Atlanta could fork up $100K for Beltline-type Chattahoochee River Greenway

The City of Atlanta could shell out $100,000 to help develop a multi-use trail along the under-appreciated Chattahoochee River.

That is, if Atlanta City Councilman Dustin Hillis’s new legislation passes a council vote Tuesday.

The piece of the $1.5 million trail—dubbed the Chattahoochee River Greenway—that’s planned for Atlanta would one day run through Westside neighborhoods, such as Bankhead, from Marietta Boulevard to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway.

The entire project, however, is ambitiously expected to span 100 miles from Lake Lanier to the Chattahoochee Bend State Park.

Call it the ’hooch’s own Beltline project. Or Silver Comet Trail.

Curbed Atlanta

Last week, Hillis pitched an ordinance proposal that, if OK’d by the council, would allow Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to contract an agreement with the Atlanta Regional Commission, Cobb County, and the Trust for Public Land.

The deal would require each party to pay an equal sum to collectively fund the 20 percent local match required by the project—$300,000 total.

The city is working with the aforementioned authorities to help create a master plan for the most localized section of 100 miles of the river valley.

This arc of the plan will also entail a pedestrian bridge over part of the Chattahoochee, which will ultimately link to Cobb County’s piece of the puzzle, officials hope.

The full council meeting, during which the vote will likely occur, is scheduled for May 21 at Atlanta City Hall.

The news comes after the initial, three-mile stretch of the Proctor Creek Greenway was unveiled last week for public use, also west of Atlanta’s core.

This article has been updated to correct the date of the council meeting.

• Turning the Chattahoochee River into Atlanta’s greatest amenity [Curbed]