Groundbreaking Kicks Off First Phase Of Peachtree Creek Greenway

BROOKHAVEN, GA -- Groundbreaking was held last week on the Brookhaven portion of the Peachtree Creek Greenway (PCG). The ceremony, attended by over 100 invited guests, featured elected officials representing federal, state, county and local levels of government, residents and other key players who have had a hand in making the initiative a reality. The event was punctuated with praise honoring all involved and the unveiling of renderings of a pedestrian bridge that will span Peachtree Creek as part of the project.

“PCG has, over the course of the many years that have brought us to this point today, come to have a dual meaning to me," said Brookhaven Mayor John Ernst. "PCG is synonymous with 'people collaborating to achieve goals.' On the grassroots level, people worked with people to develop a vision, they engaged their local government who in turn engaged other governments and agencies through a collaborative process.”

The vision for the PCG dates back nearly two decades to its first reference in a PATH Foundation study. Shortly after the City of Brookhaven was created in 2012, local community activist Betsy Eggers and others banded together and proposed to the new city’s leaders the idea for a bicycle path and a linear park along Peachtree Creek. This proposal was followed by months of discussion, master planning, creation of the Peachtree Creek Greenway, Inc., and taking the necessary steps to move the idea along the legislative and funding process at all levels.

During the ceremony, Mayor Pro Tem and District 4 Councilman Joe Gebbia thanked members of the PCG steering committee and other groups who had a hand in moving the project forward, explaining that it truly takes a community effort to create such a world class multi-purpose trail providing transit solutions and recreational enjoyment.

Also on the program were state Sens. Fran Millar Elena Parent, DeKalb Commissioner Jeff Rader and Eggers.

Phase I consists of 1.27 miles of Brookhaven’s three-phase 2.9-mile portion of the initiative. It will stretch from North Druid Hills Road to Briarwood Road and will include a series of paved multi-purpose and promenade trails. When Phase I and II are completed, the Brookhaven segment will connect southward toward PATH400, the South Fork Conservancy Trails and the Atlanta BeltLine.

Phase III will ultimately further position connectivity northward beyond Brookhaven to Mercer University in unincorporated DeKalb County. When fully built, the PCG will stretch 12.3 miles reaching from Doraville to the Atlanta BeltLine. Local municipalities that the trail passes through such as Chamblee and Doraville will be responsible for funding and building their respective portions of the Greenway.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Images City of Brookhaven