Sandy Springs cut the ribbon on May 2 to officially open a 1.8-mile section of its Springway Trail system, which connects Morgan Falls Overlook Park to Roswell Road via Orkin Lake.
Melody Kelley, the city council member whose district includes the trail and park, said the trail has a human benefit.
She said the $8.5 million spent on this trail segment, the funds spent to build the new police headquarters and municipal court, and funds for the Roswell Road North Boulevard project represent more than $70 million spent in the north end of Sandy Springs.
Mayor Rusty Paul said the 1.8-mile trail segment includes an eight-to 12-foot-wide multi-use, paved trail with retaining walls, a top-down boardwalk across Orkin Lake, drainage structures, pedestrian bridges, roadway realignments, landscaping, and trail signage.
“Today, we celebrate not just a finished segment, but progress toward a greater vision laid out in the 2019 Sandy Springs Trail Master Plan,” Paul said. “This plan calls for 31.4 miles of trails linking 12 schools, 15 parks, three MARTA stations, and countless neighborhoods and businesses.”
Paul said the city worked with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Foundation, and the city’s partner, the Sandy Springs Conservancy. The Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Foundation awarded a $3 million grant for the trail segment.
Paul said the city didn’t know there was rock under Orkin Lake when it began construction of the trail, which increased the cost and delayed the project.
Jack Misiura, chairman of the Sandy Springs Conservancy, said it was a big day for the community because it was an example of what the organization represents: building partnerships with city officials, staff, and other interested citizen groups to bring places like the trail into existence.
The conservancy helped fund the design, and its board members helped the city gain access to right-of-way from local landowners.
Greta deMayo, executive director of the PATH Foundation, acknowledged JCH Corp., the contractor, and Kaizen Collaborative, the design team.
“Your springway is a new way for your city,” deMayo said, “a new way to build infrastructure to get people out enjoying the beauty of nature and to really have all the benefits that trails bring.”
