From CL’s Thomas Wheatley…

And it’s legit: Beltline officials expect to begin construction this fall on a bike trail that would connect Piedmont Park to DeKalb Avenue.

Mayor Kasim Reed, city councilmembers and project officials this morning accepted two checks — each for $2.5 million — from Kaiser Permanente and the PATH Foundation on behalf of Sarah and Jim Kennedy at a scorching event along the Beltline’s northeast segment near the Masquerade. A project spokesman says the trail would open to walkers and cyclists next summer.

Nearly two years in the making, the trail project will connect the city’s most iconic greenspace and the Morningside, Ansley Park, Midtown, Poncey-Highland and Old Fourth Ward neighborhoods before ending at DeKalb Avenue.

Wheatley hopes the donations bring more attention to the Beltline project and perhaps even help secure more Federal funding in the future.

Map courtesy of Beltline.org

Here’s something I’ve been wondering a lot recently.

For me, comments are the lifeblood of this site.  Not only do they help keep me going day in and day out, but they always provide great context, alternative opinion to stories AND often offer great tips for new stories.

However, I also hear from lots of folks who primarily keep in touch with DM through RSS , Facebook, Twitter or the email feature.  So I’m sometimes conflicted about whether to turn a comment into a post (as I did with the recent Cakes & Ale “fresh bread” post) to give that other viewing audience a heads-up.

I think I need to be doing it more, but let’s see…