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Noonday Creek MultiUse Trail
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park » Noonday Creek MultiUse Trail » Document List
On the National Park Service's 90th anniversary, President Bush challenged the National Park Service and the American people to work together to strengthen national parks and to prepare them for another century of conservation, preservation and enjoyment.
The Centennial Initiative builds capacity for park operations, engages all Americans in preserving our heritage and natural resources, and connects people to America's special places with a special emphasis on helping children discover the exhilaration and wonder of national parks.
The Centennial Initiative pursues three main goals:
-Engage all Americans in preserving our heritage.
-Reconnect people with their parks, with special emphasis on linking children to nature, history and park resources through philanthropy and partnerships.
-Build capacity for critical park operations and sustain them over the next century.
As part of the Centennial Initiative, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park and Cobb County has joined in shared funding partnership with the Noonday Creek Multiuse Trail project.
An Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Construction of the Noonday Creek Multiuse Trail is now available for public review and comment, announced Acting Superintendent Riana Ventura Bishop.
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is proposing to construct a new multi-modal trail approximately 6 miles in length that will between Barrett Parkway and Bells Ferry Road. Proposed actions include removing parking along the shoulders of Old 41, construction of new 8-10 foot wide hardened surface trail with a two-foot grass strip between curb and gutter and trail, and construction of additional parking areas for visitors.
Visitors to the park are limited to vehicle access as there is not an adequate, safe way to enter the park from the west along Old 41. Sidewalks do not exist and the road itself has minimal shoulders for pedestrian use. Traffic is frequently heavy with average speed far exceeding posted speed limit. The road is too narrow for safe passage, especially when bicyclists and pedestrians are on the road. Pedestrian and bicycle use, combined with fast-flowing yet congested traffic on this narrow two-lane road, creates a safety hazard.
The EA evaluates four trail and five parking lot alternatives for addressing the purpose and need for action. The EA also evaluates taking only minimal action (Alternative A, No Action) to address critical safety concerns for comparison with the action alternatives. The preferred alternatives include 1) construction of the multi-modal trail on the south side of Old 41 from the Stilesboro intersection to Barrett Parkway; 2) constructing a parking lot outside of the park on property adjacent to the Old 41-CSX bridge to replace the 300 spaces removed from the road shoulders; 3) curb and gutters along the length of Old 41 to prevent roadside parking; and 4) construction of parking lot near Visitor Center in open field adjacent to administrative buildings.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, calls on federal agencies to consider environmental issues as part of their decision making process and to involve interested parties in the process. The NEPA process was initiated in spring 2007 with a public scoping letter and meetings, soliciting issues and concerns on preliminary project proposals. Responses to these scoping efforts were used during preparation of the EA, which is the next step in the NEPA process.
The EA can be reviewed online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/kemo. Comments can be submitted online at the same web address (the preferred method) or mailed to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Attention: Noonday Creek EA, 905 Kennesaw Mountain Dr, Kennesaw, Georgia 30152. Comments will be accepted through August 11, 2008.
The Centennial Initiative builds capacity for park operations, engages all Americans in preserving our heritage and natural resources, and connects people to America's special places with a special emphasis on helping children discover the exhilaration and wonder of national parks.
The Centennial Initiative pursues three main goals:
-Engage all Americans in preserving our heritage.
-Reconnect people with their parks, with special emphasis on linking children to nature, history and park resources through philanthropy and partnerships.
-Build capacity for critical park operations and sustain them over the next century.
As part of the Centennial Initiative, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park and Cobb County has joined in shared funding partnership with the Noonday Creek Multiuse Trail project.
An Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Construction of the Noonday Creek Multiuse Trail is now available for public review and comment, announced Acting Superintendent Riana Ventura Bishop.
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is proposing to construct a new multi-modal trail approximately 6 miles in length that will between Barrett Parkway and Bells Ferry Road. Proposed actions include removing parking along the shoulders of Old 41, construction of new 8-10 foot wide hardened surface trail with a two-foot grass strip between curb and gutter and trail, and construction of additional parking areas for visitors.
Visitors to the park are limited to vehicle access as there is not an adequate, safe way to enter the park from the west along Old 41. Sidewalks do not exist and the road itself has minimal shoulders for pedestrian use. Traffic is frequently heavy with average speed far exceeding posted speed limit. The road is too narrow for safe passage, especially when bicyclists and pedestrians are on the road. Pedestrian and bicycle use, combined with fast-flowing yet congested traffic on this narrow two-lane road, creates a safety hazard.
The EA evaluates four trail and five parking lot alternatives for addressing the purpose and need for action. The EA also evaluates taking only minimal action (Alternative A, No Action) to address critical safety concerns for comparison with the action alternatives. The preferred alternatives include 1) construction of the multi-modal trail on the south side of Old 41 from the Stilesboro intersection to Barrett Parkway; 2) constructing a parking lot outside of the park on property adjacent to the Old 41-CSX bridge to replace the 300 spaces removed from the road shoulders; 3) curb and gutters along the length of Old 41 to prevent roadside parking; and 4) construction of parking lot near Visitor Center in open field adjacent to administrative buildings.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended, calls on federal agencies to consider environmental issues as part of their decision making process and to involve interested parties in the process. The NEPA process was initiated in spring 2007 with a public scoping letter and meetings, soliciting issues and concerns on preliminary project proposals. Responses to these scoping efforts were used during preparation of the EA, which is the next step in the NEPA process.
The EA can be reviewed online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/kemo. Comments can be submitted online at the same web address (the preferred method) or mailed to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Attention: Noonday Creek EA, 905 Kennesaw Mountain Dr, Kennesaw, Georgia 30152. Comments will be accepted through August 11, 2008.