Will the new bridge on Briarcliff build better connections?

Carol Long lives a block off Briarcliff Road. She is a nurse practitioner in an office less than two miles away on Briarcliff Road.  Walk to work? Ride a bicycle? Not a chance. She drives to work because she says she has to. She blames increasing traffic and the absence of safe sidewalks or bicycle lanes on Briarcliff.

Olive Evans and daughter Alice live near the Briarcliff Road bridge over the South Fork. Their daily walks could include a creek trail and sidewalks along Briarcliff. Photo Kathryn Farrell

“It will only get worse unless we push for better solutions,” she told a committee of neighbors meeting since January to find ways to improve neighborhood connections.

Carol fears Briarcliff Road traffic will worsen as the Georgia Department of Transportation replaces the aging bridge over the South Fork of Peachtree Creek starting in 15 months.

Plans to make better connectivity part of the G-DOT bridge project won support from a collection of neighborhood groups meeting monthly since January 2019.

The South Fork Conservancy led the brainstorming with representatives from DHCA, Emory Village, Victoria Estates and Briar Hills. Carol Long went house to house, finding people unaware of the bridge project and eager for trails and sidewalks linking them to Sage Hills, Emory, Peavine Creek and the CDC.

Over a hundred homes surveyed on Anita Place, Carol Lane, Briar Hills Drive and Poplar Grove Drive were enthusiastic about safer connections and off road trails to Emory and downstream to Herbert Taylor Park.

Six months of meetings led the group to adopt these three ideas.

1)   Create an attractive and safe surface storm water retention area which can be used as a green space park and trail, similar to the Old Fourth Ward park in Atlanta.  Commissioner Jeff Rader is asking DeKalb Parks to move this project forward.

2)   Build access from the bridge corners to the new park and trails along the South Fork of Peachtree Creek. G-DOT consultants say they are considering how to connect at least one corner of the bridge to trails underneath.

3)   Build sidewalks and cycle lanes along Briarcliff Road, from North Decatur Road to Johnson Road. DeKalb County traffic engineers say this project is included in the current T-SPLOST funding.

Druid Hills Civic Association’s executive Committee voted unanimously in favor of the proposals in May, 2019. 

SIDEBAR ON NEW BRIDGE:

Bridge built in 1939. Signs of scour indicate need to replace.

To be replaced in stages, 240 feet long by 49.52 feet wide

Briarcliff Road will remain open to 2 way auto traffic through construction.

Sidewalks and bicycle lanes will be included on both sides

The project area includes Kay Lane south to Carol Lane.

Construction expected Dec. 2020, completed in 18 months.

Source: G-DOT

Peavine Creek’s Rebirth: Emory Village Celebrates Wildlife and Community

Work by the South Fork Conservancy and Volunteers Continues to Restore Neighborhood Waterway

ATLANTA, GA (October 28, 2018) – Rubber ducks raced through Peavine Creek on Sunday as part of the 6th annual Open Streets event in Emory Village. People gathered on the bridge across North Decatur Road to see which three lucky ducks would win. The event “was a celebration of the successful ongoing restoration of Peavine Creek and the reemergence of the creek as a central component of this neighborhood,” said Kimberly Estep, Executive Director of the South Fork Conservancy, the group which has spearheaded much of the creek’s revival.

In fact, before Sunday, many residents were not even aware of Peavine Creek’s existence. Likely named after the wild peas that grew in patches along the creek during the time of European settlement, this small tributary flows into Peachtree Creek and then the Chattahoochee, ultimately emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. Peavine’s urban headwaters, although subject to past conservation efforts, have recently fallen into disrepair. Kudzu has festooned creekbanks and trash has floated in this small waterway.

Along with community members and partners from Boy Scout Troop 18, Cub Scout Pack 6 and Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church, South Fork Conservancy has been working to clean up this neglected waterway. Kudzu removal and trash pickups have helped to make the area friendlier to wildlife. As people watched the duck race during Open Streets Emory Village, they also appreciated the revival of an important urban waterway.

South Fork Conservancy staff and community members were on hand to judge the winners of the race and to make sure that all rubber ducks were safely collected from the creek. One of the judges was Becky Evans, the State Representative-elect for the district that includes Emory Village; many attendees enjoyed seeing their elected official knee-deep in the water, catching stray ducks. Approximately 60 people participated in the duck race, taking a break from other festival activities that included model trains running throughout Emory Village.

While the Peavine duck race was a success, there is always more work to do. “We hope more property owners along Peavine will allow our volunteers to remove invasive plants and improve wildlife habitat along the waterway,” said Estep. West of Emory Village, Peavine joins the South Fork of Peachtree Creek, along which most of the Conservancy’s trails run. Estep added: “Our celebration of Peavine is part of our broader vision for a connected, healthy watershed enjoyed by all Atlantans.”

Creek Clean Up: Crime Wave Sends Atlanta Police Into the Woods

Join journalist (and South Fork Conservancy board member) Sally Sears as she reports on recent cleanup of urban camps along Peachtree Creek, and aid to the homeless persons living there. Reporting from the scene of the cleanup, Sally showcases the ongoing efforts to maintain safe and accessible trails along Peachtree Creek’s North Fork. Working in partnership with the Atlanta Police Department, HOPE Atlanta, and others, South Fork Conservancy will continue to maintain and preserve these creek trails.