The city of Brookhaven is getting $2.7 million in federal funding toward construction of the Peachtree Creek Greenway after the Atlanta Regional Commission voted Feb. 28 to incorporate the project into the Metropolitan Atlanta Transportation Improvement Plan.

The red box outlines the map of the first phase implementation area of the Peachtree Creek Greenway. The three streets noted in blue are (from left) North Druid Hills Road, Corporate Boulevard and Briarwood Road. (City of Brookhaven)

“We are very grateful to the regional trail groups, and to the ARC board and their talented staff for working with us to ensure the success of this critical link,” Mayor John Ernst said in a press release.  “When the Peachtree Creek Greenway plan was adopted, we made a commitment to see this through to completion, while honoring the fiscally conservative values our city was founded on. The ARC approval of funding is a milestone in this continuing effort.”

The $2.7 million will be used for the second phase of the project. The first phase is being funded by the city’s hotel/motel tax. Phase one, called the “model mile,” is being built between North Druid Hills Road and Briarwood Road. A formal groundbreaking for the first phase is expected by the end of the year and is expected to take 18 months to complete.

Phase two follows the adopted plan from North Druid Hills Road to the Atlanta city line. Current planning anticipates a route that will  follow the creek in some areas, and incorporate the temporary trail along Buford Highway, said city spokesperson Burke Brennan.

“The final route is dependent on engineering studies. It is important to note that while adopted plans seek to take all into consideration, they are subject to feasibility determined through design and engineering, stream buffer regulations, and federal and state  permit review. All are included in the next steps of the process,” Brennan said.

The Greenway is an approximate 12-mile linear park envisioned to run along the north fork of the Peachtree Creek and connect Brookhaven to Chamblee and Doraville as well as to Buckhead’s PATH 400 and eventually to the Atlanta BeltLine. The north fork of the Peachtree Creek runs from Mercer University in unincorporated DeKalb County to near the PATH400 trail.

For more information about Greenway, visit the project website at brookhavenga.gov/pcg.

Dyana Bagby is a staff writer for Rough Draft Atlanta, Reporter Newspapers, and Atlanta Intown.