The City of Gainesville is dredging the Parker Street Pond on the Midland Greenway to manage stormwater and provide amentities for pedestrians, including seating and a bridge.
Hall County voters’ approval of SPLOST IX in November is expected to help link northern and southern shores of Lake Lanier via a 30-plus mile multi-use trail. The Highlands to Islands Trail has inched slowly through multiple Hall County communities since its inception more than 30 years ago. Expect to see movement on the multi-use trail this year, but some of it was still on the drawing board in late 2025. The recent SPLOST renewal that allocates $14 million to the corridor will not exactly launch a sprint to the finish line, but it does lay the groundwork for a long run toward the final stretch.
“Historically, the primary reason for slow trail development has been from lack of available local funding for construction, so the passing of SPLOST IX is a major boost to expediting trail construction in southern Hall County,” said Joseph Boyd, Director of the Gainesville-Hall Metropolitan Planning Organization. Most, if not all, the funding is expected to fuel construction of a major north-south spine between the University of North Georgia and Flowery Branch.
Boyd reported that in late 2025, the Gainesville-Hall MPO was finishing a study to identify the best route and expected costs for that connector. “Once the preferred route is identified, SPLOST IX funds will be used to design and construct the trail, as well as purchase any needed right-of-way for access,” he said. He expected Hall County, Oakwood, and Flowery Branch to begin design and construction of the section this year and beyond. The 8.8-mile path will eventually link the popular Chicopee/UNG trails via downtown Oakwood to the south Hall city. A side path will connect Flowery Branch to Bay Park on Lake Lanier. Continuing south, Highlands to Islands will tie into existing trails in Braselton and Margaritaville at Lanier Islands.
The City of Flowery Branch is “very excited” about the trail project yet to break ground there, said Renee Carden, director of amenities and public events. In December final designs were being submitted to the Environmental Protection Division and US Army Corps of Engineers. The forecasted construction start is late summer or fall with completion projected by the end of the year.
Carden described the planned pedestrian corridor as a “safe, direct and scenic connection between Lake Lanier, the marina, surrounding neighborhoods and our downtown district.” She expects it to “serve as a meaningful asset for recreation, tourism, and daily life in Flowery Branch.” She envisions a wide range of amenities developing trailside, similar to what Gainesville has experienced along the Midland Greenway.
Carden expects features such as signage, landscaping, seating areas, wayfinding kiosks, educational markers, public art, and lighting will enhance the trail experience for pedestrians and cyclists. She also foresees local businesses – such as coffee shops, snack stands, or outdoor outfitters – popping up near key access points.
The long-awaited 2.5-mile Airport Connector between the Midland Greenway and Chicopee Trail may see some action this year. Boyd said construction will finally begin, but the entire segment may not be complete until 2027. Some portions may open before then. “Construction has been delayed as Gainesville has had to work with GDOT and private landowners on access, right-of-way, and trail crossings,” he said. The process was nearly complete in December.
The Airport Connector runs between the current end of the Midland Greenway at the Pine Street/Industrial Boulevard intersection and Palmour Drive at the Chicopee Trail northern terminus. Its route around the airport limits the type of development that might spring up there, but it does offer interesting views of airplanes taking off and landing, plus a surprising glimpse of natural beauty. “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, etc. to enjoy along this path,” Gainesville public relations director Christina Santee-Moss told Lakeside in an interview for a previous story.
Those traversing the Midland Greenway in Gainesville likely have observed a large crater-like marsh filling with muddy water and lined with stormwater barricades between Parker and Banks streets. The city hopes this unsightly crevasse will transform into the Parker Street Pond this spring.
“We are currently in the midst of dredging out the pond so that it will hold water at all times and still be able to capture the stormwater during rain events,” said Kate Mattison, Gainesville Parks & Recreation Director. “We are also renovating all of the plantings around the pond as they were too difficult to manage and had become overgrown. The biggest pieces to the project are the seating area and the pedestrian bridge spanning the larger section of the pond. This will be a great feature for the public; a great spot to hang out, take photos, and enjoy a little bit of nature in the heart of downtown.”
The city also plans a spring completion for renovations at Longwood Park on Lake Lanier at the northern end of the Highlands to Islands Trail. That project includes a new pavilion and wider walking trails.
In the intervening years since the Highlands to Islands Trail was first envisioned, numerous other multi-use paths sprouted in the Atlanta area and North Georgia, where the Atlanta Beltline, Big Creek Greenway, Silver Comet Trail, and other greenways now host throngs of fitness buffs, recreation seekers, and commuters on paved paths seen as major economic engines and quality of life enhancements. The current development of apartments and restaurants along the Midland Greenway and UNG Connector illustrate the potential for economic growth and housing opportunities. Walkers, runners and cyclists on the existing trails and crowds at Midland festivals and concerts attest to the trail’s recreational value. Yet, the Highlands to Islands Trail remains disjointed and unfinished.
Boyd, the region’s transportation director, attempted to explain why. “A regional trail network of this size takes time and money to complete, especially when a project runs across so many different jurisdictions. Over time, development and new priorities have changed the expected routes, which leads to new planning and engineering studies needing to be completed before moving forward. Additionally, any project that utilizes state or federal grant money has even more environmental and construction standards that must be met, which leads to longer construction times and a higher cost per mile.”
He said cost per mile can vary wildly based on terrain and right-of-way. “Currently we are planning for around $2 million per mile. The more a trail can utilize publicly owned right-of-way and existing level terrain corridors (old rail lines, roadbeds, public utility easements, ridge lines, etc.), the lower the expected cost.” The Highlands to Islands route traverses a patchwork of public, private and corporate territories covering a variety of geographical challenges, from bogs to ridges. The progression is expected to continue this year in small increments toward cementing a walkable/cyclable path from shore to shore.
Photos: by Jane Harrison
