Most of this route is by way of neighborhood streets, but the backbone is the Crabtree Creek Trail. Bike friendly roads lead from Dix Park to Lake Johnson, and on to the PNC Center. Edwards Mill connects to Laurel Hills Rd. and the Crabtree Creek greenway near the mall. At Kiwanis Park, the route turns south through residential streets in the Five Points neighborhood, and drops back into downtown on West St.
Main Campus Dr. is a favorite meander through Centennial Campus and leads to connections across Gorman St. to the Lake Johnson area. This route uses the new Melbourne Ave. bridge to cross the beltline, connecting with neighborhood roads to the PNC center. The new Wade Ave. underpass is a handy connection when traveling from the Five Points Area to downtown.
Laurel Hills Dr., off of Edwards Mill Rd. makes for a nice connection with Galax Dr. to the Crabtree Creek Greenway. From there the route follows greenway trails back to Dix Park.
The Link
You could argue that if a link is more than half the total route length, the ride is not a greenway ride. Fair enough, but this ‘link’ is mostly on neighborhood roads, and there are days when the greenway is too wet to be safe. Leaving Dix to the south and crossing Centennial by the golf course, this follows the ‘back way’ to Lake Johnson, and out Athens to Kaplan. The route crosses 440 with using the new Melbourne Ave. bridge and follows neighborhood streets to the PNC Center. Edwards Mill near Duraleigh is the busiest stretch on this route gets, and there is a sidewalk if the traffic is too much. Laurel Hills Dr. to Galax is a breeze – at least when you are heading north. Connect with Crabtree Creek Trail, and follow the greenway back to Dix.