A three-phase, linear urban park designed to transform pedestrian and bicyclist mobility through one of Atlanta’s most well-known but congested commercial areas is clearly becoming real. 

The Lenox Boardwalk—the initial phase of the Lenox Road Complete Safe Street project—has entered its final weeks of construction, reports Buckhead Community Improvement District’s new CEO Katharine Kelley this week. 

The .44-mile, shared-use trail project revved up construction next to Lenox Square mall in late 2025, following two years of delays. 

The boardwalk now runs along Lenox Road from MARTA's Lenox station at East Paces Ferry Road to Peachtree Road. Features include enhanced pedestrian lighting and updated traffic signal mast arms, in addition to the concrete pathway and (partially) tree-shaded boardwalk. 

According to Buckhead CID’s update this week, paving and final striping along Lenox Road are finished. The lighting and landscaping portions are on pace to be done by June 12. 

Looking over Lenox Road toward Peachtree Road, a recent overview of the Lenox Road Complete Safe Street project's first phase Buckhead Community Improvement District

How the boardwalk structure and sidewalks expand walkable space near the landmark Atlanta mall. Buckhead Community Improvement District

All told, the three-phase safe streets initiative will stretch for 1.25 miles between the MARTA station and Piedmont Road, where a swooping, modern-style pedestrian bridge is planned. The goal is to remake a major traffic corridor, Lenox Road, into a people-friendly route for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorists. 

Buckhead CID officials have been working on the Complete Street initiative for eight years. It was expected to start in late 2023 and again in spring 2024, but construction was bumped back. 

Phase-two plans for a Lenox Road corner. Courtesy of Buckhead Community Improvement District

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program awarded $10 million to help construct the elevated pedestrian and bicycle bridge in 2024. (That funding remains secure, Buckhead CID officials have told Urbanize Atlanta.) The Georgia Department of Transportation awarded the project an additional $1.8 million in the form of a Surface Block Grant Award in November.

Buckhead CID is partnering with both GDOT and the City of Atlanta on the Lenox Road project, with MARTA also on board. 

The overhaul project is expected to cost $82 million. Construction will pause during 2026 FIFA World Cup festivities in Atlanta this summer, officials have said.   

Both sections two and three will be under construction in 2027 and finished sometime in 2029, project leaders told Urbanize in November. 

The landmark bridge is considered the third phase of the Lenox Road project. 

The Buckhead Loop intersection in question today. Google Maps

Plans for the Lenox Road Complete Safe Street project's third phase. Courtesy of Buckhead CID

Plans call for it to span Lenox Road’s intersection with Ga. Highway 400, where the Buckhead Loop roadway is 10 lanes wide at one point. 

The design in such a highly trafficked vehicle corridor will enhance safety and mobility in the area while providing a direct link to the district’s future highway-capping park, officials have said. The bridge will span a total of .62 miles. 

Buckhead’s growing PATH400 greenway runs near the intersection, and plans call for the bridge to also link directly to that project.

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