Dear Friend,
Welcome to the South Fork's June newsletter. It's a time of reflection and celebration, and here's a newsletter in that spirit.
Enjoy some of our favorite before+after shots. Get behind a new name for a new trail... Cheshire Farm Trail. Appreciate the design of our new trail sign.
As always, thanks for your continued support of The South Fork Conservancy. See you on the trail!
Meadow Loop Home To First Trailhead Sign
Michael Montgomery and James Lismore installed this goliath of a sign last week
A new sign post installed mid-June will help trail users find their way onto the Meadow Trail from Lindbergh Drive.
The design is a distinctive bundle of heavy sticks, spaced apart for visibility. Designer Susan Stainback of Sylvatica Studio wanted to evoke the Creek Indian past with an arrow notch at the top of the post. Half a dozen map and graphic designers are collaborating on the watershed and road map to help people find their way along the completed and suggested trails. Gerlinda Grimes with Tucker Mott is using Sylvatica's base map with additions from the Atlanta Regional Commission's Allison Duncan and Byron Rushing. "It is exciting to help create a map with creek trails that people actually need to find!"Gerlinda said. "The streets are familiar, but nobody knows quite where the creeks and trail heads are. It's good work."
Decatur woodworker Michael Montgomery built the prototype from Sylvatica's design and hefted it into place June 17, 2014. James Lismore and wife Celia, South Fork's Outreach Coordinator, aided the installation. Water from the creek itself helped set the sign footings.
Before and After: The Cheshire Farm Trail
Georgia Department of Transportation employee points to the site of the future bridge.
The completed bridge across the North Fork of Peachtree Creek
The Cheshire Farm Trail: Where, How, $, and What
Where is the trail?
The Cheshire Farm Trail spans the creek as it flows along the edge of I-85 between Cheshire Bridge Road and Lindbergh Drive. Find it off Cheshire Bridge Road where the road goes under I-85 and becomes Lenox Road.
How the Cheshire Farm Trail Came to Be
When the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) decided to build the new flyover ramps for GA 400, some neighbors weren't pleased. The Lindbergh LaVista Corridor Coalition (LLCC) and the South Fork Conservancy encouraged community meetings where neighbors discussed how GDOT could make it up to them. After plenty of discussion, two popular mitigation ideas were offered to GDOT: National Register of Historic Places designation for the Lindridge Martin Manor neighborhood and the creekside trail. GDOT agreed to both.
Heather Alhadeff, a traffic consultant then working for Perkins+Will, helped steer the trail to completion. The cost neared a million dollars for the half-mile trail, including one major and three minor bridges.
What's in the Name?
During the construction phase, we called it the Creekside Trail. But, all our trails are along the creek. So, Sally Sears and Celia Lismore from the SFC went to the LLCC board meeting and asked for ideas.
"Exactly where is the trail?" Someone asked. We told her... Continue this article on our webpage
Before and After: Zonolite Park
The EPA removes asbestos waste from the Meadow in 2011
Three years later- a toxic site transformed into a rain garden.
Joy Delivers Sweet Treats For South Fork
South Fork Fans take joy in a lot of the creek trail work, especially when Joy herself arrives in person.
She strides down the trail, smiling with a box of brownies, berries or best of all, cake in hand, thanking volunteers for their hard work making the neighborhood better.
Joy Austin Beber lives in Cedar Chase and watched the early trail begin there with her husband John, in 2010. She's a great cook, and offered her first treats to a group of church kids whacking kudzu in the hot summer sun.
Now, the trail is in better shape and Joy's career is taking off. Lauded by Creative Loafing and other publications, Joy's catering and restaurant service is the toast of Buckhead.
She has a full crowd at Joy Cafe on Pharr Road every day.
But despite the demands, when South Fork Conservancy asked her for a plate of special treats for our Creek Rising party in April, Joy Delivered!
Her motto is Made with Love, Served with Joy. We know the South Fork has a lot of special neighbors who support our work. But these neighbors, Joy and John Austin Beber, are very special.
Safety? Check!
A couple of weeks ago, interested Atlanta Police Officers inspected three trails near the confluence to include them in maps and policing. They want to expand awareness and make sure the trails stay safe!
Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Joe Spillane, head of field operations, brought Zone 2 Major Van Hobbs, left, Lt. RD Woody, head of detectives for Zone 2, right, and BeltLine patrol sergeant Will Schapker, center, with SFC's Sally Sears
Photographer Bill Head took pictures of the trail construction (and a friendly box turtle-right?) as the police checked things out. City and area police leadership want to streamline trail signs and information and coordinate any incident reports.
To view the rest of Bill's pictures, follow this link to our Facebook Page.