😍 Very cool! I couldn't help but add a train to the photo from AtlWinKnee's tweet (second image).

Put rail on the Atlanta Beltline and turn this into an excellent urban corridor surrounded by infill homes (with affordability), offices, and more.

And *build great ped/bike paths like this everywhere* so that the Beltline isn't such a rare destination for safe walking and cycling.

I want the Beltline path to be instructional for Atlanta, so we learn how much demand there is for great spaces to walk and bike. We should expand this quality of experience (including protected bike lanes) on many streets.

In that situation, the Beltline's use as a visitor destination for recreational strolling/chatting would be reduced some (though certainly not eliminated) due to the 'competition' elsewhere, and the Beltline corridor becomes a bit more of a productive transportation route.

Nice post from a Washington state transportation professional!

It's great to have something to brag about in Atlanta when it comes to street redesign that de-centers car flow and lifts up cycling or walking!

The nation is watching, and wants us to succeed. 😊

Next, let's aim for a truly well-connected system of these lovely things in Atlanta.

The bicycle paradise that Atlanta planned and ignored

A 1973 publication titled "The Bicycle" was commissioned by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), the Georgia Department of Transportation, and MARTA. It was the nation’s first regional bikeway plan. Seriously, it really was. And it would have been right here in Atlanta -- if it had been built.

In 1977, the City of Atlanta produced an actual, detailed plan would’ve produced a biker’s paradise, influenced by that publication (the image above is from that plan).

The city's stated intention was to: “provide bike paths within the rights-of-way of major streets and highways when such streets are improved or newly constructed.”

It also called for the development of “bicycle lanes in coordination with the construction of MARTA line segments.”

If the city had implemented the plan, by 1992 Atlanta would have had a reputation as a cyclist’s paradise.

I don't know the specific reasons why it never happened -- not beyond the basic inertia that seems to chronically vex cities like Atlanta, which suffer from decades of car-centric thinking.

My aim is not to make people sad about what never happened, by the way.

What I want is to send a warning: there is no shortage of great ideas for improving Atlanta's urbanism; what we have is a shortage of boldness within our leadership when it comes to implementation of the plans, and standing up to the resistance from people who fear changes to the status quo.

Watch out for that inertia.

Info source, Joe Hurley's great post here:

https://www.threadatl.org/2018/08/15/atlantas-second-chance-to-build-bikeways-and-complete-streets/

Problems on the Peachtree Center Avenue bike track in Atlanta

A few months ago, before it was open for use, I wrote about this new two-way bike track on Peachtree Center Avenue in Downtown Atlanta. I had two major concerns about it at the time:

1.) It passes by several loading docks and parking entrances; cyclists compete with vehicles that are moving in and out of curb cuts for those entrances.

2.) The way it connects to another new lane to the north is confusing and puts cyclists in a strange traffic flow at a non-signalized intersection

After the track has been open to the public for a few weeks, another problem is clear: the barrier protection is too weak to prevent cars from entering and parking here (second pic, above). Cars will even brazenly drive down it (top, above). I have yet to walk down this street since the track has been open without seeing at least one car parked in it, often more than one.

This makes the track more dangerous than it needs to be, and it also makes me look foolish. I’ve been advocating for protected bike lanes in the city on this blog (and elsewhere) for a while now. According to studies of multiple cities, protected lanes have been shown to bring huge gains in ridership. Instead of just providing a space for the current crop of cyclists, protected lanes bring new riders into the fold, growing their ranks.

Was I wrong to advocate for barriers like these? Are they not all they’re cracked up to be? A lot of factors are at play here, and all signs point to the need for a stronger type of protection in this instance.

This is a stretch of road that has a lot of loading docks and butt-ends of buildings, as well as parking decks and surface lots. With all of this car traffic moving out of many entrance points – and with much of that traffic composed of visitors to hotels who are probably already confused by the one-way streets here – the kind of protection that might work elsewhere is not good enough on Peachtree Center Avenue.

I suspect corners were cut with the project. The early info I had on the track made it sound like we were getting a level of protection that would be more  appropriate for the the type of car traffic on this street. I’m thinking of something like what’s seem in this pic below of a bike lane in Davis, California. Notice the solid, raised barrier to the right of the cyclist. No one’s parking in this spot without doing serious damage to their tires.

Photo by Joe Linton/Streetsblog L.A.

Additionally, the placement of the bike track on this street can be viewed as a case of “cutting corners.” It seems to me that it would be much more appropriate to put a cycle track one block west on Peachtree Street, so that cyclists are on the front of buildings and don’t have to compete with trucks going in and out of loading docks and cars in and out of parking decks.

At the least, this project serves as a decent showcase for how a street in Atlanta’s downtown can look when a car lane is removed for bikes. Traffic moves slower here with the lane reduction and that’s a good thing – it feels like a safer place to walk around. Now if only we could make it a safe and effective  place to bike, we’ll be in good shape.

