Beltline trail opening ceremony, park clean-up on Saturday
Multi-use trail in northwest Atlanta and park along 22-mile loop to host events
For the last several months, Beltline officials and construction crews have been busy working on the project that will give Atlanta a new 33-mile trail system. And tomorrow, they’ll show off some of the fruits of their labor.
A new one-mile segment of trail that snakes through Tanyard Creek Park, Louise G. Howard Park and along Bobby Jones Golf Course will be unveiled at a grand opening on Saturday. Though it’s an orphan trail for now, the segment will soon join up with existing trails proposed for the $2.8 billion project. If you’re interested in attending, head to Tanyard Creek Park’s entrance near the intersection of Colland and Walthall Drives at 3 p.m.
Earlier in the day, Washington Park, a greenspace that’s adjacent to the Beltline, will be getting a little TLC from a group of volunteers. Members of Friends of Washington Park, Cox and Accenture will be clearing the park’s walking trails as well as removing invasive plant species and illegal dumping, mulching trees and eroded areas, landscaping the entrance and building birdhouses. That event lasts from 9 a.m. until noon.
Atlanta Beltline Inc. and its partners in the project — the Beltlline Partnership, Trees Atlanta, Keep Atlanta Beautiful, Park Pride, Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy and Atlanta Community ToolBank — are encouraging surrounding neighborhoods to get in the spirit and host their own cleanup projects on the same day.
Both the cleanup and the new trail are a part of the Beltline urban redevelopment plan, which focuses on overhauling parts of the city in order to attract development. Once complete, the project is expected to add 1,200 new acres of greenspace around Atlanta’s urban core.
Another cleanup is scheduled for April 17, and volunteers are still in demand. Anyone interested in beautifying the BeltLine can sign up online.
(Courtesy of Atlanta Beltline)__
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