When Liberals Fight
Decatur Metro | January 26, 2008 | 10:33 amInDecatur has done a good job the last couple weeks of keeping us up-to-date on the controversy surrounding the PATH Foundation’s new proposed bike path through Mason Mill Park. Now Radical Georgia Moderate informs us of plans by the Three Forks Alliance to sue PATH to stop construction.
Bikers vs. Hikers. (Obviously I’m generalizing here. I’m sure there’s a lot of crossover.)
I’m deeply conflicted. Two groups usually in close agreement might be fighting it out in court. Once I get any sort of grasp of both sides of this issue, maybe I’ll post an opinion. But for now, I’m having trouble choosing between my bike helmet and day pack.
Can’t we just go back to saber-rattling at those pesky developers?
Like I noted in the blog post, I think on the whole that PATH does pretty good work. And I’m not necessarily totally opposed to ANY construction in the park myself. I just agree with Three Forks that this particular set of plans isn’t very good, and was passed by the DeKalb Commission without consulting the community in what I would consider to be a satisfactory way.
It’s not exactly bikers vs. hikers. Dirt bikers frequently ride in Mason Mill Park. I could ride on the trails there with my hybrid bike, with it’s mid-sized tires and front and seat suspension. The trails just aren’t good for road bikers with their little thin tires, optimized for hard surfaces. But, we already have plenty of hard surfaces for them to ride on, not to mention the excellent existing PATH trails. They also don’t work for skate-boarders. A special park is being built for them.
Last night, a biker suggested, as a compromise, a trail like they have at Arabia Mountain, which apparently doesn’t meet the strict standards for in-town PATHs (along which grandmothers can push baby strollers without much effort).
Back during the depression, the government put the unemployed to work hand-building trails through federal and state parks, They did not require grading vehicles, went around old-growth trees, and didn’t detract from the wooded look. If we need anything in Mason Mill Park, it’s something like that.
Just looked at the Arabia Mountain PATH at the PATH site, and it doesn’t look as natural as the acquaintance made it sound last night. But, I’ve not seen it first hand, so I can’t really say for sure.
In any case, we don’t need bulldozers coming in on two specially cut construction roads to push down trees and grade land for a path through a little 85-acre park for a 1/2 mile trail which goes nowhere, when bikers and people pushing baby strollers have plenty of concrete and sideways all around it.
We need trees and a habitat for nature far more than more hard surfaces to casually walk/ride/push baby strollers on, IMHO. Areas with more than an acre of undisturbed woodlands are getting VERY rare inside the perimeter.
The area along Winn Way was all fields woodlands when I was a kid. It’s long gone. As a kid, I didn’t fully appreciate the treasure it was, but loved playing in those woods.
I don’t think it’s bikers v. hikers either. I see it more as concerned neighbors and citizens v. a bullheaded non-profit organization that seems to function like an unresponsive developer. Their one-plan-fits-all-situations concept simply doesn’t work everywhere.
Hey, I said I was generalizing.
Why is PATH building this trail to nowhere? Does anyone know their position? I’m always suspicious when only hearing one side of the issue.
It is suspicious that PATH is keeping such a low profile on this project. Trying finding anything about it on their site. Could it be because they have what they want, at this point? Perhaps they will be flushed out of hiding by a court hearing.
I’ve just been on the outside of the PATH issue. What I know is that DC BOC say they’ve been working on this project for years. A lot of neighbors said they knew nothing of the project in the last year and find out that construction starts in February.
I’m sure PATH stands to make a good deal of money. It’s a large project, that does essentially, go no where.
Reality check…, do you think that land is going to remain undeveloped? All land inside the perimeter is a potential spot for condos. Unlike some of you, I have been following this PATH plan for over 15 years. And I remember it was blocked before by a developer who wanted to develop the land. I would much rather have a PATH, where children can ride bikes, than condos, where NO ONE can ride anything.
And if that isn’t enough, remember, the PATH is mainly for children. It’s not about YOU.
Mason Mill in County Park land, and should remain so forever. Only an egregious act by the Commissioners would allow it to be developed.
