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Sandy Springs receives funding to help construct all of PATH400 By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — The Atlanta Regional Commission has stepped in with an $18 million grant to help Sandy Springs construct all segments of PATH400 from its southern border with Atlanta to Central Perimeter. The Sandy Springs City Council approved a budget amendment to accept the funding windfall May 6 after discussing the immense impact on regional connectivity and the buildout of the city’s Springway Trail Plan. City Councilman Andy Bauman said the project is transformative, and the connectivity between cities and neighborhoods will propel the community forward. Sandy Springs TSPLOST Program Manager Allen Johnson said the grant allows the city to construct the full 2.3-mile path from Loridans Drive within the city of Atlanta to an existing multi-use path built as a part of the Transform Ga. 400 and I-285 project. “Segments one and three are currently in construction,” Johnson said. “At the end of the year, ARC said … these other jurisdictions can’t use the money, would you be willing to take it?”
See PATH, Page 9
PHOTOS BY: HAYDEN SUMLIN/APPEN MEDIA
Visitors cross the Orkin Lake boardwalk, part of the first completed segment of the Morgan Falls Loop, connecting the Chattahoochee River to Roswell Road. Two more segments are planned, one through Big Trees Forest Preserve, the other north to Grogans Ferry Road.
City heralds opening first segment of trail network By HAYDEN SUMLIN hayden@appenmedia.com SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. — Sandy Springers can now discover Orkin Lake via the first completed segment of the Morgan Falls Loop, a nearly 2-mile path connecting Roswell Road to the Chattahoochee River. About 100 people, including community advocates, neighbors and city officials, gathered along the lakefront May 2 for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Representatives with regional trail advocates, like the PATH Foundation and the Sandy Springs Conservancy, thanked city leadership for prioritizing
connectivity across the city. Through community donations, the Sandy Springs Conservancy has chipped in around $65,000 toward design and construction of path segments around Morgan Falls Overlook Park. The completed 1.88mile path is 8 to 12 feet wide, connecting the city’s riverside park to Roswell Road at Cimarron Parkway. The pedestrian and cyclist facilities open a piece of Morgan Falls Overlook Park that has been densely forested and inaccessible to the public for years.
See OPENING, Page 20
Sandy Springs Conservancy Board Chairman Jack Misiura, center, discusses the inception of the Morgan Falls Loop and Orkin Lake boardwalk at a May 2 ribbon cutting. Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul and City Councilwoman Melody Kelley joined the ceremony to hail the path’s community impact.
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