TRAILS
Members of our firm have been actively involved in the design of bicycle and pedestrian trail projects all across the country, including Hawaii.
FLINT RIVER GREENWAY, Albany, Georgia
This trails project moves all along the riverfront from Albany State University to the Zoo to the north and all phases are constructed.
While working with our former firm, MDG, members of Sweetgrass Design worked as the lead planning, design and environmental consulting firm for the twenty mile, eight million dollar Flint River Greenway Trail. We also participated on the planning of the completed fifteen million dollar Flint River Education Center which has become the central point for extensive research and education of river ecosystems and history. The Flint River Greenway and the Downtown Revitalization projects are integral components of a comprehensive flood recovery program that resulted from a 500 year flood that occurred on the Flint River in 1994.
The system of multi-use hard- surface trails and soft-surface hiking paths connect: Cheehaw Zoo Park, Thronateeska Heritage Museum, Downtown Albany, Albany State University, Residential Communities. In addition, downtown revitalization efforts include trail connections to the proposed Flint River Education Center, Riverwalk, and a conference center/hotel complex as part of the downtown revitalization effort.
The successful planning and design of the Flint River Greenway and Flint River Education Center are the results of a comprehensive public input and networking process that included citizens, educators, naturalists, businesses and other special user groups.
The Playground, named, Turtle Grove Illustrative Master Plan
LYDGATE PARK AND TRAIL, Kaua'i, Hawai'i
Park and Bicycle/Pedestrian Path
Details regarding this project are located in the Parks section of our website.
THE WORLD OF COKE, Atlanta, Georgia
Trails project to connect the new Offices with the World of Coke Visitors Center.
While with our former firm, MDG, Sara Edi and Shaun Gordon were contracted to collaborate planning and design feasibility services for a multi-use greenway corridor in Downtown Atlanta. This new facility will connect Georgia Technological University campus, the Coca-Cola World Headquarters, the new World of Coke Museum and Atlanta Aquarium site, and Centennial Olympic Park.
The Coca-Cola Company required a greenway corridor of world class stature that would accommodate bicyclists, pedestrians, and on-street parking for automobiles and buses. In addition, a bicycle depot for renting bicycles, roller blades and purchase of snacks and merchandise is planned near the World of Coke Museum.
Note Shauns photo-manipulations showing the before photo's and the photos of what the
project would look like constructed.
1996 OLYMPIC GAMES, Atlanta, Georgia
Trails and Pocket Parks to connect the Venues
While working with our former firm, MDG, we assisted in provided planning and design services for a thirty mile bicycle and pedestrian trail system which links the Olympic Village at the Georgia Tech campus with many of the Olympic venue sites, such as: Stone Mountain Park, the Georgia Dome, Morris Brown College and Clark-Atlanta University.
The design includes: off-street concrete trails, on-street bicycle facilities, signage, pocket parks, and four pedestrian bridges. The trail is part of a comprehensive Atlanta Greenway Trail system which also links numerous neighborhoods with parks, schools, MARTA (subway system) and other regional trail systems.
OXFORD ENVIRONMENTAL TRAIL & PARK, Albany, Georgia
Oxford Environmental Park is located on the banks of the Flint River in Albany, Georgia. The staff of Jones Ecological Research Center, a plant research and teaching center near the city, identified this property as ideal for teaching students in public school about habitat creation
and protection.
The members of Sweetgrass Design while with our former firm MDG, worked with school teachers,
the City of Albany, Albany Tomorrow, Inc, and Jones Ecological Research Center to develop this property into
a teaching classroom as well as writing grants to fund the development and construction of the facility.
ROCKMART TRAILS, Rockmart, Georgia
The vision sketch and built project for the PATH Foundation
The Rockmart Riverwalk is a linear park located in Rockmart, Georgia along the banks of the Eurharlee Creek. The west side of the creek has an existing park with high canopy shade trees, playground equipment, and picnic tables. The east side of the creek was undeveloped and suffering from erosion.
The City of Rockmart wanted to create a riverwalk feature that would enhance the east bank while providing both active and passive use for the public to help draw in tourism. While working with another firm, we designed the riverwalk site plan, obtaining all environmental permits and assisted in providing conceptual graphics for an intense public and governmental process that not only gained the support of the community, but also State and Local funding of the design and construction.
The Rockmart Riverwalk design included three roadway underpasses, a picnic shelter, trail-head amenities, refurbishing the existing covered wood pedestrian bridge that connects to the west bank park as well as a new prefabricated bridge. Brick veneer retaining walls and ramps provided handicap accessibility. Both formal and informal plantings helped to add shade and color to the site. The Rockmart Riverwalk also serves as a necessary connection for the thirty-eight miles of the Silver Comet Trail System.
CITY OF CHARLOTTESVILLE, Charlottesville, Virginia
Regional Trails Masterplan
Work performed with our former firm, MDG, where our scope included working with all the city departments to dovetail this project with the Comprehensive Plan for the City. Further, we reviewed all the roadways and major corridors to determine the safest routes to connect all the malls, schools, recreation facilities, and city offices.
We provided public facilitation to get community consensus, and provided all the permitting required to get the permits needed from all the regulatory agency officials.
Shaun's Before and After Photo-Manipulations
CITY OF HELENA, Helena, Montana
Regional Trails Masterplan
The City of Helena, in conjunction with the Lewis and Clark County, the Montana Department of Transportation, the Helena School District and the Helena Downtown Business District selected our former firm to prepare a non-motorized plan for portions of the Helena, Montana urban transportation planning area.
The goals of the project were to develop a Non-Motorized Transportation Plan for the Project Area that: Identified existing facilities, developed a map of the existing facilities, (regional destinations/attractions and their existing non-motorized connections), identified the needs for non-motorized transportation facilities based upon existing regional destinations and corridors that linked those destinations.
Further, the project required significant public facilitation and identification of all permitting and regulatory issues. After all stakeholder groups had been identified and input assimilated, the effort was to identify non-motorized transportation corridor(s) for future preservation in public and private development, create a plan for both on-street and off-street facilities that connected urban neighborhoods, downtown, local and regional attractions with a safe, efficient, attractive, well-maintained, non-motorized circulation system including project prioritization. This work was performed by the members of Sweetgrass while we were with our former firm, MDG.
Essential to the goals were the development of standard treatments for designated routes, on-street usage, trails and special use areas for consistent application throughout the project area, and finally to provide a Non-Motorized Plan that was appended to the existing Helena Transportation Plan and its future updates.