Georgia DOT to build multi-use path along 400/285 interchange

Big kudos to the people at Georgia Bikes for working to create at least a small silver lining on the dark cloud that is the Ga. 400/I-285 interchange project. The Georgia Department of Transportation has committed to building a multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists along both roadways at this junction. The AJC has the story – here’s a quote:

Construction on the interchange is expected to be complete in 2019 following a 2016 start. As some may recall, I have criticized this project heavily as being an inappropriate use of $1 billion given the serious transportation-funding issues in Georgia. Also, the Atlanta region has many other mobility needs that are not being addressed well that could use this kind of funding, including expansion of alternative transportation for the new suburban poor and for the growing ranks of seniors aging in place. 

This highway projects is, in effect, a billion-dollar subsidy for employment-age people in the northern suburbs who can afford cars.

Given that, I’m encouraged to read that the DOT is committing to some much-needed, safe pedestrian and cycling paths through this jungle of highway infrastructure. Studies show that protected bicycle paths reduce injury risk up to 90 percent. Also, places with protected bike lanes have seen a surge in cycling. 

Could this path help remove some cars from the roads as commuters in that area try out cycling as an option? That would be a good outcome, though I can’t help but question how many people would feel comfortable cycling through all of this exposure to Georgia sun, alongside the tailgate emissions of a major highway interchange. Will the bike paths abruptly end on arterial roads that have no protected bike lanes? If so, I wonder what the overall safety and growth in cycling will be.

“No choice but to drive”

Despite my questioning of the number of people who will take advantage of the bike path, it’s certainly true that trying whatever we can to reduce the number of solo car trips among commuters is a good thing. This project certainly has the potential to help. As the AJC points out, this path will be “providing more human-powered transportation choices” which could “help reduce traffic for others who have no choice but to drive.”

Which hits exactly at the source of the transportation problem – there are too many people in the Atlanta region who “have no choice but to drive” due to our car-centric built environment. A bike and pedestrian path through this massive area of dead space and car infrastructure is a good thing, to be sure. It allows for safe routes. 

But it’s nonetheless a case of backward development practice: we’re trying to retrofit bike/ped routes into an environment that was built very specifically for cars and that is fairly difficult to traverse by any other means; the shape of our places in the metro directly informs the range of troubles we have with transportation. Addressing only the transportation aspect in a silo – without a region-wide effort toward better urban planning that allows for infill that is friendly to bike/ped/transit options – that’s the regional dog once again chasing its tail around and around. 

Thanks to induced demand effect on the highways, we’ll be wanting another road upgrade in no time.

The $1 billion expenditure on car flow and car safety here should be accompanied by plans to create places that are less dependent on cars. Population is rising in the region, and that means an increase in the number of people who will commute over time; we can’t just keep chasing our tail with expensive infrastructure for car-flow improvements.

This bike/ped path will be a wonderful improvement in safety for existing walkers and cyclists in the area around this interchange, and I’m sure there will be some who will try out switching to a bike commute from a solo-car commute when the path is complete. But the area all around the interchange would benefit from compact urban development that is designed specifically for human-powered transportation that is safe for everyone, not just the brave few.

Reducing the amount of car traffic for those people who have “no choice” but to drive -- that’s an OK goal for the short term. But it needs to work hand in hand with the much more important long-term goal of reducing the number of people who have “no choice” in transportation, and doing so by making our urban places more accommodating to safe alternative transportation options across the board.

Atlanta takes steps to become more bike friendly | WSB

Bicycling In Atlanta Kicking Into High Gear | WABE [EDIT: Ha! thanks much to Tumblr user brainlock for catching the error in the quote; I’ve corrected ‘peddling’ to ‘pedaling’ and sent a note to WABE]

9 Things Drivers Need to Stop Saying in the Bikes vs. Cars Debate | Wired

Handlebars & motorcars: the growth of cycling in Atlanta causes a rough ride

Atlanta Magazine has a great article on the inevitable conflicts that pop up when bicycling & bike infrastructure blossom in a city that has been dominated by car commuting for many years.

Can Atlanta, a city built for cars, make room for bikes? As more cyclists arrive, the city is trying to accomodate them

Despite that boost in cycling activity, the city only has 60 miles of on-street bike lanes currently. And, as the article points out, adding new lanes is sometimes a struggle in a culture that’s become used to accommodating cars first.

The piece includes this cool illustration of the different ways that cars and bikes can share streets:

One of the most visible signs of the stand-off between bicyclists and cars: automobiles parked in bike lanes. 

As has happened in many other US cities, Atlanta is having a significant problem with cars and delivery trucks using its new bike lanes as free parking spaces. This is a problem in great need of attention if we’re going make use of a growing network of cycling infrastructure — AND if we’re going to make the most out of the upcoming bike share program.

Here’s a photo I took recently of the scene on the Auburn Avenue bike lane, where you can regularly find 10 or 12 cars parked on Sunday morning. (The morning I snapped this pic, the cars were thankfully all getting ticketed by a police officer.)

You can read a good piece on this bike-lane-parking problem, penned by Rebecca Serna of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, here: Stop parking in bike lanes, Atlanta I don’t park my bike in the middle of Edgewoood Avenue. So why do you block our lane?

