The Dirt on PATH400
Denise Starling, executive director of Livable Buckhead, gives us the dirt on PATH400 progress.
It’s that time again – another installment of your favorite nerd-out session brought to you by PATH400’s Executive Nerd! Our totally exhilarating topic for this episode is MAINTENANCE! Doesn’t that just pull you in and entice you to read on?? Yeah, I know it does because all of you ask me about it!
Well, it certainly isn’t my favorite topic – in fact, it’s the bane of my existence. From graffiti to kudzu to trash to dog poop… you name it, someone has to deal with it. So, who is on the hook? Like a lot of things in life, the answer is “it depends” because nothing is ever straightforward.
Here’s how it works: PATH400 is in GDOT’s right-of-way, and they gave the City of Atlanta permission to use their land
for the trail. When they did that, they pushed maintenance right along with it. And since “stuff” flows downhill (you know what I mean), the City handed the responsibility off to PATH Foundation – their designated trails agent – to handle for the first 5 years.
What happens after 5 years, you ask? Well, the “downhill flow” continues and the next in line is the City’s Parks Department, who is on the hook from there on. As of right now, everything other than Miami Circle to Lenox Square is the Parks Department’s responsibility, and Miami Circle to Lenox is PATH Foundation’s responsibility. But that’s just for basic mowing and blowing, and we all know there’s more to it than just that (isn’t there always?).
The maintenance agreements only cover the basic stuff. Anything else falls back to Livable Buckhead (yep – downhill, remember?). Thankfully, regular things like emptying the trash and dog poop bins are handled by our partners at the Buckhead Community Improvement District through a partnership with Georgia Works (a big thank you!). They also tackle the graffiti where they can safely get to it.
Everything else, such as kudzu, picnic table painting, trash pickup, invasive species clearing, and pond cleaning, is done through community volunteer projects with local companies and people just like you! We especially love all those service hours our local students are required to do, and of course, those boy scout projects!
If you have a group that wants to come out and help us spruce things up – we can always find something for you to do! Reach out to our Community Engagement Manager, Donna Dodson, to learn more and set something up.
And there you have it, the scoop on the POOP. I challenge you to work this new knowledge into your next cocktail party conversation…yeah, good luck with that one!
Public Service Announcement
Help a girl out – please pick up after your pets on PATH400!
Mountain Way Road Closure Update
If you haven’t driven Mountain Drive yet, go do it! You can get a great perspective on the construction – even through your sunroof – so open that baby up and soak it in!
We definitely made the right call to temporarily open the road. There is still no end in sight on the situation we have with the bridge steel, but our friends at GDOT are working hard to help our steel sub-contractor resolve their issues. Silver lining (yes, there is one!), you get more time with the road opened before we close it again. The bad news is that this is definitely now impacting our overall construction schedule, and I don’t have any clue as to how much. Patience is NOT one of my virtues, so this really gets my goat.
Tree Fairies Visit PATH400
One of my favorite partnerships on the whole PATH400 project is with the great folks who administer the City of Atlanta’s Tree Trust Fund. This partnership has brought PATH400 probably close to a thousand trees to date, and the fairies just struck again! With construction underway, they knew we wanted to get a jump on planting in the areas where we could, and they granted our wish. Watch out for about 50 new trees between Wieuca and Loridans coming in the next few weeks!
Upcoming Events
Construction Tours
The next construction tour is February 24th, but you all snoozed and missed out on that one as it’s already sold out! So just like shopping at Costco, you better grab it when you see it or you will miss out!
Reserve your spot now for the March 16th tour.
Big Peach Social Ride
Join us on Sunday, March 24th at 2pm for the Big Peach Social Ride on PATH400!
Pedal along as Big Peach Ride + Run and Propel ATL lead a 6-mile social ride. This event is free, and the ride will begin and end at Eclipse di Luna in Miami Circle. Register today!
Maxine Rock Day of Service
Come out on Saturday, March 2nd for a waterway cleanup at the wetland pond on PATH400 in honor of our partner, Maxine Rock. Maxine was a founding board member of PATH Foundation and a long-time Buckhead resident who helped us make PATH400 a reality.
Raising the Rails
I would like to thank those of you who read these newsletters all the way to the end and even took it a step farther to make a donation to our campaign, Raising the Rails. This campaign aims to ensure a safer and more comfortable experience for everyone who uses PATH400 by installing higher and more protective railings on our newest section. With a generous matching donation of $50,000 and your contribution, we know we can raise the rails! Learn more and donate.
