New apartments are under construction at both ends of the UNG/Tumbling Creek Connector Trail. Above are units being built on Frontage Road.
Progress is being made on the Airport Connector
The opening of the new Midland Greenway Amphitheater will mark the latest development along the Highlands to Islands Trail, a planned 30-mile pedestrian- and bike- friendly paved trail. From its inception more than 25 years ago, the trail between a Lake Lanier cove in Gainesville to Margaritaville at Lanier Islands has inched forward through a collaboration of government and planning agencies.
It currently consists of disjointed segments, including Gainesville’s booming Midland Greenway and the Chicopee-University of North Georgia segment popular with cyclists, runners and walkers. Progress is under way on an important link between those two sections: the Airport Connector. The city of Gainesville is acquiring rights-of-way to fill the 2½-mile gap, said Christina Santee-Moss, city public relations director. The city plans to start accepting construction bids after it obtains rights-of-way.
Santee-Moss described the route in an email: From the end of the current Midland trail at Industrial Boulevard, the trail will follow Georgia Avenue, then a utility easement under the Queen City Bridge to Aviation Boulevard. It will cross Aviation Boulevard and continue along Queen City Parkway to Palmour Drive. It turns at Palmour Drive into the wood line behind Ace Hardware, coming out directly across from the Chicopee section. It then rises above Queen City Parkway naturally on a high ridge.
Because of its location on the perimeter of the Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport perimeter and nearby industrial outlets, the Airport Connector presents a unique perspective.
Santee-Moss does not foresee bustling development, such as what is taking place on the Midland Greenway and at both ends of the UNG section. “It will have limitations on the type of development that will occur here,” she said. “However, this section of the trail provides unique and interesting views of the airport – and a chance to see the planes take-off and land up close. Plus, this section will have more natural beauty than you would expect. When we originally walked the path, we were surprised by how much we felt like we escaped the urban world around us. There are streams, wetlands, woodlands to enjoy along this path. There will also be a large bridge to cross over floodplains.”
The connector will complete nine continuous miles of trail between historic Longwood Park and the UNG campus.
Gainesville has allotted $5.3 million in local option sales tax money to the Airport Connector. Pilgrim’s Pride, located on Industrial Boulevard, has contributed $785,000. The city is also working on an east/west spur connecting Grove Street near the corner of Engine 209 Park on the Midland trail to Athens Street along an old railroad bed, according to Kate Mattison, Gainesville Parks & Recreation Director.
Joseph Boyd, Transportation Planning Director for the Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization, provided Lakeside News an update on other Highlands to Islands sections:
- Spout Sprint Sidepath Phase 1: This section is complete and open to the public. It contains a 10-foot sidepath on the southern side of the newly widened Spout Springs Road between Hog Mountain Road and Union Circle. This path connects Sterling on the Lake, Spout Springs Library, Spout Springs Elementary, and Cherokee Bluff High School.
- Oakwood/Thurmon Tanner: No updates at this time – still planned.
- Hog Mountain: No updates at this time – still planned.
- Flowery Branch Downtown: Flowery Branch is planning a trail expansion between downtown and Radford Road along the Railroad line. Timing is not set yet.
- Blackjack/Swansey: No updates at this time.
Photo: by Jane Harrison
