The City of Alpharetta has been focusing on foot and bicycle connectivity with the hardscape Alpha Loop project. When finished, a lot of close-in Alpharetta will be connected to the Greenway, downtown, and many points between and afar. RAMBO approached the City about making existing informal footpaths into legal mountain bike/multi-user trails for a “dirt” option to the concrete paths. As the conversation progressed, the idea arose of designing trails — adaptive trails — to meet the needs of disabled users. The concept was enthusiastically embraced by all and adopted as the focus of our efforts.

Why an adaptive trail? Because a remarkable feature of an adaptive trail is that it’s accessible to everyone, able and disabled alike. While there are plenty of trail options for those who can use all their limbs, there are limited to no options for a disabled person who wants to enjoy a trail on a handcycle or mountain wheelchair. The trail will be designed to be attractive to disabled users with beginner and novice skills and connected to the Greenway for access and laps. And it would also be a cool “first” for our area as the nearest specifically-designed adaptive trail is in North Carolina.

The Alpharetta Recreation Commission recently approved a Memorandum of Understanding between RAMBO and the City. This MOU defines the roles in our relationship and our working responsibilities. Through this document RAMBO can pursue the next steps to secure permissions to cross public and private lands, design the trail to user-appropriate standards, and seek bids for materials and machinery as needed.

To fund the project, REI Co-op awarded RAMBO a $10,000 grant. Much of the proposed project area is in relatively flat and open space so we’re hopeful that this grant will cover a significant portion of the cost, especially if volunteer manpower on the ground also supports the effort. RAMBO hopes to have the project completed by the end of March 2022.