I.

Saying Goodbye to a Great Friend...

It is with great sadness that all of us at PATH said goodbye to Maxine Rock (center) in late February.

Maxine suffered a heart attack in December and never recovered from the ensuing operation.

“Max” and her husband David helped organize PATH back in 1990. Max was instrumental in introducing PATH to Mayor Maynard Jackson, Police Chief Eldrin Bell, DOT Commissioner Wayne Schackelford, and other prominent Atlantans during the formative years at PATH. Max also served on the original PATH Board of Directors, filling the role of Vice Chairperson for two years.

Everyone who enjoys riding and walking on PATH trails owes a little gratitude to Maxine. The PATH board and staff will always have a special place in our hearts for her.

NEW at PATH...

VELOCITY ATLANTA

In January, Suzanne Scully joined the PATH staff as Executive Assistant. After several years of focusing on her family, she had an opportunity be a part of this great organization. She comes to us with 25 years of sales experince at IBM and offers a fresh perspective to complement the remarkable contributions that PATH has made to our city.

VeloCity, a new cycling event supporting Grady Hospital, is being held for the second year on Saturday, May 4th. Fully-supported routes range from 5.5 to 100 miles with plenty of rest stops along the way – and for those who don’t ride the roads, there are indoor cycling classes with a live DJ throughout the day. All participants are invited to celebrate their success at the VeloCity Finish Line Festival at The Home Depot Backyard where they will find great food, cold beer, live music and even a post-ride massage! Participants pay a registration fee and are asked to raise funds to support Grady’s lifesaving care.

For more information or to register, visit www.velocityatlanta.com.

Suzanne Scully PRESENTED BY THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION

Where to Scoot?

R

by Ed McBrayer

ecently, I was walking to a meeting within a few blocks of Emory when an e-scooter whizzed by me, inches away from my side. Had I changed direction or wobbled a little (like old people often do), we would have had an unpleasant encounter.

Later that same day, I was driving down the big hill approaching the VA Hospital on Clairmont Road when I encountered a young woman riding an e-scooter in the travel lane of the road. Both of these riders created dangerous situations that could have resulted in serious injury. The narrow sidewalk designed for pedestrians and the travel lane of a major arterial are not the right places to ride a scooter. Where should e-scooters be ridden?

I think PATH trails and protected cycle tracks are the best alternative for traveling on e-scooters.

PATH has resisted any type of motorized vehicle on our trails through the years but e-scooters are here to stay. With a few modifications to the way they are accessed and utilized, I think scooters can easily be accepted as permitted vehicles on PATH trails.

E-scooters serve a transportation niche embraced by young people who, in the past, would be buying their first car or walking to their destination instead of scooting. E-scooters are fun to use, easy to access, and a cheap way to travel.

In order to make e-scooter use safer I believe the following action should be taken: •

Before a rider is eligible to access a scooter, he or she should have to read rules and etiquette for scooter use at the e-scooter-of-choice website

•

Rules and etiquette should include: no sidewalk riding, no travel lane riding, no riding while intoxicated or impaired, no underaged riders, announcing yourself when approaching pedestrians, bicyclists, and slower scooters, proper placement of scooters at end of a trip, etc.

•

All e-scooters should be equipped with a horn or bell to sound when approaching other (trail) users.

•

Scooter riders that do not follow the rules should be banned from renting scooters

•

There should be legislation passed in each “scooter” jurisdiction clearly defining scooter rules; riders should be cited for violating the rules.

Nothing works without clearly defined rules and enforcement of the rules. E-scooters will be welcome on PATH trails as long as rules are established and enforced.

Ed’s Corner

I

t was a clear April day in the spring of 1997 and I was shepherding a group of Paulding and Polk County elected officials to Orlando to experience the West Orange Trail. The fate of the Silver Comet Trail would likely be determined in the next 24 hours.

I was taking a big chance. What if the trail didn’t live up to my expectations? I’d never seen it before either. The website indicated the trail saved Winter Garden, Florida from being a ghost town.

Supposedly, the trail ran right through the middle of the commercial area and was largely responsible for bringing the downtown back to life. I was touting that the Silver Comet would do the same thing in Rockmart and Cedartown so my plan to let them experience success should firmly put the decision makers in my camp. I convinced Jimmy Lester to go along. Jimmy ran a family-owned business in downtown Rockmart and had a lot of influence with the Rockmart City Council.

Everyone arrived at the gate on time and we were soon Orlando bound on a sleek, Delta 1011 Tristar. I had a big ole van rented for the forty minute drive to the trailhead near Oakland, Florida. I got everyone loaded in the van and headed west on Interstate 4.

In the city, people run for fun, walk to school, and occasionally bike to work. Rural Georgians, particularly in 1997, didn’t do much running or biking and pretty much used their car for all travel. Being connected by a trail to all the drama seen on the eleven o’clock news wasn’t something elected officials were inclined to support if they wanted to stay in office. This day needed to go just right.

We arrived at the west end of the trail about the same time it reached 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity.

I had reserved bicycles for the ten mile trip into Winter Garden where a lunch was planned in the park. I was sweating bullets as we rode away from the rental shop. What was I thinking? Ten, mostly overweight men, who hadn’t been on a bicycle in decades, riding ten miles through the Florida heat and humidity to see a trail.

Just when I needed it the most, luck kicked in to help us out. The trail was ever so slightly downhill toward Winter Garden. These gentlemen were socializing, smiling, and having a great time as we lumbered around the curve and spotted the park where lunch was waiting.

We were warmly greeted by the Mayor and much of his staff. It took only moments for us all to become friends as we crowded around shady picnic tables and dug in to the boxed lunches prepared by the local sandwich shop. As we chatted under the oaks, I noticed a large banner draped across the main road through town proclaiming Winter Garden as “Home of the West Orange Trail.” I made sure everyone in our group saw the banner and understood the significance of a city branding itself with a trail.

Throughout lunch, we saw tourists traveling on the trail, locals walking dogs, and business people out for a lunchtime stroll. Elderly folks and physically impaired travelers dotted the trail the entire time we were there.

Conversations on the trip back were all about how rather than if. These guys all wanted to make their cities better; all I did was show them one way to do it.

History needs to cast a warm glow around that group of commissioners and councilmen. They followed me to central Florida, rode a bicycle twenty miles in the heat, let me lobby them down there and back, and ultimately voted for us to build a trail for those ‘Spandex people from Atlanta.’ Hats off to that fine group of men. Without them, there wouldn’t be a Silver Comet Trail.

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 Chairman, Charles Shufeldt Vice Chairman, Alex Taylor Secretary, Brian Cosgray Treasurer, Harry L. Anderson Samuel Bacote Jennifer Dorian Doug Ellis Sam Friedman Ed McBrayer Executive Director

William C. Fowler B. Harvey Hill, Jr. Warren Jobe James C. Kennedy Sarah K. Kennedy Cody Laird Carol Muldawer C. Austin Stephens