Atlanta leaders eye trails as part of solution to city’s traffic woes

Among the proposed goals for the project are improving access to the Beltline, creating strategic proximity to MARTA and facilitating alternative routes to schools. More than 100 of the planned 535 miles of trails have already been built or funded for construction.

The last citywide trail plan in Atlanta, the City of Atlanta Greenway Trail Corridor Plan, was completed in 1992 as part of planning for the 1996 Olympic Games.

Rachel Maher, the deputy commissioner for Partnerships and Enterprise, said focusing on trails now could expand transportation without cars in the future.

Credit: Provided

Credit: Provided

“Atlanta is growing and we have a chance to reshape how people move through the city,” Maher said in an email statement.

A partnership between the PATH Foundation and the City of Atlanta, the first phase of the project rollout proposes 35 miles of trails, primarily consisting of greenways. Twenty-three projects are planned across the city for phase one, which will take a decade to build and cost $252 million.

Three council districts — 10, 11 and 12 — will eventually see the most miles of new trails. These districts will also see the implementation of the Emerald Network, 13 trails that will connect southwest and west Atlanta residents to parks and schools, and lead them to the Beltline.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Currently, the Beltline touches 45 of Atlanta’s 242 neighborhoods. City officials hope the effort will reduce traffic.

“We can see from the experience of the Beltline that people would much rather walk or bike to their destinations than sit in traffic,” said Phillip Smith, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

But funding is uncertain, and some of it could come from grants or private donations. Cost estimates for phase two and three of the project are not yet available.

City councilman Dustin Hills said the project comes alongside attempts to improve Atlanta’s national park ranking in the ParkScore index, which factors in what percentage of city residents live within 10-minute walking distance of a park.

“I want everyone to be within a safe walking distance, meaning more multi-use trails, more sidewalks and things like that,” Hills said.

Dr. Na’Taki Osborne Jelks, co-founder and executive director of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance, a nonprofit sustainability group that consulted on the project, said the benefits of the trail expansion plan depend on disruption to existing communities.

Jelks said she is concerned how the trails could change housing affordability and pointed to the Beltline’s impact on surrounding neighborhoods.

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

“What we know from other experiences like the Atlanta Beltline is that these types of plans can replace legacy residents,” Jelks said.

Jelks added that along with continuing community engagement efforts, the project could be an opportunity to learn from previous green space implementation missteps and prevent gentrification.

“I think this has the potential to be a net positive, but the process is just as important as the overall results,” she said. “That process must include the voices of all of those who will be impacted.”

Smith, of the parks department, said residents will not be displaced to make room for the new trails, and the routes will link housing developments currently in planning stages including Bowen Homes, Chappell Road, Leila Valley, Gun Club and Bankhead Courts.