Effort to finish constructing the Silver Comet Trail
 

I'm on the board of the River Line Historic Area in Cobb County. The RHLA focus covers the area along the Chattahoochee in Mableton, Smyrna, and part of Vinings.

The Silver Comet trail has, for a long time, been three miles short of completion. The three mile section from the Mavell Road entry point to the PATH trail on the east side of the river at South Atlanta Road has not been finished, and if finished would connect a continuous path from the Beltline in Atlanta to Alabama.

We're pulling together people to advocate for the completion of the trail. In particular, since the unfinished portion of the trail is in Cobb County I'd like to get other cyclists in Cobb County involved. The RHLA is primarily composed of preservation activists and environmentalists at this point. Since the Silver Comet trail is such an important fixture for the cycling community here, I'd like to see cyclists take a leading role in advocating for the trail's completion.

If any of you are interested in hiking this section in question, I can arrange for tours. It's rough going in places, but it's as walkable as any abandoned rail line.

Anyone interested in helping out? My primary focus is Cobb, but needless to say we'll accept help from anyone interested in the completion of the trail.

Being in the Cobb Co section, I am guess that folks like ABC don't have interest in being involved?

It would be great to see the beltline easily accessible from/to the Comet.

I intend to contact the ABC also. We need all the help we can get, and Beltline access is important for both sides of the river. At the moment I've been focusing on Cobb, because here is where the main political work will have to happen. PATH, ABC, and the Beltline people, not to mention the citizens of both Cobb and Atlanta all have a stake here. It'll be fantastic once its connected. Some of us from RLHA a a few Sierra Club people walked the unfinished part a few weeks ago. The PATH part already runs under the Atlanta Road bridge over the Chattahoochee. It's just three miles of track which needs paving.

Does this mean there's a way to cross the Chattahoochee and 285 that wouldn't involve riding South Cobb Dr or Atlanta Rd? My 16.5 mile one way daily commute takes me on the Silver Comet to the Publix at South Cobb Drive and Cumberland Parkway, then 2.5 miles down South Cobb Dr to Bolton Rd, then down Perry Blvd/Marietta St to downtown (Peachtree Center). Not having to deal with South Cobb Dr, especially where it crosses 285, would be awesome! I tried Atlanta Rd early on, but that was just plain scary with speeding traffic and blind curves.

Dwayne. Yes, it would be off-road continuously all the way to the PATH trail on the opposite side of the river. The existing unused Silver Comet rail line goes under South Cobb Drive, under Oakdale Road, and turns and runs parallel to Atlanta Road. It then crosses the river (an old railroad trestle which would have to be retrofitted) near the intersection of Plant Atkinson Road and South Atlanta Road.

We've set the hike over it for Saturday April 13th at 1 PM. If you're interested in seeing it email me at larryfeltonjohnson@gmail.com