City of Tucker Plans Trails With Connection to South Fork

The South Fork of Peachtree Creek begins in Tucker, yet most of the trail-building and nature-loving successes have transpired inside Interstate 285. The development tide, though, may be shifting.

The City of Tucker is well into the planning stages of a 32-mile series of trails that will connect its downtown with the South Fork. DeKalb County is expected to roll out its “comprehensive trail/greenway master plan” this summer with an assortment of possible connections to the South Fork. And the South Fork Conservancy, the nonprofit crafting trails and parks along the creek’s 32-mile run, recently created a committee dedicated to trail construction from Tucker to Emory University.

“We’ve made great strides connecting nature-lovers and neighborhoods with the creek west of I-285,” said John Spangler, chairman of the Conservancy’s board. “Now, it’s time to extend that same level of attention and commitment to nature-lovers and neighborhoods east of 285 to Tucker.”

In 2019, the PATH Foundation and the Kaizen Collaborative laid out seven trails that, ultimately, connect downtown with Stone Mountain, Clarkston, Atlanta, and the South Fork. It wasn’t easy.

“Tucker is like most American cities. It was planned around cars, trucks, and trains rather than people on foot or on a bike,” the master plan reads. “Tucker is all but built out.” Yet its trails plan creatively melds together hard-surface trails, greenways, roadways, and access paths into a tantalizing blend of mobility and recreation. Neighborhoods, parks, schools, businesses, warehouses, and at least one brewery will be linked. Trail Segment #3, from downtown to the existing Stone Mountain PATH, intrigues South Fork aficionados. The first 1.3-mile stretch is being designed with 22 possible easements and connections to Tucker Middle School and Peters Park. Construction might begin this year.

Cara Schroeder, from the City Council Post 1 District 2, labeled the first stretch of the so-called South Fork Peachtree Greenway “critical.” “This trail will be a great attribute to the citizens of Tucker for both the alternative transportation route it will provide as well as the recreation opportunities for the community,” she said in early February.

The trail’s next stage will carry it over U.S. 78 – and the South Fork – to East Ponce de Leon Avenue and the PATH trail to Stone Mountain and Atlanta. South Fork Conservancy members are keen to run a trail along the creek from the Peachtree Greenway westward to Clarkston and Atlanta.