NW Atlanta BeltLine feasibility study identifies potential corridors to complete trail

Planning is underway to complete the Atlanta BeltLine loop by constructing trails in NW Atlanta. 

Atlanta BeltLine Inc. and PATH Foundation are prioritizing two corridors, which will move into design phases. The partners determined that three other corridors require further study. The existing trail on the northwest side is isolated to Tanyard Creek Park and a two-mile loop around Bobby Jones Golf Course. 

The study indicated several segments to connect the northeast and southwest sections of the trail. Atlanta BeltLine Inc. shared renderings of a Technology Center corridor, trails crossing Interstate 75 and a bridge connecting the existing trail in Tanyard Creek Park to the proposed segments. 

The plan will require some land negotiations and acquisitions, which organizers say makes the project complicated. The trail would connect more than 45 neighborhoods to the overall 22-mile loop.

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A rendering of Atlanta Technology Center with the proposed Atlanta BeltLine trail. (Atlanta BeltLine Inc.)

A feasibility study identified and evaluated seven corridor options based on ease of construction, trail user experience and community feedback. The study began 11 months ago. BeltLine and PATH Foundation officials met with neighborhood leaders, residents and business owners.

The BeltLine Tax Allocation District, donations from The Cox Foundation and Special Service District bonds will primarily fund the new trail.

The study analyzed a potentially positive impact on a concentration of black-owned businesses in Bankhead and English Avenue but also indicated a risk of displacement.

"We have a multi-generational opportunity to guide the thoughtful and equitable connectivity of more 45 neighborhoods in the City of Atlanta," Clyde Higgs, President and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., said in a press release. "We’ve been listening — and will continue to listen — to residents and businesses as we design the Northwest Trail and build out the full 22-mile multi-use trail loop."