A disused and neglected section of rail road track in Atlanta has been given a Green make over. According to the New York Times, not long ago this space was a covered in debris: plastics, bottles and other forms of refuse. Today, this two-mile section of the old rail road has been given a new name, the "East Side Trail."
It is now lined with picturesque "pine and sassafras trees." Mayor Kasim Reed has said, “we are changing Atlanta into a city that you can enjoy by walking and riding a bike.” This is all a part of an ambitiious plan to convert 22 miles of abandoned railroad in parks, housing and public transit. Reed has said, "condos are under construction and a streetcar is planned." Atlanta is the latest city to take up what has been dubbed a "Rail-To-Trails" project. The project is estimated to cost about $2.8 billion, but "The city and a host of nonprofits have raised $350 million through private donations and property taxes ." The future of this project looks bright.
Special thanks to Earth-the Operator's Manual, "a series of documentaries on PBS and an online community of pragmatists, for alerting us to this.
