Cobb Master Plan for Greenways and Trails

Cobb budget process, greenways and and trails master plan on commissioners work session agenda

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Cobb greenways and trails, Cobb budget process
The Noonday Creek Trail Head at Bells Ferry, which opened in 2014. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

On Monday afternoon the Cobb Board of Commissioners will hear a number of presentations, including an update from Chairman Mike Boyce on the Cobb budget process, at a regularly scheduled work session.

The work session begins at 1:30 p.m. in the second floor boardroom of the Cobb BOC Building, 100 Cherokee St., in downtown Marietta.

Cobb commissioners have been holding initial discussions on what’s become a projected $30 million budget hole for fiscal year 2019.

The Cobb government fiscal year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, but Boyce has said he wants to get an early start on tackling that deficit. He has said he will be holding town hall meetings around the county in early 2018 to solicit public feedback.

Boyce has had a rocky first year in office, in terms of budgeting and taxes. His proposal to raise the millage rate to fund the 2008 Cobb parks referendum was rejected by commissioners, especially after a heated town hall meeting at the East Cobb Senior Center.

In passing Boyce’s $402 million FY budget in September, commissioners used nearly $20 million in contingency money and temporarily delayed funding county non-profit agencies and the new Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center.

Another item on Monday’s work session agenda includes updated information on the county’s first-ever master plan for greenways and trails.

Cobb DOT commissioned an Atlanta engineering, architectural and design firm to conduct public meetings around the county, including the East Cobb Library and Covenant Presbyterian Church, to find ways to connect assorted bike and pedestrian paths and other multi-use trails (see previous East Cobb News post here).

The DOT was expected to report back near the end of the year with results from “stakeholder” and citizen surveys and recommendations.

On Tuesday, the commissioners will hold a business meeting, also at 7 p.m. in the same room. The top items on the agenda include a proposal to charge for Saturday parking at the county-run decks in downtown Marietta.

Cobb government charges a flat $5 rate Monday-Friday to use the lots at 115 Waddell Street and 191 Lawrence Street. The proposal would charge the same $5 rate for Saturday parking, but Sunday parking would remain free. The changes would go into effect Jan. 8, 2018.

Also on the agenda is a proposal to formally adopt the 2040 Cobb County Comprehensive Plan.

The recognitions at Tuesday’s meeting include the Dickerson Middle School Percussion Ensemble, which has been selected to perform in the Music For All National Percussion Festival in Indianapolis in March 2018.

 

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Cobb greenways and trails project still seeking public input on master plan

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A dusk shot of the Noonday Creek Trail Head at Bells Ferry. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)

Since late April, the Cobb Department of Transportation has been holding public meetings and conducting surveys to gain citizen feedback on the county’s first-ever master plan for greenways and trails.

Two such meetings have taken place in East Cobb in the last two weeks, at the East Cobb Library and at Covenant Presbyterian Church, to reveal some of the public comment thus far and show citizens how the plan might be taking shape.

While the plan is a work in progress, the potential map of what may be finalized later this year shows a hodgepodge of trails desperately seeking connections.

“There are little pieces here and there,” said Erin Thoreson of Gresham, Smith and Partners, an Atlanta architectural, engineering and design firm which is consulting with Cobb DOT on the project. “When you look at the map, you see obvious places where connections are needed.”

Cobb County, its six cities and three Community Improvement Districts currently have around 50 miles of multi-use trails and greenways. There are an estimated 150 and more miles of prospective trails that could be linked to existing trails.

In Northeast Cobb, one area that might benefit from more connectedness is the Noonday Creek Trail head on Bells Ferry Road, just north of Piedmont Road/Barrett Parkway. Opened in 2014, the Bells Ferry site has become very popular for bikers, walkers and runners.Cobb Trail Plan

Hooking up close to other trails at the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield is one of the attractions of the Bells Ferry Trail Head, which is a project of the Town Center CID.

To the north, a possible extension of the Noonday Creek Trail projects a connection to the Cherokee County line with access to Woodstock, but the route would go through neighborhoods that could likely draw some community opposition.

One of the major objectives in designing the master plan, Thoreson said, is to get citizens to think about the practicalities of local travel.

“Think about how people get from one place to another,” she said. “It’s important that [trails] get you to the places where you want to go.”

According to the Cobb Trail Plan interactive map, plenty of new routes in East Cobb—which is not served amply by existing trails—have been suggested by citizens (indicated by the orange broken lines). A major issue, however, is heavy residential development. There’s not much greenspace available, and much of that is going to new housing construction.

Some commenters have suggested trail head access points near Lassiter and Pope high schools for cross country runners, and at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church.

Soon the project staff will be putting together a draft master plan with an open house to be scheduled in the fall, unveiling preliminary ideas that include citizens’s suggestions.

They can continue to offer comments on the project’s interactive map, or leave messages at info@CobbTrailPlan.com or by calling 770-754-0755.

Citizens also can offer their thoughts by filling out an online survey.