Mountain Way park draws support

A survey of 138 North Buckhead residents shows overwhelming supporrt for a park on Mountain Way at the Ga. 400 overpass.

Gordon Certain, North Buckhead Civic Association president, said Thursday night at a community meeting that 95 percent of respondents said the creation of the park would be "desirable or very desirable." He said that more than 70 percent want it to be neighborhood oriented rather than draw from the region.

Now, Certain said, the neighborhood must decide what kind of park will be developed on the overgrown and ragged piece of land, lying in a valley between two steep ridges. The choices range from a well-manicured, family-oriented landscape with children's playground equipment to an adult-oriented wilderness area with nature trails leading along Little Nancy Creek for the enjoyment of wildlife and natural beauty.

Resident Daniel R. Weede, who said he's been involved in neighborhood efforts to clean kudzu and other vegetation from the park, seemed to lean toward the property retaining its present features, with limited development. He said the park's natural contours already define it.

He expressed the general feeling of the crowd when he said the park would be a "great opportunity to turn what has been sort of a problem into something that we can all be proud of."

Certain spoke of the possibility of purchasing nearby parcels of land, with the most promising an "unbuildable" lot on the corner of Mountain Drive and North Ivy. The lot could be the playground site, with the land along the creek and beneath the overpass preserved as a wildnerness area.

With Paul Taylor, director of park design for the city of Atlanta, and Denise Starling, director of Livable Buckhead, the residents discussed a variety of issues, such the appropriate use of lighting; state and city regulations over the removal of vegetation from stream buffers; and dealings with the Georgia Department of Transportation, which owns the right of way for the land. The GDOT supports the park development, wanting to give up maintenance responsibility, while retaining access to Ga. 400.

Another major concern expressed was security, and whether the park could become a place for criminals to lurk. The survey showed high concern over issues such as "security, crime, teen hangout, homeless hangout, drugs."

Certain said that the development of the park would likely require the construction of a bridge over the creek. At present, a dirt road leads along the waterway and "there's only one way out if you get in trouble back there. It's not a good situation. We need circulation."

Starling, in charge of developing the Ga. 400 trail that would possibly link to the Mountain Way park through a stairway down the overpass culvert, told a resident that the Ga. 400 trail wouldn't make his property less secure. The resident, who lives on Wieuca Road, was worried that thieves could enter his backyard from the trail, break into his house, then flee along the trail.

She said that the Ga. 400 trail, if designed with "connectivity" between points like the will actually increase the security for homes near Ga. 400. She said that the number of people walking the trail for recreational and educational purposes would keep a watchful eye, keeping criminals away.