ALTA shows off trail study to Cedartown commission
Cedartown city commissioners got a look at ALTA planning and design’s newest trail study in the first of several planned sessions for local governments to see the preferred route for a connection between Cedartown and Cave Spring.
ALTA’s Britt Storck showed off the trail plan, which would bring the Silver Comet Trail to Cave Spring along portions of Cave Spring Road and Big Cedar Creek from Seab Green Road in Polk County.
She said economics played a role in choosing the route.
“You can put a trail anywhere, but it costs money and we wanted to be mindful of that, along with other factors involved in construction,” she said.
Storck said ALTA’s proposal includes a four-phase plan to connect the two cities by a mainly asphalt trail using already existing corridors over 11 miles.
Phase 1 would start in Cave Spring, connecting the Pinhoti trail going through the downtown area and Rolater Park to the Silver Comet Trail via a 2.2 mile stretch between downtown and ending south on Old Cave Spring Road at the Pinhoti trailhead heading westward toward Alabama.
A second phase would then be constructed in Cedartown, connecting Big Spring Park to the Bert Wood Youth Athletic and Recreation Center in Cedartown 2.2 miles, with options includ- ing a mainly offroad route or a route that would take trail users through downtown Cedartown to the Silver Comet Trail connector on Main Street.
Phase 3 from the Bert Wood Youth Athletic and Recreation Center to Seab Green Road would mainly follow Big Cedar Creek, followed by a final phase which would connect the Old Cave Spring Road portion through to the Seab Green Road section.
All told, the proposed project would cost a combined $9.2 million. How that will be funded remains an issue.
Three bridge crossings would also have to be completed for the trail, Storck said.
Cedartown Commissioner Gary
Martin said the scenic path will prove to be a big draw to both local residents and visitors. “I’m definitely glad to see a lot of crossings of the creek,” he said.
Members of the Cave Spring Downtown Development Authority liked what they saw Monday when a consultant unveiled a plan to extend the Silver Comet Trail through Polk County and into Cave Spring.
Tom Lindsey, chairman of the DDA, said he felt it was the best plan he’d seen for the trail since he first got involved at the conception of the idea.
“I’ve seen all the other surveys they’ve brought out, and this is the best plan they’ve got,” he said. “One of the things I like about it is that they’re looking at taking this along Big Cedar Creek and coming into Cave Spring that way.”
John Johnston, a DDA member, said the economic opportunities for both Cedartown and Cave Spring are the biggest benefit he saw in the plan.
“We have the opportunity within a decade to create one of the premier recreational transportation facilities, not just in the Southeast, but to compete nationally,” Johnston said. “People need to look at the big picture and see how this might come together.”
Consultant ALTA Design and Planning unfolded the plan during Monday’s meeting with the Cedartown City Commission.
Thomas Mobley, a Polk County resident in attendance at the meeting, voiced concerns about a possible tax increase on residents for upkeep of the trail.
Mobley said he is also worried about the environmental impact on Big Cedar Creek because of an increase of people on the trail. “This creek is extremely precious to those who have sacrificed and saved for years to buy and own property along the creek, and I don’t want to see that harmed,” he said.
Storck hopes work can begin by 2018. “We don’t want to see this plan just sitting on a shelf,” she said.