Marietta Street is a key crosstown corridor that connects West Midtown and surrounding neighborhoods, as well as Georgia Tech, to Downtown Atlanta. The city plans to resurface the street through the Renew Atlanta bond. The question is whether the new pavement will include the bike lanes recommended in the Cycle Atlanta Plan Phase 1.0. Today, Marietta Street is flat and connective, but high speeds and lack of dedicated space for people on bikes plus subpar sidewalks make it an unsafe corridor for people who bike and walk. Without the proposed changes, this corridor will continue to attract dangerous high-speed traffic, severing neighborhoods from destinations, and stifling business.
Renew Atlanta is hosting a public meeting on August 29th to discuss the Marietta Street Resurfacing Project.
We want to make sure that Marietta gets the appropriate bike and pedestrian facilities in order to connect with the Howell Mill Road Complete Street project, which in turn connects to the DeKalb Avenue Complete Street project. Failing to create a safe, direct bicycle connection between Marietta and Howell Mill Road violates the recommendations made in the Cycle Atlanta Plan Phase 1.0.
We know what this corridor is capable of after seeing 110,000 people experience Marietta and Howell Mill at our largest Atlanta Streets Alive ever in June of 2017
You know it's bad when the only time people feel safe biking on a street is when you close it to cars. However, adequate bike facilities can increase bicycle and pedestrian traffic - and ultimately improve the safety on what is considered a very high crash corridor for pedestrians, according to state injury data. And this area will only see more bicycle traffic with the expansion of Relay Bike Share.
It appears that businesses are listening. Take a look at the summary of comments from Renew Atlanta's Business Stakeholders Open House.
For businesses concerned with commercial deliveries, we are pleased to report that the city's parking management office is proactively identifying solutions that will prioritize space on and near businesses on Marietta that rely on deliveries.
Others claim this bike lane is redundant given the newly built protected bike lane on Luckie Street. But just as there are parallel streets with access for cars, there need to be parallel streets for bicycles - different streets serve different purposes and have different destinations on them. Marietta remains a key corridor linking Howell Mill Road to Downtown.
If you approve of making this a safe, comfortable bike connection as outlined in the Cycle Atlanta Plan Phase 1.0, please attend the Marietta Street Resurfacing Public Meeting and voice your support!
WHEN: Tuesday, August 29, 2017
TIME: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
WHERE: Atlanta Contemporary Arts Center
535 Means Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 (Map)