The first stretch of the Carrollton “greenbelt,” the 14-mile athletic path that will eventually around go around the city, won’t begin construction until sometime next summer, a little later than city officials had expected. A new Web site for the greenbelt is up and running and a new consultant has been hired to clear the way.

“We want to get more kids out of cars, and increase their activity level,” said Mikki Griffin, owner of Perpetual Motion Bicycles on Maple Street and a member of the Carrollton Greenbelt Committee.

The idea for the greenbelt began in 2002, when the city gathered citizen groups to form a greenspace initiative for the city. Since then, Carrollton has purchased a 26-acre tract of land along Hays Mill Road near Buffalo Creek, and recently completed the parking lot and pavilion on Hays Mill that will serve as the jumping off point for future construction.

Carrollton currently has about $750,000 saved for the greenbelt, an amount that will just cover the first mile or so to the visitors side of Carrollton High School’s Grisham Stadium.

Because more than $500,000 of that money comes from state grants, which in turn come from federal funds, the city has had to hire a consultant to do environmental and archeological impact surveys of the area around the greenbelt. To give that consultant, the URS Corp., time to work has meant the city has had to push the timetable for the first segment of the greenbelt back, City Planner Charles Griffin, who is unrelated to Mikki Griffin, said.

In the meantime, Carrollton residents can visit www.carrolltongreenbelt.com for more information and updates.

Greenbelt advocates said people shouldn’t think of the loop as a purely recreational project.

“I think the greenbelt is an important component of Carrollton,” said Slater Barr, CEO of Carroll Tomorrow. “The overall recreation offerings of a city is a highly sought-after quality by professionals of all ages. The trend is that people are looking for outdoor venues beyond traditional ones, such as golfing and softball, and that the type of things they’re looking for are bike trails, hiking trails and rock climbing walls. ... Recreation impacts the overall quality of life, and quality of life increasingly impacts the economy.”

Mikki Griffin said she will head to Washington, D.C., in March 2008 to visit area congressmen, and urge them to remember the Carrollton Greenbelt when reviewing Department of Transportation grant money.

Congressman Phil Gingrey (R-11) said he would keep the greenbelt in his mind.

“The Carrollton greenbelt will be a wonderful recreation area for Carroll County residents and should bring in tourists from all over Georgia to enjoy this beautiful trail in the western part of our state,” Gingrey said via e-mail. “Over the past few years, I have worked with the mayor, the City Council and the Greenbelt Committee -- in particular Mikki Griffin -- to secure funding for this worthwhile community effort. I look forward to continuing to work with the people of Carroll County to make this great project a reality.”

Mikki Griffin said she had high hopes that once the first leg of the greenbelt is completed, the rest would move along more quickly. The state has mandated a 30-year plan for the greenbelt, but city officials think it won’t take nearly that long.

“The thing is, once your get the first leg in place everything else will happen a lot quicker because it’s tangible,” Mikki Griffin said. “The money and priorities get rearranged. ... The minute people can use it, everything is going be in fast-forward mode.”