Key points:
• The Sandy Springs City Council voted to seek a $3 million state grant for Segment 2C of the Morgan Falls Loop, which could eventually double the length of the paved trail.
• The path segment’s proposed alignment and lack of additional parking spurred opposition from two council members and several impacted neighbors.
• Sandy Springs will be notified in the spring if its grant application is selected to move forward to a second round. If the funding is eventually accepted, the trail segment’s design cannot change outside of minor landscaping.
The Sandy Springs City Council approved submitting a grant application at its Oct. 6 meeting to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, seeking $3 million for the next paved segment of the Morgan Falls Loop.
More than two dozen Sandy Springs residents spoke during public comment about the trail’s design and impact on the neighborhood, ranging from outright opposition to full support for the project.
Council members voted 4-2 to approve the grant application, solidifying the paved path’s alignment and committing to a city funding match, only if state funds are received.
Because the segment runs on the other side of a creek behind single-family homes and private properties, some affected homeowners are concerned about parking obstructions, increased criminal activity, and construction disturbances.
Seeking funds for controversial path
Residents varied in their opposition. Some asked city officials to mitigate construction disruptions and tree canopy loss and to work with homeowners. With a security fence, creek bed, and a forested area between the paved path and private residences, Sandy Springs staff recommended that the project move forward with the current alignment.
Mayor Rusty Paul said submitting the grant application doesn’t solidify the trail segment’s specific design or ensure it’s fully funded and eventually constructed.
“This is not about deciding where the trail is going to go or any other aspects of the trail,” Paul said. “This is simply whether the council will authorize the city to file a grant application for partial funding … we did it last year … we didn’t get it.”
Council Member Melody Kelley, who represents affected neighbors in District 2, said the grant application and the Segment 2C project have several major issues. They include impacts on residents’ properties, a lack of parking, and the inability to adjust the trail’s alignment if the city receives grant funding.
“Once this passes, regardless of what you hear, 2C is done if we get the grant money,” she said. “The only thing worse than not applying for a grant is applying for a grant you’re not ready for.”
Kelley said she has read emails from residents of the Edgewater at Sandy Springs Apartments, discussing parking conflicts between residents and path users near the existing Segment 2A Trail. She said the lack of parking spaces for an attraction like a nature trail is a huge issue, while the area’s other sidewalk needs are unmet.
Sandy Springs would have to submit another round of applications in the spring if the project is scored highly during state review this winter.
Vision for Springway
The Segment 2C project is estimated to cost around $14 million. Assuming the city receives the competitive $3 million grant, the project still has a nearly $3 million funding shortfall, according to a city memo. If the state DNR ranks the project high enough for it to advance, the city will submit a second-round application next spring.
The city adopted its trail master plan in 2019 and named it “Springway” in 2023. The city worked with the Sandy Springs Conservancy, PATH Foundation, and Kaizen Collaborative on the design. The citywide plan includes 31.4 miles of paved paths, including a loop around the city’s North End and connections to PATH400, City Springs, and Cumberland.
Council Member Mary Ford said she would like the segment to be a nature trail, not a 12-foot-wide concrete path with railings, walls, boardwalks, and landscaping. She said she would like to see other sidewalk projects funded and constructed first, like one along Adair Lane.
The 2C segment runs from the terminus of the existing path at Morgan Falls Overlook Park, through a wooded, naturally preserved area along the Chattahoochee River and a tributary, toward Adair Lane and Grogan Ferry Road.
Segment 2C of the city’s Springway Trail Network is 60% through design and would nearly double the length of the existing paved trail, a proposed 5.6-mile loop.
After completing the 2A segment from the park across Orkin Lake to Roswell Road, city officials are finalizing design plans and easement agreements and looking into grant funding options for segments 2C and 2E of the Morgan Falls Park Connector.
Opposition from some neighbors
Steve Feldman, president of the Grogan’s Bluff Homeowners Association, has been fighting the proposed trail segment for more than a year and spoke about his opposition during a September meeting. His coalition of neighbors is asking for the city to reroute the trail along Morgan Falls Road, south of the neighborhood, and build a sidewalk along Adair Lane.
In an Oct. 5 letter to elected officials, Feldman said Kelley has been very receptive to the HOA’s issues with the current trail design. Concerns include “usage counts, pedestrian and vehicle safety, crime, parking, restrooms, noise, operational issues such as trash removal, and overall community impact.”
“We believe it may have a negative impact on pedestrian safety as well as our neighborhood that could force the HOA to operationalize and pay for any disruptive impact,” Feldman wrote. “Our HOA is for a trail network, but not one that may have a major negative impact on our community.”
Feldman also criticized city staff for allegedly ignoring concerns and the conservancy for its support.
“All we are asking for is for the city to work with us and determine an alternative trail design that will move the path further away from our neighborhood and is safer for the users of the trail,” Feldman wrote. “We are not looking for the trail to be moved miles, but only a few meters.”
Pro-path arguments
While some community members share concerns about declining property values and crime, studies consistently show that paths have a neutral or positive effect on land values, without adversely affecting safety.
Cheryl Barlow, a longtime Sandy Springs resident who helped secure the 24-acre Lost Corner Preserve, said some community members were concerned the wooded park would become a “conduit for burglary” two decades ago.
“The truth is, if someone is going to rob you, they are going to pull in to your driveway in a car, and do it quickly with the fastest possible getaway,” Barlow said. “We still chuckle at the thought of thieves running through the woods or down a trail with a big-screen TV, computer, or jewelry.”
Barlow said she heard identical concerns about the park when it was being developed.
“Lost Corner neighbors now acknowledge what a great and wonderful resource it is,” Barlow said. “Today, every realtor who sells in the area lists Lost Corner as an asset on their marketing sheet.”
Even with the grant submission, Sandy Springs officials can still pursue alternative funding sources, look at different trail alignments and materials, and increase public parking away from residences.
