“I went back to my office-all frustrated-and there was an envelope in my mail from Ryan Gravel.”
As visitors to Atlanta’s BeltLine continue to enjoy parts of what will eventually be a 22-mile path connecting 45 historic neighborhoods, they should be ever thankful for former City Council President Cathy Woolard’s frustrating afternoon.
The then-new councilperson was assigned to chair transportation and called a special meeting of regional transportation agencies to see what plans they had. It was a short – and frustrating – meeting.
Walking back into her office, Cathy grabbed an envelope protruding from her stack of mail. It was from Ryan Gravel, outlining his breakthrough concept. She picked it up – literally and figuratively – and championed its cause.