On September 29, 2026, Urbanize Atlanta reported that the Buckhead Community Improvement District had declared two of its biggest street projects officially finished. They are the $15.6 million Lenox Boardwalk and the $4 million roundabout where Wieuca Road meets Phipps Boulevard. About five miles of PATH400 are also open in Buckhead, reaching four MARTA stations. On paper, that looks like a finished walking network. In practice, almost every project still on the calendar for 2027 and 2028 is a connector, the short piece meant to join one finished segment to another. This fall, Buckhead's walking upgrades work best as several separate outings, each with its own starting point.
The Lenox Side Is Complete, and It Stops at Peachtree Road
The Lenox Boardwalk is 0.44 miles long. It runs along Lenox Road from the Lenox MARTA station at East Paces Ferry Road to Peachtree Road. It has an elevated path 10 to 12 feet wide, new pedestrian lighting and a partial tree canopy. The September announcement made it official, but people have been able to use the path for much longer. In January 2026, Livable Buckhead's mobility update said the boardwalk was "substantially complete and open for use," linking the MARTA station, Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza "just in time for the busy holiday season."
The boardwalk is only the first phase of the Lenox Road Complete Safe Street project, which is expected to cost $82 million in total. Phase two costs about $10 million and covers Lenox Road from Peachtree Road to Phipps Boulevard, including the entrance to Alliance Center. It is in final engineering. Right-of-way acquisition and permitting come next, and groundbreaking is expected sometime next year. Buckhead CID calls that stretch "a stretch that anchors some of Buckhead's top shopping and dining destinations." So the finished boardwalk takes walkers from the train to the edge of the busiest blocks, and the rebuilt sidewalks through those blocks come after it.
The roundabout is the other finished piece, a block up at Wieuca and Phipps. Buckhead CID describes it as Atlanta's first multi-lane roundabout. It has bike lanes, crosswalks, placemaking signs and an 85-foot landscaped island. That island replaced a stretch of asphalt about the size of a small parking lot at one of Buckhead's busiest intersections. The January update said the island would be planted in March. Plans were also underway for an April ribbon cutting and a dedication honoring former Atlanta City Councilmember Howard Shook.
The Trail Is Long, and It Still Misses the Commercial Core
PATH400 has the opposite problem from the boardwalk. It covers plenty of distance, but its ends don't yet reach the places a walker most wants to go. In an August 19 column on buckhead.com, Livable Buckhead executive director Denise Starling wrote that the commercial core at Peachtree Road and the existing southern trail "sit frustratingly close to one another without actually connecting."
The fix for that gap is the Peachtree Park connection. It will leave Peachtree Road between the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta and Embassy Suites, pass briefly through the Peachtree Park neighborhood, and meet the Gordon Bynum Bridge. A second project at the trail's southern tip will widen existing sidewalks into a full bike and pedestrian route to the Atlanta Beltline. Both were in City of Atlanta procurement as of August. Construction is expected to start in early 2027 and finish later that year.
The link between Lenox Road and Peachtree Road at the BUCKHEAD wall is further behind. Starling wrote that the area has changed so much since the original plans that the route needs a fresh vision. That vision will be developed with Buckhead CID and the commercial property owners along the route, and the planning work "will get underway next."
Further out still is the landmark bridge, phase three of the Lenox Road project. It is planned to span 0.62 miles where Lenox Road crosses Georgia 400, at a point where the Buckhead Loop is 10 lanes wide. It would connect to PATH400 and to the planned highway-capping park. Groundbreaking is now expected in 2028, a year later than earlier projections. The estimated cost is $40 million to $56 million, partly covered by a $10 million federal grant.
