The Beltline Begins!
Today Lain, visiting chum(p) Heather and I went to the West End Trail Groundbreaking. This is the very first (!) step towards the construction of the Beltline project, which will eventually be the greatest combination of rail, trails, and parks approximately ever in Atlanta.
Here’s Mayor Shirley Franklin giving the opening address, with Atlanta City Councilwoman Cleta Winslow to her right. And an important man wearing the t-shirt I also own to her left. Booyah!
There was a pretty good turnout, complete with camera crews, politicians, many of local folks, the man (Ryan Gravel) who came up with the idea for the Beltline as his thesis project (!), and an assortment of schlubs like ourselves. Plus one man confused about where to look.
For the real go-getters there were shovels to get in on the action. With a camera in one hand and a brownie bite in the other, I was not considered a go-getter, so much as a go-observer.
For people like ourselves who are Beltline supporters through and through, this was a pretty darn good way to start our day. Plus, did I mention there were brownie bites?
Leave a Reply
Amber Suitt
Program Director
Lain Shakespeare
Executive Director
13 Comments to The Beltline Begins!
That’s Kwabena Nkromo, our Neighborhood Planning Unit chairdude, in the Beltline cleanup shirt, Amelia.
Say, check the spelling of “t-shirt” – unless your version is a commentary against the shirt, in which case, never mind.
I’m confused. Didn’t you write recently that funding for the Beltline fell through? Please advise.
Haha, wow, thanks Tim. Amelia didn’t mean to go so blue all of a sudden. We like to think this blog is family friendly…ish.
Laurie, some of the funding for the Beltline fell through, but not nearly all. If the project is $2.8 billion (let’s say), they lost about $800 million.
Or as we at the Wren’s Nest call it, chump change.
I need to go cry.
Unrelated comment:
I love how my browser now displays the little logo of the Wren perched on a pen right next to the web address. Is that feature new or have I just been inattentive for some time?
Scotty, you are very observant. That’s brand new, as of Thursday I think. Eduardo suggested we do it, then Lauren and Nate had it up and running for us in a matter of minutes.
Eduardo is a genius. Good job, Eduardo.
Those balloons are kinda ugly.
This is the first 2.4 miles of the trail and it is completely funded. Thanks in large part to some of the funding big brothers of Atlanta (Woodruff, Blank, Coke Cola, Etc.). They like this project. My hope and vision is that them or some of their foundation brothers and/or individuals looking for a legacy will fund the “Center for Southern Storytelling” at the Wren’s Nest.
[...] As Scotty pointed out in last post’s comments, we have added our logo to the window address bar and the window tab. [...]
SHOVELS FOR EVERYONE!!!
[...] It runs just a few blocks from here, and is one of the few places to have already broke ground. [...]
[...] you may recall, the Beltline broke ground first in the West End. A lovely bike path has been installed, complete with a new park and the [...]