The Southside Trail – something to smile about

Rendering of future streetcar stop on Southside Trail

Earlier this year, #boardthebeltline activists created a stir when they DIY’d a plywood path nailed atop cross ties on a section of dormant railway. Did this expression of frustration with the pace of progress pent up demand for completing a key section of the BeltLine trail system actually help get things moving forward?

Maybe.

According to The Atlanta Business Chronicle, Atlanta BeltLine Inc. has released a request for qualifications (RFQ) for the design and engineering of its Southside Trail, an approximately 4-mile, 14 foot wide path stretching from Glenwood Avenue east of Grant Park, southwest to University Avenue in Adair Park.

This news gives denizens of Southern BeltLandia something to smile about: a new section of the BeltLine that will connect the Eastside and Westside Trails into a 10+ mile southern arc. This smile-shaped stretch of trail — even if in a somewhat crooked, Grinchy expression — is especially happy news for neighborhoods like Pittsburgh, Peoplestown, Chosewood Park, and South Atlanta. These areas are currently poster children for disinvestment and post industrial wastelands and have yet to enjoy the resurgence experienced by neighboring communities like Adair Park, Grant Park, and Ormewood Park.

Aerial view of DH Stanton Park shows adjacent BeltLine railroad

Homeowners along this section will surely be anticipating the kind of appreciation in values and increase in amenities seen on completed sections like the Eastside Trail. I know my latest clients are smiling as they just put a Grant Park townhouse under contract that sits a few feet from the trail corridor. When the Southside Trail is finished the restaurants of Glenwood Park or sprayground of Stanton Park will be in easy biking or walking distance. How soon that will be is in question — it could be up to five years away. But maybe, with activism like #boardthebeltline, it could come sooner.

A new group called the Southeast Beltline Committee is comprised of community representatives from BeltLandia neighborhoods between Memorial Drive and the southern end of the Westside Trail (currently under construction). The committee’s mission is to engage the impacted ‘hoods in the development of the Southside Trail. Word on the street is that an immediate goal for the committee is how to acquire the property from CSX sooner than 2018. There is an open-to-the-public meeting scheduled on November 4th from 6:00 – 7:30pm at Zoo Atlanta. More details here.

Want to stake your own claim along the Southside Trail? Start here with my map-based search of homes near the BeltLine.

Southside Trail is currently the BoardLine