By Ann Marie Quill
With construction underway for PATH400, a walking trail running roughly along Ga. 400, members of Livable Buckhead and the Path Foundation gave a tour of Phase 1 progress, which spans from Old Ivy Road to Lenox Road.
While that 1/2 mile section is expected to be completed late this year, the plan is that the entire 5-mile long trail that will extend from Loridans Drive to the Atlanta BeltLine will serve as the “spine” of the Buckhead Collection, a connected system of trails, parks and neighborhoods.
Phil Pellegrini, project manager for the PATH Foundation, which is overseeing the construction, talked about a possible future connection during the trail tour.
“We’re working with the Chastain Park Conservancy and the Blue Heron Nature Preserve on actually making it connect from this point all the way to Chastain Park,” he said, which would involve connecting walkways through schools, across Roswell Road, behind Post Chastain apartments and to Lake Forrest Drive.
Bob Stoner, a boardmember of Livable Buckhead, said that connectivity isn’t just about green walking trails, but sidewalks and roads, too. “We’re using existing sidewalks and roads where possible to keep costs down, just to keep the flow going,” he said.
The trail is a partnership of the non-profit Livable Buckhead, the Buckhead Community Improvement District and the PATH Foundation. The entire cost is expected to be $10 million, and the trail sits on Georgia Department of Transportation right-of-way that the agency allowed to be part of the project.
Read more about the PATH400 project and watch video at our sister site Reporter Newspapers.
