Beltline inches along with 0.9 mile addition at Piedmont Park

On Nov. 12, the Beltline’s newest piece of trail at Piedmont Park opened for business. City leaders and community members gathered on a sunny Tuesday at the completed section for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate progress on the 22-mile loop.

The 0.9-mile new trail segment starts at the 10th Street and Monroe Drive intersection and extends through Piedmont Park. It comes on the heels of the Beltline breaking ground on Segment 1 of the Northwest trail and acquiring a key piece of land that will bring the trail to Buckhead. 

“The Beltline has become one of the most influential transportation projects in the nation,” Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said. “This is more than just a trail project – it is embodying the collective vision of bringing the city together to reconnect our communities.”

Atlanta City Council District 6 Member Alex Wan admired the change the Beltline has seen in a little over a decade. He was at the first groundbreaking on the Eastside Trail 14 years ago. 

“It’s mind-boggling how it brought people together,” Wan said. 

The trail will link to the existing Eastside Trail and Northeast Trail, bringing together Midtown, Virginia Highland and Morningside. But it’s not just new trail – the completed project also adds a series of safety improvements at the 10th and Monroe intersection.

The safety-focused redesign for the heavily congested area was spurred by the 2016 death of a 14-year-old bicyclist. Alexia Hyneman was killed by a Jeep while heading home from the adjacent Midtown High School. 

Project Manager and Senior Landscape Architect Meghan Injaychock said that improvements aren’t quite finished, but the implemented changes are already making a difference. The redesign added a slight intersection at the crosswalk to slow drivers, a pedestrian “scramble” with green lights for pedestrians and bollards to deflect traffic from walking paths.

“It’s been a lot to get to this point, but people have been cooperative,” Injaychock said. 

The team faced some complications — the first raised intersection was too high for MARTA buses to drive over — but the nearly complete project has streamlined the area for pedestrians and cyclists. 

Previously, cyclists would have to make a sharp turn across sidewalks and poorly maintained roads to get into the bike trail. The “zigzag situation” Injaychock described is now a lot more direct. 

Injaychock said it will take time for drivers to get used to the intersection and slow down, but seeing it already in use makes her feel confident. 

“It rocks my world,” Injaychock said. 

At the ceremony, Mayor Dickens reiterated his ongoing commitment to finishing the 22-mile Beltline trail loop. 

“I can’t promise you that every week we’re buying stuff and breaking ground and cutting ribbon, but I can promise you that by 2025, Spring before the World Cup is here, we’ll have 18 miles of this thing completed,” Dickens said. 

Looking at the Beltline’s national impact, Dickens said the Biden administration and key players like United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg have shown support for the project. The Beltline has previously received funding from federal grants, including $25 million from the United States Department of Transportation in 2023 to help build a 2.2-mile portion of the path. 

Dickens joked he was “sore” about the 2024 presidential election results, but Beltline leadership said there is no concern about federal funding and participation in the trail. The incoming administration under President-elect Donald Trump is expected to focus less on funding park and trail improvements. 

At the Nov. 13 Atlanta Beltline, Inc. board meeting, President and CEO Clyde Higgs assuaged concerns about the political shift.

“I will remind people that most of our funds used to advance the Beltline are coming from local sources, so I don’t have any major concerns about any risk that we have, although we do receive important funds federally,” Higgs said.

Higgs said he has some concerns about additional non-Beltline trail projects that haven’t been allocated funding yet, but they won’t affect the 22-mile loop.

“I think we’re in a pretty solid position,” Higgs said.