Atlanta BeltLine is so much more than just trails, and our parks are true gems along the city’s “emerald necklace.” We hope our “Park of the Month” series will help you find greenspaces on the Atlanta BeltLine that you haven’t discovered yet, and maybe even show you something new about your favorite parks! For the month of September, we are highlighting Boulevard Crossing Park.
Located in the Chosewood Park neighborhood, Boulevard Crossing Park inhabits what was once abandoned industrial space and exemplifies how the Atlanta BeltLine is working to create new usable spaces for the communities throughout the 22-mile corridor.
A total of 20-acres of land were acquired from the Trust for Public Land for Boulevard Crossing Park, with development being split into two phases. Phase I, completed during the fall of 2011, transformed 5-acres of unused concrete and asphalt into usable green space that includes two multi-use activity fields. Phase II will include more development over the remaining 15-acres which will extend the park’s southeast corner to the intersection of Englewood and Boulevard.
Home to numerous outdoor opportunities, Boulevard Crossing Park is a great environment to get active and stay in shape. The park hosts many practices, games, and camps for football, soccer, and other recreational sports. The park is also the start point for the Atlanta BeltLine’s Southeast 8k, which will take place this year on September 26th.
Organic land care is essential to the Atlanta BeltLine, and like many of the Atlanta BeltLine parks, Boulevard Crossing Park includes many amenities to fulfil this goal. The park’s lamp posts are wrapped in photovoltaic material, enabling them to produce their own energy, while retaining naturally native plants provides low landscape maintenance.
Specifically unique to Boulevard Crossing Park’s organic land care plan is the solution used to handle evasive plants: goats. That’s right, goats! During Phase I, through a partnership with Trees Atlanta, the goats were used to help eradicate invasive plants like kudzu, known as “the vine that ate the south.” After removal, native plants were reintroduced into the environment.
Boulevard Crossing Park is just one of the many parks that will ultimately connect 40 new and existing parks throughout the Atlanta BeltLine corridor. So whether you start up a soccer game on one of the fields or take a stroll through the park, post your photos with #atlantabeltline all month long through Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter so we can share your stories!
