Presidential Parkway

As controversy continued over the use of rights-of-way cleared for 1-485 and the Stone Mountain Tollway, ideas for its use were being developed in many quarters of the public and private sector. These proposals, described in the environmental impact statement for the Presidential Parkway (2), are abstracted in the following paragraphs. 

This large tract of land within the city remained vacant year after year as efforts to resolve the impasse on how the land should be used continued unsuccessfully. It was from this background that the concept of the Presidential Parkway evolved. 

The former president was much more actively involved in the selection of a library site and the promotion of the Presidential Parkway than was publicly revealed. The Portman plan, which had been presented to Governor George Busbee in November, 1979, provided for a Presidential Library located just east of Moreland Avenue. When that property was rejected as a library site. Commissioner Moreland invited Mr. and Mrs. Carter to view a location near the center of the cleared rights-of-way. That land, located on CopenhilP and possessing an excellent view of Atlanta s skyline, was readily approved as a... 

Figure 8.4 Typical cross-section of the Presidential Parkway. (Courtesy of the Georgia Department of Transportation.)...

By April 1983, the draft EIS for the Presidential Parkway had been prepared and approved by the Federal Highway Administration. Nearly 1000 copies of the draft EIS were distributed to individuals who had expressed an interest in the project. 

Reference 2 describes the public meetings that were conducted to explain the Presidential Parkway to interested citizens as follows ... 

Figure 8.6 Flyer used by CAUTION, Inc. in opposition to the Presidential Parkway.

The Attorney General of Georgia released the results of an investigation that had been requested by Transportation Commissioner Tom Moreland. The investigation concluded that Mr. Arrington s participation in the Presidential Parkway project constituted a conflict of interest. 

By early 1991, the political climate had changed in Atlanta. The state had new leadership in Governor Zell Miller and Lt. Governor Pierre Howard, and Mayor Maynard Jackson had replaced Andrew Young. At a press conference at the state capital in February, 1991, 33 elected officials from Atlanta and Fulton and DeKalb Gounties went on record in opposition to the Presidential Parkway. By then, the controversy had endured for 30 years, and the parties had been engaged in the courts for seven years. 

Figure 8.9 Time chart of major events relating to Presidential Parkway controversy.

Final Environment Impact Statement, Presidential Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia, Project M-9152(2), U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and Georgia Department of Transportation, May, 1984. 

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