If metro Atlanta is ever going to boast a truly regional multi-use trail network for recreation and commute alternatives, Buckhead’s PATH400 will be an integral part of it—the spine, if you will. 

But a crucial nerve ending—to continue the anatomical metaphor—is now in jeopardy. 

The threat of yanked federal funding that was earmarked to build a key link between PATH400, the Atlanta Beltline, and other ITP trail systems is one facet of what’s been a busy month for PATH400 happenings. 

Let’s start with the bad news. 

Quick recap: Atlanta Beltline Inc. received a $25 million federal grant in summer 2023—the largest in project history—to help build connections between the Beltline’s Northeast Trail, PATH400, and two other trail networks in the Lindbergh area, the Peachtree Creek Greenway and Southfork Conservancy trails. Planning work kicked off shortly thereafter. 

The goal was to build, at the southernmost end of PATH400, a 2.2-mile junction of trails that would go a long way toward creating a true regional network. In theory, it would eventually make commuting by bike or electric-powered scooter from, say, Sandy Springs or Doraville to Beltline-connected points across intown Atlanta—and vice versa—possible. 

Scope of finished PATH400 sections today and the northernmost section nearing completion now. Livable Buckhead/PATH400

But as Axios Atlanta recently reported, that $25-million federal boost could be at risk of being taken back soon by the current administration. Beltline president and CEO Clyde Higgs told Fulton County commissioners earlier this month his agency might have to pivot toward asking for other funding source if the major federal grant falls apart. 

Commissioners told Higgs they would lobby federal officials to not kill funding for the Beltline connection (and separate monies that’d been earmarked for installing WiFi along the full 22-mile loop) during a planned Washington D.C. trip soon, according to Axios. 

In more positive news, PATH400 project leaders Livable Buckhead report that only “final touches” remain before the next northward trail piece is finished and open. 

That one-mile segment, stretching between Wieuca Road up to Loridans Drive, includes the soaring Mountain Way Common bridge. That structure stands nearly 60 feet over the Mountain Way Common greenspace, between Ga. Highway 400 and towering trees.

Beyond that, heading north, the final PATH400 segment between Loridans Drive and the city limits of Atlanta/Sandy Springs is now under construction, with tree-clearing work completed, as Livable Buckhead relays. 

Even north of that, a 2.3-mile extension that would bring the Sandy Springs pathway up to the Interstate 285 and Ga. Highway 400 interchange is now fully funded with an $18 million grant from Atlanta Regional Commission, according to Rough Draft Atlanta. 

Lastly on the good news front, PATH400’s new outdoor gym zone, The Old Ivy Fitness Tunnel, is now officially open for pumping body-weight iron. A $40,000 grant from Park Pride foot the bill. 

How PATH400 is expected to fit into a growing regional network of trails. The first dotted sections north of existing trails are under construction now. Livable Buckhead/PATH400; PATH Foundation

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