Newspaper Page Text
Northeast BeltLine Trail
may soon enter Buckhead
MAYSON ST
ARMOUR DR
POSSIBLE
ANSLEY MALL
CONNECTION
WESTMINISTER DR
Atlanta BeltLine Corridor
10 th STREET
Atlanta BeltLine Northeast Trail
Project Scope
Atlanta Atlanta BeltLine
BeltLine Northeast Trail
Northern Extension Not in Scope
This map presented at the public meeting shows the segment that
could be constructed next, which extends from Ansley Mall to Mayson
Street, in the solid blue line.
By Evelyn Andrews
The Atlanta
BeltLine may soon
extend into the
southeast portion
of Buckhead. Plans
for that portion of
the trail, called the
Northeast Trail, were
presented at a public
meeting July 13.
The Northeast
Trail would be the
second segment of the
BeltLine to be built in
Buckhead following
the completed
Northside Trail near
Piedmont Hospital.
BeltLine planners
propose working with
Georgia Power Co.
to pave an existing
interim hiking trail
from Ansley Mall in
Midtown to Mayson
Street, just past 1-85
on the Buckhead
border.
The trail would cross the Buford-Spring
Connector on an existing rail bridge and
pass through an existing tunnel under 1-85.
Room for a future streetcar rail is planned to
run along the trail.
The trail would be part of the larger
BeltLine plan, which proposes a loop of 22
miles of streetcar route, 33 miles of multi-use
trail and 2,000 acres of parks, according to
the BeltLine website. It utilizes existing rail
tracks that encircle the inner part of Atlanta.
Most of the multi-use trail has not been
built yet, and none of the streetcar routes
have been built. The streetcar route will
eventually be an expansion of the existing
Atlanta Streetcar, which runs Downtown.
The BeltLine is not being built in a
linear way, with each segment connecting
directly to the one before it. Instead, Atlanta
BeltLine Inc. builds segments as real estate
opportunities come up. In this case, the
opportunity is planned Georgia Power work
along the Northeast Trail route. Planners
intend for the various trail segments to
connect eventually, and to connect to other
trails, such as PATH 400 in Buckhead.
There are currently three completed
BeltLine trails: the Eastside Trail, which
begins at Piedmont Park and runs through
Old Fourth Ward past Ponce City Market,
the Westside Trail, which has partly opened,
and the Northside Trail in Buckhead, a
one-mile trail running from Memorial Park
through Tanyard Creek Park.
The BeltLine already has secured
$600,000 in federal funding for the
Northeast Trail, which runs from Monroe
Drive on the south to Lindbergh on the
north, but it is not enough money to fund
the entire project. The meeting held on July
13 was only about work that will be done
on a segment of the Northeast Trail, from
Ansley Mall to Mayson Drive.
Another part of the Northeast Trail
around the Lindbergh area that will connect
the Northside Trail to the Eastside Trail is
slated to go into construction between 2019
and 2023, according to BeltLine documents.
On the west side of the Northside Trail,
progress will be slower because parts of
the rail corridor is still used by trains, and
may not be constructed until 2024-2030,
according to documents.
BeltLine officials are trying to seize
an opportunity to have some of the work
facilitated this fall by Georgia Power as it
replaces power infrastructure on the “Hairpin
Line,” a row of power line poles so named
because the poles look like hairpins.
During Georgia Power’s work, the
company will level the ground, possibly
remove train tracks and pave that segment
of the trail for the BeltLine, depending on
what can be negotiated, Ray Strychalski, the
landscape architect working on the project,
said at the meeting held at Rock Spring
Presbyterian Church. The tracks, no longer
used, are part of the 22 miles of train line
right of way planned as part of the BeltLine.
The contractor working on designs
and construction for this segment of the
trail is Kimley-Horn. The contract may be
extended to complete the portions on either
end of this segment, including the portion
that extends from Mayson Street to Armour
Drive, which would extend the BeltLine into
an area of Buckhead being redeveloped with
breweries, distilleries and nonprofits, officials
said at the meeting, which about 50 people
attended.
It likely will require another two years
before officials begin planning for the
segment into the Lindbergh area, officials
said.
Chris Iverson, an Ansley Mall area
resident, said he is excited about the
prospect of having the trail begin earlier than
expected, and is looking forward to having a
paved trail to make bicycling easier
Matt Moreland, a Lindbergh area
resident, said he is happy to hear trails
closer to him may move forward, and he
hopes BeltLine officials are able to reach an
agreement with Georgia Power
“I hope they get it all worked out and
some progress can happen soon,” he said.lEl
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AtlantalNtownPaper.com
August 2017 I iNtown 7