The Mayor and Commission are looking into the next section of Greenway— to be constructed along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive— providing a more Greenway-like connection between the entrance at the North Avenue Bridge and Dudley Park, using concrete and boardwalk.

A segment of the North Oconee River Greenway, the .7 length of trail is funded partly by TSPLOST 2023 funds and by a Transportation Alternatives Program grant administered by the Georgia Department of Transportation.

MLK Greenway Agenda item PDF

21 TSPLOST 2023 Project 11, East Athens MLK Parkway Oconee River Greenway Trail – Design Services AmendmentDownload

MLK Greenway Cost Breakdown

The below table from the agenda item is useful to understand not only the breakdown of and true cost of a Greenway project, but the complexities of multiple funding sources.

On the agenda item for the project, ACC staff say:

By utilizing the TAP grant and the GDOT Project Development Process (PDP), ACCGov will be eligible to apply for additional design services and construction funding via the GDOT TAP grant program, hopefully securing a large portion of the overall design and construction cost with [T]SPLOST funding as the matching source.

The upcoming Mayor and Commission vote on June 2 is about additional design services for the project, not approving the section of Greenway itself. A concept was approved back in 2018.

Construction schedule for the MLK Greenway

With GDOT’s involvement, staff’s understanding is that construction on the section North Oconee Greenway along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive will begin in 2030.

See the GDOT Process Schedule

• Construction Award: June 2030
• GDOT Management Concept Report Approval: June 2026
• Engineering Phase Completion: June 2028
• Right-of-way acquisition (none anticipated)
• Utility Relocation Phase: June 2029

You can view the project page here.

Expediency is importation for trail construction

It important for expediency with trail funding due to how long it takes for a Greenway to exist on-the-ground. The section along MLK was first proposed in TSPLOST 2018, but funds ran out. Friends of the Greenway is rebuilding momentum in tail construction. There are nearly 100 miles of proposed, unbuilt Greenway in the network plan.

If you’d like to help build us more trail, donate or send us an email.

Last Tuesday, May 19, Athens-Clarke County voters accepted TSPLOST 2026, which means there’s another $7 million on the way to begin building the Middle Oconee Greenway. The Greenway would not have made it to the slate of transportation projects without all of you who signed our petition pushing for trail funding. Thank you!

Friends of the Greenway will be following the implementation schedule closely. Over the next few years we’ll be working on a long-term strategy to ensure the development of the Middle Oconee Greenway sooner than later. There’s nearly a 100 miles of Greenway to be built!

If you’re interested in being part of our efforts to continue momentum of the Greenway trail construction, please reach out.

Update: January 20th, 2026

The Athens-Clarke County Commission unanimously passed the final version of the TSPLOST project list with $7 million for the Greenway.

This is all because YOU:

• Signed our petition
• Wrote your commissioner
• Spoke at city hall
• Shared our social media posts
• and made donations to Friends of the Greenway!

When the Friends of the Greenway began the 10 for Trails campaign, Athens-Clarke County residents were looking at $0 for Greenway funding– the first time the Greenway had ever been left off a SPLOST or TSPLOST. This despite the fact that less than 10 percent of the network has been built in the 30 years since the trails’ inception.

After tonight, the Greenway is back on TSPLOST 2026, and with it the first segment of trail for the Middle Oconee River Greenway.

It’s time to reaccelerate Greenway Trail construction

As we said during the campaign, we have been troubled by the loss of momentum with Greenway trail construction over the past few years. This new funding, provided TSPLOST 2026 passes, is just the beginning of our efforts to remind elected officials the community value and joy of the Greenway. We’ll keep on working.

Join the Friends of the Greenway

If you would like to join our board and re-accelerate Greenway trail construction and development, we have openings. Please reach out!

Thank you!

The Friends would like to thank all our signers, sharers and speakers who voiced their support of the Greenway, including BikeAthens, the Greenway Commission, members of the Athens in Motion Commission, and Electric Bike Group Athens.

The Friends would also like to thank Commissioners Patrick Davenport, Melissa Link, Carol Myers and Mayor Kelly Girtz for their vocal support of the Greenway, and to all ACC Commissioners who voted for the final version of the TSPLOST list with Greenway funding on it.

We hope to see you out on the trails. And stay tuned for more advocacy!

The Athens-Clarke Commission released the final TSPLOST list, and some good news: the Greenway is on it!

Though the Commission’s $7 million proposed allocation is not close to the amount we all pushed for, we Friends of the Greenway are framing this as a “downpayment” to get the Middle Oconee Greenway started. We plan to show up to City Hall as a last effort to ensure the Commission passes this TSPLOST list with Greenway funding on it.

Join us for the Special Called Session at 6pm before the regular agenda-setting meeting. TSPLOST is the only item on the Special Called Session agenda.

Full Revised TSPLOST Project List below.

View the entire agenda item packet here.

The Athens-Clarke County Commission is finalizing the TSPLOST 2026 project list, and the Greenway might be on there. Here’s an update on where we stand with Greenway funding and TSPLOST as of early January:

Greenway Petition Resonates with Elected Officials

In early December, Friends of the Greenway presented the petition signed by 600 supporters, directly quoting many signers about what the Greenway means to them, and urging elected officials to reconsider trail funding as they finalized the TSPLOST 2026 project list.

This petition resonated with elected officials, for later during the December 16 agenda-setting meeting, Commissioners Davenport, Link, Myers and Mayor Girtz all spoke about the need to reconsider Greenway funding with this next TSPLOST, and pledged to work on the final project list over the holidays. 

Commission postpones vote on final TSPLOST list

The Mayor and Commission were scheduled to vote on the final list of projects on January 6, and several people along with Friends of the Greenway and the Greenway Commission came out to speak in favor of Greenway Funding on TSPLOST. Speakers talked about the grand vision of the Greenway Network Plan, a need for safe places for their families to ride, the desire to begin the Middle Oconee Greenway and have Greenway on the west side of Athens, and the general wish to continue the momentum of trail building.

The Commission ultimately chose to postpone the vote until January 20. (Commissioners did vote to extend TSPLOST 2026 from a five year to a six year program, which makes additional funds available.)

Davenport says the Greenway is on the new list

During the January 6 meeting, Commissioner Davenport– who is spearheading the effort to update and finalize the TSPLOST 2026 list of projects– indicated he had a list that included Greenway funding. However Davenport’s colleagues on the Commission have neither seen nor weighed in on this list, which makes targeted outreach challenging.

How to ensure Greenway funding ends up on the final TSPLOST project list

The Friends of the Greenway are meeting January 13 to develop a strategy as we enter the final stretch of our campaign to secure future funding for the Middle Oconee River Greenway.

It is likely we will again ask supporters to speak at the January 20 Mayor and Commission meeting in favor of the Greenway, when elected officials must decide on the list of transportation projects to ensure that TSPLOST 2026 is on the ballot for Athens-Clarke County voters in May.

For questions, email us. You can view the original 10 for Trails TSPLOST Funding page here.