Serna writes: “Parking in bike lanes renders the point of the bike lane moot. People start to ask, why have bike lanes in the first place if they’re not going to be respected?” She goes on to make a good argument for adding a physical barrier, such as a curb or bollards, to protect the lanes. I remember seeing barriers like that on the streets of Paris when we visited a few years ago — how great it would be to have those here.

And if you’re up for some video footage of people being confronted about parking in bike lanes, here’s a local reporter covering the problem.

EDIT: Regarding the above photo of cars parked in a bike lane, a Downtown neighbor noticed that one car is also parked illegally at a bus stop — in front of a senior residence! It’s a case of car parking, sadly, dominating multiple modes of transportation at once. Good catch. 

Investing 15 percent of bond package on bikeways a good way to make Atlanta a top 10 city for cycling | Saporta Report

Project for bike lanes on Peachtree Rd. stalled by opposition in Buckhead

The push back

Atlanta City Councilwoman Mary Norwood has decided to back a group of bike-lane-phobic residents who oppose adding a new bike lane on Peachtree Road in north Atlanta’s Buckhead area. Buckhead View has the story (great coverage, btw).

In a nutshell, a project to improve pedestrian safety via road diets (and more) and to add a bike lane in Buckhead’s Peachtree Road corridor — where there has been an incredible boom in offices and apartments in recent years — is now stalled due to neighborhood opposition.

Key quotes from the opposition:

The push-back on these bike lanes shows a lack of vision for this section of Atlanta. Peachtree Road is Buckhead’s most promising artery for transformation into a functional, multi-modal ideal for a new generation of residents, workers, shoppers, visitor, students, etc.

Fighting the fears: bike lanes won’t hurt Buckhead

Fortunately for bicycle advocates, the data for adding a lane here is on our side.

For one thing, arguments that a bike lane might hurt business are wrong. Not only do bike lanes not hurt retail stores, studies show that cyclists actually spend more money than drivers.

As for real estate values, bike-friendly housing is in growing demand in the US.

And when it comes to traffic congestion, the effect of taking away a car lane and adding a bike lane might not be what you think. Earlier this year, a traffic expert named Rock Miller (what a name!) argued that recent successes in other cities prove that congestion could be relieved by removing a car lane on a busy road in Calgary and replacing it with a cycle track:

Keeping an eye on the future: let progress happen

In 2002, a report from the Atlanta Regional Commission — the  Buckhead Action Plan — outlined a great vision for Buckhead’s future that addressed transportation issues in a sustainable, forward-thinking way:

It sounds just as good in 2014 as it did then. The pedestrian streetscape has been improved significantly here. In many key spots, Buckhead is a much nicer place to walk around than it was 10 years ago. Keep moving forward with this plan boldly! With an incredible amount of residential density building here via new apartments, this is no time to settle for a job half done.

Rather than prioritizing the movement of cars on Peachtree above all else and remaining stuck in the car-centric past, Buckhead would do well to remain committed to the established goal for for a greater diversity in transportation modes and tackle congestion by reducing the number of trips in single-occupancy cars. A bike lane on Peachtree would help.

Follow the money: cyclists spend it

And if “greater diversity in transportation modes” doesn’t rock your boat, how about money? Apparently, people on bikes spend it; and lanes bring them and their wallets into stores at a fast clip:

My armchair-urbanist analysis of the situation: this project to put in a bike lane and pedestrian improvements on Peachtree Road in Buckhead could be a catalyst for creating public spaces there that are more vibrant and less car-dependent — more focused on serving people who are exploring the streets on foot & pedal rather than passing through them in a car. It would be sad to see this opportunity slip away.

Cyclists applaud changes on Decatur Street |11alive.com, 6.16.14

Covering a lot of ground on a bicycle in Atlanta

We spent yesterday tempting fate by taking a long bike ride and enjoying the cool, breezy, calm-before-the-storm weather (until, of course, the storm hit). These are pics I took on the trip.

Bucketloads of mulberries were ready to drop from trees in a park near the MLK birth home on Auburn Avenue, which we passed after having lunch at the strangely-quiet Curb Market.

Riding on the Beltline up to Piedmont Park, we saw a ton of of tall pokeweed, free to any brave soul willing to do the work of making poke sallet (which is poisonous but delicious, so don’t eat it, but know that you’re missing out).

Headed west on Freedom Path, we rode through the endearingly bizarre Folk Art Park, which is in need of serious maintenance. We also witnessed a common sight: a couple taking a selfie on the Jackson Street bridge.

Finally, while in Midtown, we saw the clear signs of an impending rain storm as clouds overtook the Biltmore. We hustled into Publik and waited out the storm over dinner.

It’s awesome how much ground you can cover on a bike in Atlanta. I’m an out-of-shape guy with a single-speed, small-wheeled, folding bicycle and Google Maps tells me we rode 10.6 miles through hilly terrain. My legs don’t even hurt today.

Bike Lanes in Black and White | Peopleforbikes.org, 10/21/2013