Multi-Use Trail Research - 2011 with 2012 Updates
Why reinvent the wheel? In February 2011, I provided the following material which was posted on Heneghan's Dunwoody Blog. It received plenty of comments & feedback of all sorts. I just wanted to re-post it here for a refresher and reminder. The same facts and thoughts hold true today.
I detailed an actual trail in Walnut Creek, CA -- The Iron Horse Trail. When completed, the trial will span 40 miles connecting two counties and nine communities. Interestingly, the demographics of Walnut Creek & Dunwoody are VERY similar. Yet depending on who you speak with in our town, the support or opposition of Multi-Use trails is very DIS-similar.
About Walnut Creek:
- Median Household Income: $81,297
- Median age 45 years
- 56% Bachelor's degree or higher
- 83.89% White, 9.36% Asian, 3.25% multiracial, 1.96% from other races 1.07% African American, 0.33% Native American and 0.15% Pacific Islander
About Dunwoody:
- Median Household Income: $82,838
- Median age 38 years
- 65% Bachelor's degree or higher
- 85.02% White, 7.78% Asian, 4.43% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.34% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races
Below is a photo I took while visiting a friend. The trail runs along the backyard of her house & her teenage daughters use it to walk into their town -- about 10 to 15 minutes.
“I'm sending several photos taken over
the years on our Iron Horse Trail, including ones of kids. Not only is this
trail safe, it also runs through one of the most exclusive and expensive
residential neighborhoods in California, Alamo. Good luck with your trail
campaign. I LOVE our trail.”
--- retired senior executive of Fortune 50
company
Here's our friends who are retired out for a power walk on a weekend morning with their neighbors & their children:
Notice how "cramped" the trail width is. See the gentleman on the left walking in the dirt. This trail is LESS than 12 feet wide. It's closer to 8 feet. Why is he walking over in the dirt? Because the trail is two-way and there's oncoming joggers, rollerbladers, baby strollers, bicycles, etc...A wider trail will KEEP people on the trail, preventing erosion.
Here's some nearby examples:
—Increased Property
Resale / Amenity
—Google “house for
sale silver comet trail” & see how many property owners state and value
having this amenity nearby
—Neighborhoods
voluntarily create and advertise additional side access trails to the Silver
Comet
—Links south to
Roswell to the Chattahoochee River and north into Forsyth county, eventually to Lake Lanier.
— Morgan Falls/Power
Easement multi-use trail (Project # BP103)
“Construct a multi-use trail within power line easement
from existing trail system in Cobb County, crossing Chattahoochee River with
new bicycle and pedestrian bridge, through Morgan Falls Park, east to Colquitt
Road, north to Pitts Road - Project to link to other on road bike facilities,
including City of Dunwoody.”
—Provides the Ability
to:
—Cross the
Chattahoochee into East Cobb / Columns Drive / Bob Callam Trail / Silver Comet
Connector – to Silver Comet Trail to Anniston, Alabama
—Go north to Roswell
and connect into their trail system (towards Lake Lanier)
And SINCE my 2011 posting, here's a BRAND-NEW Trail that's going to be built along GA-400 from the Lindberg MARTA Station area north up to the toll booths. It will connect southward to the Atlanta Beltline.
Oh yeah, before I forget, checkout Dunwoody's Brook Run Trail information.
We know that life is dynamic Make a plan one year, things change & then the plans can be flexible and adapt, too. Instead of making a closed loop trail inside Brook Run Park, the city is going to build connecting points over to the Project Renaissance (Old PVC Farm).
The city is contractually obliged with John Weiland to build the trails within the project. Then we can create a link to the Brook Run Trails. Also there are future plans to have a Multi-Use trail headed out to the Water Works on Peeler. Then westward over to the Perimeter Center East Park. Nice, eh??
Anyway, for my original 2011 posting, please click HERE & to read the comments.
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