Atlanta and GDOT Cement Ga. 400 Trail Deal

The planned Ga. 400 Greenway Trail took another important step toward coming to fruition last week when the city of Atlanta inked a deal with the Ga. Department of Transportation.

The PATH Foundation, tasked with builiding the roughly 5-mile-long trail, now is talks with the city to become the umbrella organization for a trail-related projects in the city, Neighbor Newspapers reported.

The trail, which is to be used by bikers, runners and skaters in addition to walkers, will run from Loridans Drive south to the Atlanta Beltline's Peachtree Creek spur trail.

The deal between the city, which will retain ownership of the trail, and state DOT official, follows Norfolk Southern Corp.'s October 2012 approval of the project, which crosses part of its property.

The trail is expected to cost between $12 million and $14 million to construct. The first phase of the project, Lenox Road to Old Ivy Road, will cost about $2 million.

Some 5,133 residents will live within a five-minute walk of the proposed trail.

"This trail is one of the ways to really enhance the Buckhead brand to keep it competitive in the future," Denise Starling, executive director of Livable Buckhead, said during an October Buckhead Community Improvement District meeting.

Livable Buckhead, one of the key boosters of the trail project, is a non-profit charged with improving the quality of life for the area and long-term viability.

Buckhead Patch Local Editor Kiri Walton contributed to this report.