Friday, December 19, 2003

Hill Country wants path system through four counties

By Lindsay Bianchi
Special to the Citizen

The Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance along with The Path Foundation have come up with another great way to interact with the beauty of their surroundings.

Plans to create a 98 mile trail for biking, walking and horseback riding are in the works. The proposed walkway will eventually connect Chattahoochee Bend State Park Sweetwater Creek State Park, Palmetto and many other natural and historical sites as it snakes its way through Carroll, Douglas, Fulton and Coweta Counties.

"From a regional perspective we see this as ultimately being an attraction and a destination place for people to come and ride bikes, hike and walk through the whole hill country and then be connected up to all the different parks in the region,”said Stacy Patton, president of The Friends of The Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance stated.

 "It's a long term plan and so what we hope is each county will be able to help each county get a segment going so people can understand how it is going to fit into the pattern of the landscape." Patton said.

The concept plan drawn up strives to incorporate existing right of ways and existing old roads into the design.

Another 36 miles of horse paths is included in the design to add to paths for horseback riding in Cochran Mill and McIntosh Reserve parks.

"This is a big horse community down here," Patton pointed out.

Blending rural pleasures and modern living is what drives the heart of the Hill Country Alliance. Their innovative designs for new villages and hamlets in the area have led to two new zoning categories which encompass their ideas.

"If we can get the base of the path in early on," Patton asserts, "then as the area changes and grows, we would be able to pave the appropriate segments. Then it wouldn't just be a swath of concrete going through the woods where you really don't see the purpose in it."