Atlanta Daily World

Mile Of Forgotten Dusty Trail

Pitts, Archer Students Still Walking On Dirt:

By EDDIE WILLIAMS

Hundreds of Pitts Elementary and Archer High School students are still traveling the dusty trail that takes them to and from school.

When will the rest of Perry Boulevard be paved? they must wonder as they walk along nearly a mile stretch of seemingly forgotten ruggedness.

The stretch of Perry Boulevard in question lies generally between Clarissa Drive and Hollywood Road.

The unpaved road has been the subject of bitter harangues between residents and the city for some time.

It has heaped shame on school officials on more than one occasion.

However, it has had a more pronounced effect on the hundreds of students who walk to and from school along the road every day in the school term. They have come to know the unpaved road as the "Perry trail."

NO PAVING SEEN

There is little chance the trail which blazes past two new schools -Pitts and Archer-will be paved this school year. At least, that is the opinion of a spokesman for the Road Construction Department. Before paving can begin, utilities must be installed and the road graded, he said.

Shortly before Pitts and Archer opened for their second school term, an ordinance was passed calling for the paving of Perry Boulevard over the protests of unsatisfied citizens.

The citizens are not really against progress and the paving of the road, but against a $71,704 assessment which will be levied against their property to pay for the paving.

That figure does not include installation of utilities, grading and curbing.

The dispute over the paving, which is several years old, may be at an end now that the city has taken a firm stand in ordering the road to be paved and insisting taxpayers bear the financial load.

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taxpayers bear the financial load.
The last official protest of the tax assessment came August 23, a few hours before the Public Works Committee met in executive session to map out the ordinance. A delegation of Negro citizens, led by Otelius Shellman, of 1418 Hollywood Road, N.W., president of the Scott's Crossing Civic League, told the committee they were unable to pay for the paving.

MISUNDERSTANDING
They claimed there has been a great deal of misunderstanding concerning the paving of the trail.
In the first place, they said, before the northwest area in question was included in the city limits, the county made an agreement with them whereby it would pave free of charge a road passing by their property, when and if such a road was to be cut.
The committee, headed by Alderman Jesse Draper, advised the delegation that the city is not allowed to pave any streets without assessing the property owners, and that when a petition is received with signatures for more than 50 per cent of the property frontage, the city has no alternative but to go ahead with the paving.

Mr. Shellman said later that "we're not against progress, but we feel there are some issues that should be cleared up." He said he was referring to the county's promise to maintain the road and the fact that another section of Perry Boulevard was paved without assessment.
So, with the citizen-city strife cooling off, the students are still sloshing through the mud when it rains and stumbling over the small boulders along the trail as they go to and from school. They look forward to the day when the Perry trail will be suitable material for their history books.