On December 9, 2024, the City Council awarded a contract to Pond and Company for $279,000.00 to complete an update to the City’s Transportation and Trail Master Plans. The City of Tucker adopted the Transportation Strategic Transportation Master Plan in 2018 and the Tucker PATH: Trail Master Plan and Implementation Strategy in 2019.

The scope of services includes data collection, crash analysis, review of existing plans, Stakeholder Committee meetings, public participation meetings, and a combined plan encompassing future improvements to the City’s roads, bicycle, and pedestrian system.

The 12 month process will be led by Kat Onore with Pond with assistance on trails from Jean Crowther and Elizabeth Yarnall with Alta Planning & Design.

Public participation will play an important role in the process on trail prioritization. We look forward to all efforts in advancing Tucker’s trails and connecting to the larger regional trail network.

On Tuesday August 13, 2024, the City of Tucker will hold a public information open house on the Tucker Northlake Trail. The event will be from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM at City Hall. Originally presented in the Tucker-Northlake CID Master Plan in 2015, and updated in the Tucker PATH Trail Master Plan in 2019, this 2.8-mile shared-use path will connect from Northlake Mall to the future Tucker Town Green in Downtown Tucker. The purpose of the open house is to share information on the project and gather feedback from those in attendance.

This first public meeting comes over two years after the announcement of the initial federal grant to begin the project (City of Tucker Awarded Federal Trail Grant) in 2022. The scoping and engineering phase of the project is being conducted by Heath & Lineback.

The trail will consist of side paths along roadways, independent path alignments, multiple walls to minimize impact on residents and businesses, a boardwalk section, and a pedestrian bridge over Fellowship Road. For more information on the event, visit the City of Tucker’s Tucker-Northlake Trail Project page.

This morning DeKalb County and the City of Tucker took an important step towards two goals. The County razed the former health department building on Cowan Road making way for the Dekalb County Fire Rescue Department’s new Station 5 and a trail head for the city trail plan.

Funds collected through the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) will fund both projects. Station 5 on Lawrenceville Hwy was built in 1955 and the team responding to calls is overdue for a new home. The state-of-the-art facility will mirror Station #7 on Columbia Drive.

The trail, connecting directly to Peters Park on the south and to Main Street on the north, will benefit Tucker residents and business for years to come.

Thank you CEO Michael Thurmond, Commissioner Robert Patrick, Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, Mayor Frank Auman, and City Council members Anne Lerner, Cara Schroeder, and Virginia Rece for being present and supporting these projects! As always, thank you to voters who supported the SPLOST vote in 2017 making these changes possible.

Last night the City Council approved a contract with KAIZEN Collaborative for the design of Segment 2A, a half mile trail loop at Kelley Cofer Park. The design, including surveying and engineering, for the Kelley Cofer Loop is being funded by SPLOST. The same Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax used to resurface roads in Tucker.

On March 30, 2023, the City of Tucker held a public information meeting on the next section of trail extending from Downtown Tucker and tentatively being called the “South Fork Peachtree Creek Greenway.” The meeting was led by Ken Hildebrandt with the City of Tucker and Tanner Copeland, with KAIZEN Collaborative. Attendees included local trail enthusiasts, residents, and property owners who live and work adjacent to the proposed trail. The feeling of the meeting was inquisitive enthusiasm. Residents were pleased to see an opportunity for access to the trail, as well as protection for privacy.

The concepts presented includes connections to Tucker Middle School, Stanford Oaks and Bradford Park Apartments, the Tucker Brewing Company, and Peters Park. The current plan includes a trail head, with 39 public parking spaces, on the site of the future home of DeKalb County Fire Rescue Station 5.

Developing this section of the trail along the South Fork Peachtree Creek is another step in transforming expectations for the area south of Main Street to Peters Park.

The City of Tucker is moving forward on the next step in expanding the trail network southward. This next phase will run from Lawrenceville Highway to Peters Park, following the South Fork Peachtree Creek, with connections to the future DeKalb Fire Station, Tucker Middle School, and the Tucker Brewing Company.

If you are a business, property owner, or resident living along or near the proposed route wanting to learn more and provide feedback, please attend the meeting at City Hall on Thursday, March 30, 2023, at 6:00 pm.

Progress on trails in Tucker is moving forward in all directions. Last week the team from Heath & Lineback Engineers, Inc. walked a section of the proposed trail route between Downtown Tucker and Northlake. The Tucker PATH Trail Master Plan and Implementation Strategy provides a high level overview of the potential route between Fellowship Rd and Northlake Pkwy.

