After three decades of grassroots work and, more recently, investments by the City of Atlanta, a parks initiative that would better connect thousands of Atlantans with the Chattahoochee River has recently taken key steps forward, per project leaders.  

Back in March 2022, city officials closed on the purchase of 17 greenspace properties in Riverside totaling 9 acres to create—believe it or not—the first city park with direct access to the Chattahoochee River.   

That planned greenspace in northwest Atlanta, named Lower Paul Park for an adjacent street, is positioned between Riverside homes, Riverwalk Atlanta land cleared by volunteers, a cement plant, and active rail lines that currently separate it from hiking trails and the river.

Nearly four and ½ years after the city’s purchase, the park project still isn’t close to breaking ground. But recent funding contributions from railroad giant Norfolk Southern, which has been headquartered since 2021 in Midtown, lend hope that could change. 

The park location in the broader context of Northwest Atlanta and Cobb County. Google Maps/Park Pride

According to Norfolk Southern’s newly published 2026 Forging a Better Tomorrow Report, the company is approach $1 million in total contributions to what’s called the Norfolk Southern Trail Activation Fund. 

That initiative is helping nonprofit Trust for Public Land pull together trail projects in early stages across the U.S.—including at Lower Paul Park, which officials say would open river access to more than 4,000 residents nearby. 

Plans in Riverside call for new recreation areas, walking paths, and green infrastructure designed to help manage flooding and stormwater—all next to Atlanta’s revitalized but underappreciated natural waterway. 

Officials tell Urbanize Atlanta the investment from Norfolk Southern’s trail fund is allowing TPL staff to create a survey-based design for Lower Paul Park that reflects community priorities outlined in a 2022 Park Pride Visioning Plan.

Funding is also enabling TPL to work with cost estimators to compile a construction budget, begin construction document preparation, and coordinate with local partners in Atlanta. 

However, the park project is “still very much in the early stages of development,” a Norfolk Southern rep wrote via email.  

The Riverside parcels set to become Lower Paul Park in northwest Atlanta. Park Pride, via City of Atlanta

Fundraising efforts for the Lower Paul Park project are expected to begin next year, per officials.  

More broadly, Lower Paul Park is part of a regional effort called Chattahoochee RiverLands that’s striving to better connect communities to the river from Buford Dam in Gwinnett County down to Bend State Park in Coweta County. Those plans call for an uninterrupted, multimodal trail stretching for 125 miles.

Officials tell Urbanize a key component of that huge undertaking—the 12-acre RiverLands Gateway Park, another TPL project—is gearing up to break ground soon near Mableton. 

Overview of the bulk of new park land, active rail, and what's been cleared by Riverwalk Atlanta volunteers. Google Maps

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