October 1, 2019–12:31 p.m.

STAFF REPORTS

The Silver Comet Trail gets a $6-million donation from Cox Enterprises.

The donation from the parent company of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB will connect the trail to Atlanta and make it the longest paved trail in the US.

Rome City Manager Sammy Rich reacted to the news on Tuesday.

“The good news there is you have private investment that is looking to help make trails longer and more user-friendly for the public,” he said.  “Anytime you are connecting new communities and places people want to be, it’s exciting.”

The Silver Comet Trail begins in Anniston, Alabama and ends in Smyrna.

It runs through Cedartown and Rockmart and there are hopes of one day having a connection from Rome.

“The PATH Foundation does a lot of great work and raising funds to provide the construction dollars,” Rich added.  “It would be a great future goal for our community to be able to tap into those same types of partnerships and projects so that we too could be tied in.  To think of having access to the Silver Comet Trail from here and then to potentially have a regional trail connecting to Chattanooga is exciting.”

The donation from Cox will mean 300 miles of trails in and around Atlanta by 2021.