Study underway to find routes for BeltLine’s Northwest Trail By Amy Wenk and Collin Kelley A landmark bridge over I-75 that lights up at night. An elevated walkway through the tree canopy at Spring Valley Park. A path along Buckhead’s artsy Bennett Street. These are some ideas for the Atlanta BeltLine’s Northwest Trail, a complex project that must navigate a major highway, active railroads and the city’s most famous street, Peachtree. Unlike other parts of the BeltLine, the northwest segment doesn’t have abandoned railroad corridors to repurpose for trails. “Since we don’t have that abandoned rail corridor opportunity, we’re looking at destinations to help guide and frame the decisions around the pros and cons of alternate routes,” said Greta deMayo, executive director of the PATH Foundation, which is leading the study for the roughly 4.5-mile trail. The study is considering
possible routes for the trail, cost estimates and in what order the trail should be built. A preferred route should be selected by year’s end. Generally speaking, the trail would run from the northern end of the Westside BeltLine Connector that’s now under construction (near the Westside Park) to the existing Northside Trail (at Tanyard Creek and Atlanta Memorial parks), extending east to the future Northeast Trail (near the Armour/Ottley district). PATH’s study will not include future transit routes, which will require its own study. It’s likely that transit will have a separate route through much of the northwest corridor. “There is a feasibility study that has federal funding in it that will be looking at BeltLine transit, generally between MARTA Bankhead station and the MARTA Lindbergh station,” said Shaun Green,
BeltLine senior transportation engineer. He said he hopes to start the procurement process by the end of this year, but that it could happen next year. “That’s a future conversation … we are just not there yet.” Find out more about the corridor options at pathfoundation.org. In other BeltLine news, crew are working to widen a portion of the Eastside Trail trail by four feet in high traffic areas between Krog Street Market and Piedmont Park. A two-foot-wide shoulder will be added to both sides of the trail, using a material called Flexi-Pave, or a flexible, porous pavement. A short section of similar surfaces was installed near the John Lewis Freedom Parkway bridge a few years ago. The Eastside Trail is also getting a new access point at busy Ponce
de Leon Avenue. The ADA-accessible ramp will be installed on the north side of Ponce, between the CVS pharmacy in Midtown Place shopping center and the BeltLine trail. Bike lane and pedestrian enhancements are also coming to Ponce to make access to the trail safer for riders and walkers.
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