Decatur Goes Green

The Greenway would also connect Decatur’s schools, parks, churches and the downtown area, or, as Tami Willadsen puts it, “everything that’s good about Decatur.”

Willadsen, an Atlanta native and resident of Decatur since 1999, serves as chair for the city’s Greenspace Commission, created, in part, to make the Greenway a reality.

The commission was formed in 2001 to decide how to spend more than $187,000 granted to the city through then-Gov. Roy Barnes’ Georgia Greenspace Planning and Protection initiative. Those funds, along with grants from the Arthur Blank Foundation, helped the city acquire property for the Oakhurst Community Garden and Glenn Creek Nature Preserve and to create a master plan for the city cemetery at 229 Bell St., Decatur’s largest green space at 43-acres.

Willadsen said the city already has a good framework for the Greenway, with Woodlands Park, Dearborn Park, Decatur Cemetery and Oakhurst Community Garden, but “connectivity” between these green spaces is needed.

Acquiring and creating those amenities was the first step in the Greenway project. In 2002, the city commissioned a study – originally called the Decatur Preservation Corridor Master Plan – to determine where the Greenway paths should be located.

As expected, some of the paths would cut through back and side yards of private homes, Willadsen said. “I know there will be some anxiety about having a public path running through a backyard, but all the studies show a path system like this will increase property values and deter crime, not to mention being something to be proud of,” she said.

The Decatur Greenspace Commission plan is to work “from the ground up, neighborhood by neighborhood,” encouraging residents to give easements to the city to let parts of the path cross their property. “We’re not into strong-arm tactics or condemnation,” Willadsen told the Decatur Neighborhood Association meeting in September. “Condemnation is not even on the table.”

Willadsen said she believes that the majority of Decatur’s residents who have property on the Greenway will donate their land, noting the tax incentive for homeowners.

“On the referendum ballot, the question for creating the Greenway received the most support,” Willadsen said.

Another important aspect of Greenway is preserving the four watersheds that run inside the city, Peavine, Shoal, Sugar and South Fork creeks. Many of the Greenway paths would run along these creeks, creating a permanent natural buffer that will keep the streams healthy.

“We have a unique responsibility to protect those waterways,” Willadsen commented, noting that water that runs through Decatur winds up in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

The Decatur Greenway is also part of a larger transportation plan that city leaders hope will encourage Decatur residents to walk and bicycle around town instead of driving, making Decatur a more pedestrian- friendly city.