21 May Atlanta Beltline Parks – Making Atlanta Greener and More Family Friendly
One of the things Atlanta has become infamous for is its traffic. This gives an impression that Atlanta is all pavement and doesn’t have much in the way of green space. The reality is, of course, that that’s a HUGE misconception. Atlanta has many lovely parks of all sizes and miles and miles of walking and biking trails. The Atlanta Beltline Project aims to expand on both the parks and the trails!
Not only will the Project add new parks but existing parks will be expanded and improved. Miniscule Enota Park will expand from .3 acres to 10 acres. Already sizable at 52 acres, Maddox Park will be more than double in size to 114 acres while Armore Park will grow from 2 to 8 acres.
Atlanta Beltline Parks will also create such new parks as the 65 acre Peachtree Creek Park near Buckhead and Peachtree Creek, the 28 acre Hillside Park on the site of the McDaniel CEO complex, and 2 acre Holtzclaw Park. Additional Atlanta Beltline Parks will be historical in character. These include 204 acre Waterworks Park, and 351 acre Westside Park. This last substantial green space will include a reservoir created from the pit left by the Bellwood Quarry. The Historic Fourth Ward, will eventually have a 63 acre park, but already sports a new Skatepark. Legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk, whose foundation contributed $25,000 towards the construction of the new facility, was there for the Grand Opening!
The Atlanta Beltline Parks will form a continuous loop around the central portion of the city along existing rail line right of ways. They will thus also serve as a means to get around the heavily trafficked portions of the metropolitan center while still retaining the flavor of the natural environment. Eventually, a light rail transit system will make the system both accessible and an adjunct to public transportation for the region.
Atlanta Beltline Parks are expected to add 40% to the amount of green space found in the 45 neighborhoods of the Atlanta Metropolitan region that are a part of the Project. There are to be a total of 33 miles of multi use trails connecting 40 parks. 700 acres of existing parks will be linked. Atlanta Beltline Parks also call for the acquisition of 480 to 490 acres of new park area. Costs for these purchases are expected to be $480 to $570 million. An additional $275 to $340 million will be spent on park development and trail construction. The funding will come from a variety of sources including business partnerships, government grants, and bond issues.