When John Ernst, Mayor of Brookhaven, Georgia gets an idea to create something big, something that will benefit his community for decades to come, he knows exactly how to get the ball rolling with integrity, transparency, and efficiency: He calls Chris Balch, whose firm Balch Law Group serves as the City Attorneys. One of these plans has now come to fruition as Phase I of the Peachtree Creek Greenway officially opens to the public.
The Peachtree Creek Greenway is the City of Brookhaven’s section of the larger proposed 12.3-mile North Fork Peachtree Creek Trail that is envisioned to link to the wider Atlanta trail system. The Peachtree Creek Greenway is to be “active and passive, featuring a paved trail for bicycling, walking, running with separate soft trails; easily accessible to all; a means for land conservation and improving environmental quality; and connected to other regional trails.” The goal of the greenway is to provide residents with close-to-home and close-to-work access to bicycle and pedestrian trails, serve transportation and recreation needs, and help encourage quality of life and sustainable economic growth.
The PATH Foundation delivered 100% design and engineering documents for Phase I of the Greenway (North Druid Hills Rd. to Briarwood Rd.) and gave an overview for City Council at the August 14, 2018 Work Session. The official groundbreaking for construction activities took place on Dec. 12, 2018.
brookhavenga.gov
The project involved:
- Drafting and shepherding legislation through the Georgia General Assembly to create an income stream to allow for the acquisition of property and construction of the Greenway.
- Negotiation of the purchases of 12 parcels along the proposed path by the City.
- Filing and arguing the validation of the bond transaction (against opposition) that created the pool of money, which allowed the Model Mile to be built.
- Drafting and supervising the construction contracts and assisting the Project Manager with contract enforcement to ensure timely construction and opening exactly one year after the ceremonial groundbreaking.
