Thought Leaders Dinner brings Sandy Springs trail supporters, officials together

Key Points:• The Sandy Springs Conservancy’s annual Thought Leaders Dinner brings elected officials together with trail and parks supporters.• PCID Executive Director Ann Hanlon will discuss the value that sidewalks, paths, bike lanes, and landscaping bring to a community, and how the organization offers its support.• The Thought Leaders Dinner will start at 6 p.m. on Sept. 17 at Morgan Falls Overlook Park at 200 Morgan Falls Rd., with dinner and live music. A segment of the Springway Trail loop that crosses Orkin Lake via a boardwalk is one of three segments planned in which the Sandy Springs Conservancy is a partner. (Photo by Bob Pepalis) Sandy Springs Conservancy members, volunteers, and community residents can attend its Thought Leaders Dinner on Sept. 17 to learn about the value of the Springway Trail Plan and about Perimeter connectivity efforts. The event starts at 6 p.m. at the Pavilion at Morgan Falls Overlook Park at 200 Morgan Falls Road in Sandy Springs. Lonesome Redwing, a local country/bluegrass band, will provide live music. Dinner will be from QN2 BBQ of Sandy Springs. Tickets cost $50 per person and can be purchased online. Outdoor event door prizes will be awarded. Ann Hanlon, executive director of the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts (PCID), will share her knowledge of the value that sidewalks, paths, bike lanes, and landscaping bring to a community, and information about how the PCID supports Path400 and why it supports those projects, which connect to the Springway Trail Plan. “The ultimate goal is to have at least some type of greenspace that every resident can get to within a five- or 10-minute walk or bike ride. It’s a very aspirational goal,” Jack Misiura, chairman of the Sandy Springs Conservancy Board, told Rough Draft Atlanta. The PCID partners with the Sandy Springs Conservancy and the city. Projects that offer recreational and transportation connectivity use include a multi-use trail along Mount Vernon Highway from City Springs to the Sandy Springs MARTA Station. Dunwoody’s Ashford Dunwoody multi-purpose trail will extend from Hammond Road to Mount Vernon Highway. Related stories:• Sandy Springs Conservancy celebrates Springway Trail opening• Sandy Springs projects $6 million increase for General Fund budget• Sandy Springs secures $8.1 million in federal funding for trail and road projects Misiura said that with the largest amount of riverfront that any community has along the Chattahoochee, Sandy Springs will miss out if it doesn’t create ways for people to access and enjoy it, taking advantage of the natural beauty in the community. Misiura said the organization wants to get the community motivated to demand more action. The city, with help from partners including the Sandy Springs Conservancy, built 1.8 miles of a 5.4-mile loop of the Springway Trail system. “We need to finish that loop, and we need to get our elected officials to understand that the public wants this because we’ve created a really beautiful trail. The remaining segments of that trial will be just as striking, but they’ll be different,” Misiura said. Design and permitting stages of the other two trail loop segments are completed or underway. Misiura said he doesn’t want the first segment to become the trail to nowhere because the loop isn’t finished. The post Thought Leaders Dinner brings Sandy Springs trail supporters, officials together appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.