Kids can walk on the paths which go through the woods now.
If “the PATH is mainly for children,” I’ve missed them all. Indeed, I certainly wouldn’t want a child taking the PATH through Edgewood! I know serious runners who avoid parts of the PATH in DeKalb due to perceived safety issues.
Yes, the subdivision at the end of Superior use to belong to that tract of land too. It would be nice if it remained undeveloped, but you have to understand the power of real estate developers in this town.
And you’re comparing Medlock Park to Edgewood? Really?
Look at the Silver Comet trail this spring and tell me who you see……
I love Mason Mill Park and visit it on a weekly basis. If you haven’t seen it, you should. An undisturbed piece of wilderness hidden away in central Dekalb. You can walk 3 or more miles on the many trails, up and down hills, visit streams, beaver ponds, and the ruins of the water works. But the best part is the dogs. This is the place that people bring their dogs and turn them free. Nearly everyone has at least one dog. This is the place that dogs need and once introduced, cannot live without. A glorious romp in the woods. The destruction by PATH to this point is almost unimaginable. They are logging and laying down an extensive road to give access to the large bulldosers and grading machines which they will need for the project. The road built to date does not even follow the line of the eventual “trail”. The “trail” will be 12 feet wide. No one who I encountered at the park last Sunday could believe what they had seen, nor could they make any sense out of the concept behind it. You should visit this park.
I am waiting to see whether the trail will be a net plus or minus, but I did want to respond to those who say that it is something recently “sprung” on the neighborhood: we moved out of the Medlock area several years ago, but as far back as the mid-90’s there were neighborhood meetings with PATH about this project. I remember one meeting that I attended at the Mason Mill library in about 1997 at which Ed McBreyer, PATH president, did a presentation on the trail.
A bit more history: As another poster noted, this property has been threatened with residential development. I remember in about 91-92, there was talk that it would be declared “surplus” by the County and sold. As I recall, that triggered the initial push by some Medlock and Mason Mill neighborhood residents to have the land “reactivated” as a County-maintained park, with “developed” park amenities. I believe that it was this push that eventually led to some neighborhood residents asking PATH to get involved in the mid 90’s.
Although people who currently oppose the PATH say that the Medlock and Mason Mill neighborhoods have always cherished the land in its “wild” state, that is not entirely correct. The area in the 90’s periodically had encampments of homeless people. I hesitate to speak for the entire area, but at the time I believe that many of my Medlock neighbors thought the wild land was a source of crime and a liability to the neighborhood, not an asset.
And a final point: I am puzzled by the Medlock residents who are up in arms about the trail and mourning the lost of “their” woodland. Except for the few people whose houses backed up to the land, access to the land from the Medlock neighborhood was quite difficult. It either involved cutting through several people’s back yards along the creek, or hiking in on a power line right of way and squeezing through a fence. Accessing the land without trespassing involved driving all the way around to Mason Mill Road — about 1 1/2 miles from Medlock, mostly along 4-lane Clairmont road which at the time did not have sidewalks. My observation was that Medlock residents did not use the land much at all; I believe that I was one of the few. (Many of my neighbors actively avoided the land because of the perceived threat from the “hobos.”) If nothing else, the trail is going to make the land accessible to all the surrounding neighborhoods, including Medlock.
I have to disagree with Peter who thinks it’s OK to let dogs loose in a public park. Too many times at Mason Mill and Stone Mountain I’ve been “challenged” by a growling barking off leash dog protecting it’s owners. I’m a trail runner, mountain biker and hiker and think dogs should be on leashes.
This might be part of the opposition’s undisclosed motives against the PATH in Mason Mill. They’ve adopted it as their very own personal dog park and don’t want the intervention of any of those annoying rules that make it safe for others.
Medlock resident since 1988.
Also as a footnote. Calling any of those trees back there “old growth” only shows ignorance . The area was logged like almost all of the south around the turn of the last century. If you want to see old growth go to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest in NC. Old growth trees are MUCH bigger.