Neighbors to fight new proposed Beltline trail

By PAUL DONSKY at AJC.com

The proposed stretch goes through Atlanta Memorial Park and Bobby Jones golf course

Just weeks after a compromise was reached on a leg of the Beltline trail through a Buckhead park, residents are gearing up for what may be another showdown over a nearby trail that's also in the planning stages.

The proposed stretch, which goes through Atlanta Memorial Park and Bobby Jones golf course, is expected to be discussed at a Beltline community planning meeting tonight at 6:30, at the AGL Resources building, 10 Peachtree Place in Midtown.

The nonprofit PATH Foundation has been planning the segment for a number of years. Some residents who live along the proposed route have been pushing for the trail to stay on the golf course side of Tanyard Creek, which runs close to their backyards.

The residents vehemently oppose placing the trail closer to their homes, saying it would jeopardize their privacy and could pose security concerns.

Mark Corrigan said that option could place a paved trail within 35 feet of his back door. Corrigan said his street, Overbrook Drive, is a busy thoroughfare carrying people to nearby Piedmont Hospital.

"All we on Overbrook Drive have is our backyards," he said. "We have foxes back here. We see geese. It's a natural habitat."

Officials with PATH could not immediately be reached for comment.

A few weeks ago, officials with PATH and the Beltline agreed to keep most of a planned leg of a walking and biking trail out of the meadow at Tanyard Creek Park in Buckhead. Neighbors had resisted plans to place the trail along the edge of the meadow, saying the trail would tarnish the cherished bit of green space.