Midway Rd Dearborn Park Decatur Future Trail

The city of Decatur has worked with the PATH Foundation and Kaizen Collaborative to prepare a connectivity and implementation plan. The plan suggests seven new trail segments, which once complete, will provide a better bicycle and pedestrian connection to the downtown core, neighborhoods, schools, and parks.

Decatur PATH Connectivity & Implementation Plan

One of the paths include clearing the trees along Midway Rd from S. Candler Rd to Deerwood Drive. The study notes “once the trail reaches Driftwood Terrace Road it becomes a neighborhood greenway. With this road being a dead end and very low volume, signage and pavement markings should suffice in modifying the street for trail use.
Once to Candler Street the trail pulls off-road into adjacent green space,
becoming a multi-use trail once again. An at-grade crossing at the signalized
intersection of South Candler Street and Midway Road brings the multi-use
trail across to the south side of Midway Road, following the creek corridor to
Dearborn Park. At Dearborn Park the trail follows existing dirt paths along
the creek to the south until it reaches city limits. Efforts should be made to
coordinate with DeKalb County’s Shoal Creek greenway development.
The trail from Dearborn Park will connect east to the East Decatur Greenway
PATH as a neighborhood greenway on Midway Road. The neighborhood
greenway will turn north to Oldfield Road and end at the intersection with
Kirk Road. Midway Road and Oldfield Road are low volume residential
roads with a few existing speed humps. Signage and pavement markings
should help build the greenway identity on these roads for trail use.
Along Kirk Road, the trail becomes a sidepath on the south side of the road,
using a road diet to create enough space. The side path travels south on
South Columbia Drive and crosses to Katie Kerr Drive using the existing
traffic lights and connecting to the East Decatur Greenway trail”

We have requested an update from Peggy Merriss, outgoing City Manager and Hugh Saxton, Deputy City Manager.

Below are photos of the area which has recently been sprayed with pesticides and though the City has cleaned up much of the invasive ivy, there is still more that needs to be completed.

City of Decatur currently does not participate in the Friends of the Park Program with Park Pride, however, as this project will run through Dearborn Park, Friends of Dearborn Park feels it is important to stay abreast of actions that will affect Dearborn Park and the surrounding neighbors. Like Friends of Dearborn Park on Facebook