The PATH Foundation in partnership with Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., Atlanta BeltLine Partnership, and the City of Atlanta Parks Department, Monday announced the grand opening of the Westside BeltLine Connector (WBC).
The project includes 1.7 new miles of trail beginning in downtown Atlanta at the intersection of Northside Drive and Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard.
The WBC passes the Georgia World Congress Center and connects several Westside neighborhoods before intersecting with the future extension of the Atlanta BeltLine Westside Trail, just east of Marietta Blvd.
The PATH Foundation and Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. are partnering on the project, with ABI completing the acquisition of the corridor and PATH overseeing design, engineering, and construction.
“The Westside Beltline Connector is more than just a multi-purpose trail,” Greta deMayo, PATH Executive Director, said in a prepared statement Monday. “It is a linear park that offers a gathering place for everyone to enjoy. Whether walking, biking, jogging, or riding a scooter, the WBC will provide Westside residents with easy access to resources that enhance quality of life, health and wellness, education, and more.”
The Westside BeltLine Connector is part of a larger project 10-mile connection from PATH’s Silver Comet Trail in Cobb County. It will ultimately provide trail-users a direct route to and through the heart of Atlanta. When completed, it will track north of the Chattahoochee River crossing to Plant Atkinson Road where it will then follow the recently abandoned CSX corridor and continue to the existing Silver Comet Trail extending into Alabama.
In total, the WBC will offer 17 acres of linear greenspace and heightened connectivity between Downtown, historic communities including English Avenue, Bankhead, and Howell Station, new developments, Westside Park, and beyond. Amplifying this connectivity is its proximity to the Bankhead MARTA station, allowing for quick access to in-town neighborhoods.
“The new connector gives Atlantans the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of our city,” Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. “It also provides access to parks, jobs, schools, services and so much more for our neighborhoods.”
The City of Atlanta’s Brownfield Program sponsored Phase II Environmental Site Assessment in support of the Westside BeltLine Connector for a total cost of approximately $100,000.
