The Atlanta City Council unanimously voted to fund an $8 million deal to build a .06-mile trail to connect the Westside Beltline Connector trail and the PATH Parkway trail, which runs through Georgia Tech’s campus.
While the Eastside Beltline has boomed, the Westside Beltline is under utilized due to its disconnection, city officials said. Arthur Toal, NPU-K president, told Rough Draft in 2025 the Howell Station neighborhood “doesn’t patronize the core of the Westside as much as you’d expect” because there’s little to no access from one side of the railroad tracks to the other.
The new Westside connection will fill a gap in Atlanta’s growing community of cyclists and pedestrians. Drawn from 2022 public improvement bonds, funding will go to the PATH Foundation to manage construction.
A recent report from Atlanta Beltline states that the 22-mile path that circles Atlanta sustained more than 91,000 jobs and generated an estimated $23 billion in economic output for the city in 2025. The analysis found that the Atlanta Beltline has catalyzed $14.2 billion in private investment since inception.
Also at its June 1 meeting, the council proposed two resolutions that would reduce the use of AI in city communications. One resolution focuses on creating governance standards for AI usage, while the other encourages the use of human-created visual media, including photography, graphic design, illustration, and video production.
AI is being used in Atlanta through facial recognition at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, an AI-powered chatbot for ATL311, leak detection for the city’s water system and predictive analytics for public safety and corrections departments.
Both items will go to committees and return to the city council for a future vote.
A lengthy public comment session preceded the agenda, with several speakers asking council members to reconsider the Tax Allocation Districts (TAD). Community advocate Rodney Mullins called Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative legislation and TADs in their current condition “dysfunctional.”
That’s why, Mullins said, the city has “poor communities on the west side and wealthy communities on the north side – and both have TADs.” He called for an independent audit of the TAD.
“Some of the balances in the TADs are less than $2 million. You can’t transform a community with $2 million,” Mullins said. “It’s deceptive, it’s fraudulent, it’s not proper.”
In related news:
• The council voted 12-1 in favor of allowing non-residents to join the 19-member Special Event Technical Advisory Group (SETAG) to review the permitting process for events at Piedmont Park. Wan said this change will allow event experts who do not live in the city to add input. Council member Byron Amos was the only opposition.
• Council member Kelsea Bond introduced legislation to impose a tax increase on owners of abandoned or neglected properties contributing to blight, which was triggered by the unfinished 1155 Peachtree Street in Midtown owned by John Dewberry. Bond also proposed that the Atlanta Department of Transportation establish mandatory temporary pedestrian routes when sidewalks are rendered inaccessible.
• Mayor Andre Dickens congratulated Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., professor and founding dean at Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel, on his retirement after 47 years of dedication to the school.