Sewer easements without trees, and a relatively flat landscape in other areas, creates an almost ideal space for trail development. The current work, including discussions with property owners, will determine the actual location of the trail.

The scoping and engineering phase of the project is being funded by the City of Tucker, Tucker-Northlake Community Improvement District, and the Atlanta Regional Commission. The initial grant for the project was announced in January of 2022.

When construction is complete, this three-mile section of trail will connect the residential community with the two largest economic and social centers in the City of Tucker. It will be a beautiful greenway!

On Monday February 27, 2023 segment 1a of the trail through the alleys in Downtown Tucker officially opened for public use. The event was kicked off by a speech from Mayor Frank Auman followed by a ribbon cutting. In addition to elected officials and city staff, representatives from the Friends of Tucker Path, Tucker-Northlake CID, Tucker Running Club, Tucker Walks, Friends of Tucker Parks, and Main Street businesses were present. The sky was overcast all day, and many were prepared for rain, but just as everyone began to gather the clouds parted and rays of sunlight began to shine through.

This project would not have been possible without the support and commitment of a long list of people.

Thanks to Chuck Abbott, Nico Shen, and the entire team at KAIZEN Collaborative for their design work from beginning to end. To Greta deMayo with the PATH Foundation for her leadership early in the planning process. To Jonathan McCaig for helping trouble shoot unforeseen issues and guiding the trail project. Thanks to Jose Hasbun, Larry and the whole team with Hasbun Construction for their continued warmth and kindness throughout the construction phase.

Thanks to Ken Hildebrandt, City Engineer, and his small team, including Jack Smith and Sam Durrance, for overseeing all the work and accomplishing so much in a short time. All while carrying the weight of other projects in the City.

Thanks to Matthew Lee, Executive Director of the Tucker-Northlake CID, for continuing to advocate for this unique vision of alleys in Downtown Tucker for years and working closely with city council members and property owners to bring everyone on board.

To the Mayor and City Council members in 2019 who caught the vision, listened, and voted to support building this section of the trail first; Frank Auman, Anne Lerner, Noelle Monferdini, Michelle Penkava, Matt Robbins, Bill Rosenfeld (1943 – 2021), and Pat Soltys. Particularly to Anne Lerner and Michelle Penkava for pushing back in the right places with an eye towards economic development.

To Beth Ganga for reviewing plans, making recommendations on trail signage, and helping organize the Friends of Tucker Path in its early stages.

Thanks to the Atlanta Regional Commission for quickly understanding the significance of restoring the grid and funding the Downtown Tucker Grid Plan with the Tucker-Northlake CID. To Bob Beagle, Niti Gajjar, and the team at Lord Aeck Sargent for their work on the grid plan with the Tucker-Northlake CID in identifying land ownership records back to the 1800s.

Thanks to the current City Council for approving additional funding for the streetlights that line the alleys. Thanks to each voter who wanted to see more progress in Tucker and supported the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) that funded the project. You helped pay for this space!

Lastly, thanks to each of the Downtown Tucker property owners who trusted in this vision and agreed to easements, donations, or the sale of their land to make this project happen. It would not have been possible without their support. The list includes; Theo Burnett, Chip Burns, Tom Burns, Jon Carr, Chip Cofer, Mark Frank, Tajammul Halim, Wesley Knapp, Naresh Parikh, Jonathan Rich, Larry Ross, Charles Seagraves, Conrad Sechler, Fred Summers, Dave Wiggins, and Richard White.

Thank you!

Our neighbors in Gwinnett County are seeking public feedback on the Piedmont Pathway. The scoping study will determine the exact alignment of the 28-mile trail along I-85 within a half mile buffer of the proposed corridor. The Piedmont Pathway is intended to be one of the Signature Trails in the Gwinnett County Trails Master Plan approved by the county commission in 2018.

Eventually the trail will connect from DeKalb County on the south to Bartow County on the north. If you live, work, or spend time in the study area, please take time to complete the survey.

Building trails includes more than pouring concrete. Especially when doing so through an existing community. Just like sections of the trail in Downtown Tucker, the trail along Hugh Howell Road required digging into the sloping hillside to accommodate the path. Rather than leaving a bare concrete wall, the City of Tucker added a granite façade. Eventually the trail, and an assortment of granite retaining walls, will lead residents to Stone Mountain Park. The largest mass of exposed granite in the world.