Monthly Archives: September 2016

As the Westside Trail starts to take on a semi-finished appearance, Beltline officials are evaluating whether they will open the trail in segments or wait until it is completely finished.

Workers have begun pouring concrete for the 3-mile trail and progress continues on the granite walls, one of the most time-consuming parts of building the trail, Maghan Injaychock told community members Thursday evening.

An assistant project manager, Injaychock and other Beltline staff met with community members to update them on the trail’s progress and answer questions.

The trail, begun nearly two years ago, should be completed by sometime next year. At a quarterly briefing Monday evening, officials said the project is slated to be finished on time and on budget.

In answer to questions from community members Thursday evening, Injaychock said officials are still trying to decide whether the trail will be opened in segments as it is finished or all at once.  The lighting is scheduled to be installed at the same time near the end of the project, which would make it harder to open sections of the trail.

Any trail openings will be announced, she said.

Another challenge for the Beltline staff is determining how to best differentiate between the existing trails and the new Westside Trail. For example, the 2.4 mile West End Trail runs nearly adjacent to the Westside Trail in some areas and is also a Beltline trail marked with the Beltline logo.

The similar trails can be confusing, Injaychock said, so the signage will include maps of the trails and try to help people easily identify which trail they are on.

Brian Williams, with Trees Atlanta, also provided an update on work being done at Enota Park near the Westside Trail. In October, sheep will be brought into the park to help eat invasive plants. The targeted area is towards the back of the park and will not affect the children’s play area, Williams said.

Plans call for Enota Park to be expanded eventually. The design and planning for that has not been completed, Beltline staff said.

Live Nation, the concert promoter and organizer of the annual Music Midtown event, is giving $100,000 to support capital improvements in Piedmont Park.

The announcement from the city comes after an Atlanta Business Chronicle article said Live Nation has not contributed to the Piedmont Park Conservancy for the last two years.

Music Midtown, which has been hosted in Atlanta since 2011, generates more than $50 million in economic impact and development to the city annually.

The $100,000 donation comes out of the proceeds from this year’s Music Midtown, the news release said, and is in addition to $400,000 paid each year to the Centers of Hope initiative.

Live Nation also pays for 100 percent of the remediation of Piedmont Park following Midtown Music, the release said.

A petition to stop Georgia’s attorney general from becoming the next president of Kennesaw State University has gathered more than 3,000 signatures.

Sam Olens has not officially been named to the post, but rumors of a possible appointment have been circulating. Earlier this week, a Atlanta Business Chronicle article said his appointment was certain. The Atlanta Journal Constitution cited sources saying his appointment is likely, but not final.

The Care2 petition, started by a KSU student and alumna, protests Olens’ appointment due to his anti-LGBTQ views.

“Hiring Sam Olens as the new KSU President is one huge step backwards for the university,” the petition says.

Olens argued that marriage equality is not a “fundamental right” and joined Georgia in a multi-state lawsuit fighting the Obama administration’s protections for transgender students, says a news release about the petition.

Olens defended Georgia’s gay marriage ban, which was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015. He also has opposed the Obama administration’s direction that public schools must allow transgender students to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity

“Hearing that Mr. Olens may be hired as KSU’s new president goes against every value I know my alma mater to represent: diversity, tolerance, and positive discourse,” says petition co-author Sarah Rose, who is also Care2’s LGBTQ Issues Advocate.

To view the Care2 petition, click here.