How a park can happen, and how you can help
Last updated: October 2, 2026
The Atlanta Board of Education is expected to take up the Track Club’s proposal on Monday, November 2, 2026. Please act before then.
In brief
APS has turned school land into public park space before, working with the City, Park Pride and the Trust for Public Land. Cheney Field can follow that path.
There are several workable routes to a park, and APS would not have to pay for it alone.
The Board’s November 2 meeting is the next big decision point. Here is how to make your voice heard before and at that meeting.
APS has done this before
Turning school land into public green space is not a new idea in Atlanta. It has been done, by the same institutions that would decide Cheney Field’s future.
Atlanta Community Schoolyards. Since 2019, Atlanta Public Schools, the City’s Department of Parks and Recreation, the Trust for Public Land and Park Pride have opened APS schoolyards as public parks outside school hours. Dobbs Elementary and L.O. Kimberly Elementary were the first, with improvements funded by partners such as Delta Air Lines and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. As the Trust for Public Land’s George Dusenbury put it, “One of the highest costs for creating a park is land acquisition, and so here you have land that’s already owned by the public.”
A former school site in Buckhead. In 2016, the 1.55-acre former McClatchey Elementary School site was acquired as parkland along the PATH400 trail, through the nonprofit Livable Buckhead.
Park Pride, which led Summerhill’s 2015 vision plan, is a partner in the schoolyards program. The relationships and the know-how already exist.
Paths to a park on Cheney Field
APS owns Cheney Field, and any path to a park runs through APS. None of these routes requires APS to pay for a park alone.
A joint-use or lease agreement with the City, under which the Department of Parks and Recreation manages the north half as a park while APS keeps ownership and continued use of the track.
A transfer or sale to the City of the north half for park use.
Stormwater investment. The City’s watershed department has twice planned stormwater projects on this field: a vault in 2014–15 and a pond in 2017. Green infrastructure that soaks up rain, such as ponds and rain gardens, could be built as part of the City’s flood relief work and double as park features.
Partnership and philanthropy, through Park Pride, the Trust for Public Land, a conservancy, or a “friends” group that raises money and helps maintain the park, as neighborhoods across Atlanta have done.
We want to work with APS and the City to find the right path.
What we ask
We ask Atlanta Public Schools, the Board of Education and the City of Atlanta to:
Keep the outdoor track and the community’s access to it.
Keep the north half of Cheney Field green, and treat the 2015 Parks of Summerhill Vision Plan as what it is: the neighborhood’s own plan, made with their participation.
Make the full proposal public before any decision, including the final site plan, the building’s height, the lease terms, the plan for relocating the sewer trunk lines beneath the field, and a study of what new roofs and paving would do to those pipes and the streets downstream.
Work with us to make Cheney Field the park neighbors asked for in 1947 and planned for in 2015.
Questions for our leaders
Why has no new park been built in Summerhill since the neighborhood planned for them in 2015?
What is being done today to protect and improve Summerhill’s green spaces as the neighborhood grows?
APS, the Department of Watershed Management and the Department of Parks and Recreation all took part in the 2015 plan. Will they honor it?
Does the Peoplestown vault account for the storage once planned under Cheney Field, and could the system handle a large new building on the field?
The Track Club has said it would move the two sewer trunk lines beneath the field. By what route, on what schedule, at whose cost, and with what street closures or tree loss? Has the City’s Department of Watershed Management agreed?
Make your voice heard
Take the Cheney Field survey. Tell us what you want for the field. Your answers will shape the neighborhood’s plan for today, and we will share the results here.
Contact our Board of Education members before November 2. Four members represent Summerhill: our district member and the three members elected citywide.
Katie Howard, District 1, which includes Summerhill and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. Send Ms. Howard a message.
Jessica Johnson, Board Chair, At-Large Seat 9. Send Ms. Johnson a message.
Alfred “Shivy” Brooks, At-Large Seat 7. Send Mr. Brooks a message.
Dr. Kaycee Brock, At-Large Seat 8, who also serves on the City of Atlanta–Atlanta Public Schools Joint Committee. Send Dr. Brock a message.
Speak at the Board meeting on November 2. Speaking in person carries more weight than anything else you can do.
When and where: Monday, November 2, 2026, Board of Education monthly meeting, 2:30 to 8:00 pm, at the Alonzo A. Crim Center for Learning and Leadership, 130 Trinity Avenue SW, Atlanta, GA 30303. We expect the Track Club’s proposal to be on the agenda; the Board has not yet confirmed it. We will post updates here.