| Piece | Status as of October 2026 | Next milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Lenox Boardwalk, MARTA to Peachtree Rd | Declared finished Sept. 2026 | None, it is done |
| Wieuca Rd at Phipps Blvd roundabout | Declared finished Sept. 2026 | None, it is done |
| PATH400 north of Loridans Drive | Under construction | Atlanta section complete in Q1 2027 |
| Peachtree Park connection | In city procurement | Construction early 2027 |
| PATH400 to Beltline, southern end | In city procurement | Construction early 2027 |
| Lenox Road phase two, Peachtree Rd to Phipps Blvd | Final engineering | Groundbreaking expected 2027 |
| Lenox Road to Peachtree Rd trail link | Planning about to begin | Not yet scheduled |
| Lenox Rd and GA 400 bridge | Active design | Groundbreaking 2028 |
Where Each Separate Walk Starts This Fall
Until the connectors are built, it matters more where you join the trail. The PATH400 FAQ lists four main access points:
- Mile 0 at Garson Drive and Piedmont Road
- The BUCKHEAD wall at Lenox Road and GA 400
- Old Ivy Road
- Wieuca Road, where it crosses GA 400
The same page lists these free parking options:
- The Prominence in Buckhead, 3475 Piedmont Road NE
- Adina Drive at Mile Zero
- Under GA 400 by Old Ivy Park on Old Ivy Road
- Sarah Smith Elementary School, at both its Old Ivy Road and Wieuca Road campuses during non-school hours
The official trail map adds named stops along the way. They include Maxine Rock Plaza, Old Ivy Park, the Lenox Road Bird Sanctuary, bike stations at Old Ivy Park and Maxine Rock Plaza, and the East Paces Ferry Spur. The FAQ and map pages carry no update date, so posted signs on the trail take priority over both.
Signs matter most at the northern end this season. Crews are building the section north of Loridans Drive to the Atlanta–Sandy Springs city limit. It includes large retaining walls, steep grades and a switchback. Starling's column said concrete pours and grading, handrail installation and landscaping prep would continue through the fall, with planting held for cooler weather. Existing sections stay open, but construction signs and temporary closures can appear near active work areas. The Atlanta section is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2027. Atlanta and Sandy Springs are coordinating so their sections open together rather than leaving a dead end at the city line. Once both open, PATH400 will run about 7.4 continuous miles toward the Perimeter area.
The Southern Stretch Has the Season's One Scheduled Trail Walk
The south end has the finished section with the most to do along it. From the Gordon Bynum Bridge, the existing trail passes the Great Blue mural on its way toward Miami Circle. Eclipse di Luna sits right on that route. The restaurant's listed address is 764 Miami Circle NE, and it hosted Livable Buckhead's Party on the PATH fundraiser on October 4. The map also marks other public art along PATH400, including the Wellspring Living Mural, Shadows on PATH400, the Wieuca Art Installation and the PATH400 signs by JONESY.
The one trail-side event confirmed for the rest of the year is the free Miami Circle Gallery Stroll on Saturday, November 21, from 4 to 7 p.m. More than 10 Miami Circle galleries are listed as open for it. It is the only date this fall built around the trail and the businesses beside it.
The Lenox side has its own short walk for the holiday shopping weeks:
- Start at the Lenox MARTA station at East Paces Ferry Road.
- Follow the boardwalk along Lenox Road toward Lenox Square.
- Continue to Peachtree Road, where the boardwalk ends.
- Go on to Phipps Plaza. Smooth N Groove, a smoothie, juice and wrap counter at 3500 Peachtree Road NE, opened there in September, according to Rough Draft Atlanta's September openings roundup.
That walk sits close to PATH400 at the BUCKHEAD wall. The connection between the two is the piece just going into planning, so for now they remain separate outings.
What Gets Joined Up First
Buckhead CID has been working on the Lenox Road Complete Street initiative for about nine years. Its construction was first expected to start in late 2023, then in spring 2024, and was pushed back both times. The next connections follow a similar order of work. The northern trail extension and the two southern links are funded or in procurement with 2027 dates. Phase two of Lenox Road is in final engineering, and the GA 400 bridge is in design for 2028. Starling's column places the trail links to Blue Heron Nature Preserve, Chastain Park, Lenox Road and Piedmont Road in "planning, partnership and funding stages." If the 2027 schedule holds, the first gap to close will be the short one between Peachtree Road and the Gordon Bynum Bridge.
If you're weighing how far a Buckhead street is from a PATH400 access point, the Lenox Boardwalk, or one of the connections scheduled for 2027, The Joe Carbone Team can go through those project timelines with you and help you understand what's finished and what's still in the works. Get in Touch.
