Mobility progress on yet another front: Trails ATL

The Beltline Eastside Trail provides a model of a path that serves as a significant transportation corridor.

Atlantans want more biking and walking trails. Now, the city has published a plan to build 420 miles of them.

The draft of Trails ATL was released just before Mayor Dickens announced his far-reaching transit reset and as MARTA is putting the finishing touches on its NextGen Bus Network.

Dare we say that we’re suddenly seeing progress in Atlanta’s efforts to tackle its woeful mobility problems?

Much like the bus network revamp and capital investments in mass transit, the trails plan is long overdue. It’s been 33 years since the PATH Foundation put together the last comprehensive trails plan for the city.  PATH is again shepherding the effort, but this time with funding, involvement and official sanction from the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

Of course, the big question is whether the new trails will be funded. Atlanta’s 1992 trails plan was never fully implemented because it didn’t have an adequate revenue stream. The story was similar for a bikeway plan adopted nearly two decades before that.

The first phase of Trails ATL is estimated to cost some $250 million. While other funding streams may be available, voters are likely to be asked in 2027 to approve a new Transportation Special Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST). That TSPLOST should prioritize trail improvements.

But lot has changed since 1992. Around that time, people began flooding into Atlanta after 30 years of deep population losses. And the city’s political culture has changed: Many new residents share a vision of Atlanta as a true urban center, where you don’t need a car to get where you’re going.

Then, there’s the Beltline. Even though its 22-mile trail loop is barely half complete, it’s provided a model for how individual trails can become incredibly popular and serve as significant transportation corridors. More than 5,000 people already travel the Beltline’s Eastside Trail daily.

Finally, over the last decade, e-bikes, scooter-sharing apps and an endlessly spawning variety of personal electric vehicles have transformed “active transportation” into a viable way to get around — in spite of Atlanta’s rolling hills and hot, sticky summers.

Today, 37 percent of Atlantans can walk or wheelchair in 10 minutes from their homes to the city’s 80 miles of existing trails, according to Trails ATL. Funding is already secured to boost that number to 43 percent over the next four years by adding 25 miles of new trails.

The goal of Trails ATL is to raise the percentage of residents within 10 minutes of a trail beyond 50 percent by 2037 and to 94 percent by 2052.

The plan itself is intricate and detailed.  Just take a look at this map of the proposed 525-mile network circa 2052.

Broken into parts, it’s easier to make sense of. Here’s a view of the project’s “Phased Implementation Plan.” Key in on the black lines (existing trails), the dotted black lines (funded) and the red lines (Phase 1).

You’ll see that the priorities include major routes, such as an “Olympic Trail” that would connect the West End, Georgia World Congress Center, Centennial Park, Georgia Tech and eventually Atlantic Station. But it also proposes crucial shorter connections, such as a trail to link the planned South Peachtree Creek Greenway to the existing PATH 400.

Those who worked on the project are stressing its tie-ins to shopping, parks, schools and the Beltline. But the network also is designed to provide first and last mile connections to transit. The trails are organized to feed existing MARTA bus routes and train stations, as well as routes that may be reconfigured under NextGen or bus rapid transit planned under the More MARTA program.

This reflects a new reality for cities: Trails are viewed as utilitarian transportation corridors that – among many other benefits – reduce the number of cars on city streets. That was confirmed early in the Trails ATL planning process: In focus groups, public meetings and other efforts at community input, “commercial areas” came out at the top of the destination categories preferred by the trail-using public, with “MARTA” being one of the top five.

Surveys by the city and other entities also show that expanding the city’s trail network is wildly popular. When Atlanta residents are asked about infrastructure investments, trails come out on top – specifically “park-like greenways.”

Unsurprisingly, the effort became a priority under Dickens. It fits neatly into his emphasis on revitalizing and connecting neighborhoods — particularly those that are isolated from opportunities enjoyed in many other areas.

We at Better Atlanta Transit view trails as a key element of any 21st century mobility plan: Local governments have no choice but to leverage the growing utility of micromobility – particularly because of their cost-effectiveness during a time that transit funding is likely to be scarce.

TrailsATL has already gone through a series of robust comment periods. But there’s always room for more suggestions. We urge you to take a closer look at the report, which helpfully breaks projects down by Council District.

We’re particularly concerned that bike paths along busy streets be protected from cars and trucks. And along some highly popular routes, such as the Beltline’s Eastside Trail, we believe it’s crucial that pedestrians and wheelchairs have their own path, separated from the existing trail, which would then be dedicated to “wheels.” This would improve the flow of traffic for bikes and scooters, while it would also make everyone safer.

But that’s just us. We urge you to go to the Trails ATL site and to contribute your own thoughts. Give a thorough read of the draft plan, especially along the routes that you’re familiar with, and participate in the upcoming public comment opportunities.