Former Decatur School Board chair and member, Valarie Wilson, tells DM that she will not seek re-election when her term expires in the fall.  Ms. Wilson has been on the Board since 2002 and served as Chair from 2005-2011.

Ms. Wilson continues to serve as Executive Director for the Atlanta Beltline Partnership where she is “responsible for a capital campaign to raise $60 million in private funds to meet critical BeltLine needs, and she oversees an extensive program of public education and community outreach initiatives.”, according to the Beltline’s website.

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A biker, a jogger and a car driver race from Inman Park to Piedmont Park. The biker and jogger use the new Beltline trail, while the driver takes to the streets. A cool little comparison courtesy of Fox5.

h/t: ATL Urbanist

The Atlanta Beltline’s blog announced last week that the official dedication for the Eastside Trail will take place on October 15th.

The official dedication for the new trail will be held on Monday, October 15 at 10 a.m. It will also be featured as part of the Art on the Atlanta BeltLine exhibit, which starts on the evening of September 8 with the Krewe of the Grateful Glutton’s Lantern Parade and ends on November 11. In addition, the trail will be part of the route for Atlanta Streets Alive on October 7.

If you waiting for the trail to get all prettied up and ready for primetime, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. The post goes on to say that landscaping will commence “mid-fall” with tree plantings and then reconvene in the Spring when the native flora species hit the dirt. [h/t: CL]

In related news, Creative Loafing reports that new “No Trespassing” signs have been seen along the Eastside Trail, as some “rebellious bikers and joggers” have already hit the pavement while still construction continues.

Additionally, the October 7th Atlanta “Streets Alive!” event, which will shutdown nearly five miles of “car-free community space” (a “Virginia to North Highland to the Beltline” loop of sorts) plans to include $2 tours of Ponce City Market. [h/t: Curbed]

Map courtesy of The Beltline Blog

Not sure that “all publicity is good publicity” in this case.  From the AJC…

The Beltline’s board voted unanimously on Friday to end Brian Leary’s contract at the end of the month. The meeting came days after an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation revealed Beltline staffers charged taxpayers for wedding gifts, a parking ticket, a dry cleaning bill and other charges that infuriated watchdog groups and frustrated City Hall.

I’ve read a lot about the Beltline over the past few years, but even after pouring over countless maps, mock-ups and written descriptions it’s still quite difficult to get a great FEEL the Atlanta loop without walking it.

Well, here’s the next best thing.  Beltline-advocate extraordinaire Angel Luis Poventud has created a Facebook album of 56 Before/After photos along the currently under-construction East Trail.  It’s so great, it’ll make you wish the Beltline passed right through Decatur!

Photo above courtesy of Angel’s album – from Freedom Parkway looking south