For the third and final stop on our recent tours of freshly opened multi-use trails in western Atlanta neighborhoods, we head out to a handy pathway that was officially opened two weeks ago—but one that eager residents have been using since last fall. (Tsk tsk).  

The connective Westside Paper Spur Trail—dubbed “The Spur” for short—now snakes for about ¾ of a mile in Howell Station, following several years of planning, fundraising, and construction.  

The 14-foot-wide trail links the Westside Beltline Connector up to West Marietta Street and cost about $3 million, as funded by a public-private partnership. Technically, The Spur opened about two months ahead of the schedule announced when it broke ground in March last year.  

At the south end, The Spur starts where the Westside Beltline Connector meets Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard. That’s about two miles from downtown's Centennial Olympic Park, with nothing but paved trails and protected bike lanes in between. 

The Spur passes directly next to the Puritan Mill district, expanded QTS data center facilities, and the mixed-use Westside Paper district—a remake of 1950s warehouses—before ending near King Plow Arts Center. In between, a 65-foot-long bridge over a creek has also been installed.

PATH Foundation/Upper Westside CID

The project was considered a collaborative effort between the City of Atlanta, Upper Westside Community Improvement District, and PATH Foundation. 

Adjacent property owners donated all of the necessary easements for trail construction. 

The Spur has been on the radar of Atlanta alternate-transportation enthusiasts since 2020, when business owners, stakeholders, and nearby residents pinpointed it as a priority for boosting the area’s multimodal infrastructure. The Upper Westside CID also incorporated the trail into its Upper Westside Masterplan that year.

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Funding for The Spur was sourced from the $750-million Moving Atlanta Forward program approved by voters in 2022, the Howell Station Neighborhood Association, the Upper Westside CID, and other sources. Greta DeMayo, PATH executive director, has called The Spur part of a project portfolio her agency is aiming to deliver by 2026 to improve off-street connections and vibrancy around the city.

The Upper Westside CID hopes to eventually expand the pathway so that it ties into the Brady Avenue cycletrack and the mainline Beltline loop, located just to the west. The CID group picked Hasbun Construction to build The Spur following a public bidding process in 2023.

Head up to the gallery for a quick tour of The Spur, as seen just after its official debut earlier this month. 

Broader context of The Spur's location near Westside Park, due west of Midtown. Google Maps

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