How to sign up: Use the Board’s public comment form. The Board begins hearing from speakers who have signed up by 5:50 pm. It sets aside one hour for public comment, each speaker may speak once for up to two minutes, and speakers may be called in any order, so sign up early.
Tips for speaking: Two minutes goes quickly; write out what you want to say and practice it. If you have detailed information to share, comment cards are available at the meeting for written comments. The Board asks that the audience refrain from applause or cheering. You can show support quietly by standing when a neighbor speaks, or by wearing green.
Can’t attend? Watch Board meetings online, and send your comments to Board members using the links above.
Come to an Organized Neighbors of Summerhill meeting. ONS meets on the first Monday of each month, 7:00 to 8:30 pm. The October 5 meeting is in person at the Georgia-Hill Neighborhood Center, 250 Georgia Avenue SE, third-floor conference room. The November 2 meeting is on Zoom. Details on the ONS website.
Contact our City Council member. Jason Winston represents District 1 on the Atlanta City Council. The City has a real stake in Cheney Field: its watershed department has planned stormwater projects here, its parks department would help run a park, and closing Ami Street would require City approval.
Email: jwinston@atlantaga.gov
Phone: (404) 330-6039
Office: Atlanta City Hall, 55 Trinity Avenue SW, Suite 2900, Atlanta, GA 30303
Join us. Sign up for updates so we can let you know when and how to speak up.
Share your photos and stories of Cheney Field. Pictures of the field in use, of flooding on our streets, or of the Bottom in years past help others see what is at stake, and so do your memories of the field. Send them to info@keepcheneygreen.org. By sending them, you agree that we may share them on this site, with credit to you unless you ask otherwise.
Help spread the word.
Forward this page to neighbors and friends.
Share the survey link: tally.so/r/445dPr.
Talk with your neighbors about Cheney Field.
Post the flier. Download the printable flier
Ask your organization to sign on. Churches, businesses, parent groups, clubs and nonprofits can add their voice. Does your organization support keeping Cheney Field green? Let us know at info@keepcheneygreen.org, and we will list supporting organizations here.
What to say. A few tips for writing to officials:
Say who you are: where you live, or why you care about Summerhill.
Give one personal reason the field matters to you.
Make one clear request.
Be courteous. Officials listen to neighbors who are respectful, including toward the Track Club, whose work on the track we value.
Keep it short and in your own words. For example:
I live in Summerhill [or: I care about Summerhill]. Please keep the outdoor track and keep the north half of Cheney Field green, as neighbors asked in the 2015 Parks of Summerhill Vision Plan. Before any decision, please make the full proposal and its effect on stormwater public, and work with the neighborhood on a park.
This doesn’t end on November 2
The letter of intent APS signed in July is non-binding. Even if the Board moves the proposal forward, there are more decisions ahead, and more chances for the neighborhood to be heard:
The lease itself. Any final lease and agreement must be approved by the Board of Education in a public vote.
Community engagement. The letter of intent lists engagement with the Organized Neighbors of Summerhill and NPU-V as a condition before the lease begins.
City approvals. Closing Ami Street would require City action. Moving the City’s sewer trunk lines would need the approval of its Department of Watershed Management. Construction would need City permits and land disturbance approval.
Fundraising and deadlines. The Track Club has put the project’s cost at about $100 million. Under the letter of intent, it would have to show a path to at least $65 million within a year and meet construction milestones that APS can enforce.
We will keep track of each step and let you know when your voice can make a difference. Join us to stay informed.
More about Cheney Field
Sources: SaportaReport, “City and APS launching a pilot program to turn school lands into public parks” (2019); Next City, “Atlanta’s Schoolyards to Become After-Hours Green Space” (2019); AJC (October 16, 2019); Park Pride (May 27, 2021); Axios Atlanta (February 11, 2022); Rough Draft Atlanta (August 18, 2016); Fox 5 Atlanta, “Atlanta Track Club proposes $100M indoor facility at Cheney Stadium” (July 28, 2026); Atlanta Public Schools, Board member pages for Katie Howard, Jessica Johnson, Alfred “Shivy” Brooks and Kaycee Brock; Atlanta Board of Education, public comment guidelines and form; Atlanta City Council, member page for Jason Winston; Organized Neighbors of Summerhill, Meetings and Events.