Looking for best weekday route - MARTA to Silver Comet

Submitted by henrys on Sun, 2010-04-18 16:10

A little help, please

A sagged bike tour group plans to go from an Atlanta MARTA Station to the Silver Comet Trail, ON A WEEKDAY. Google Maps suggests a few options. I've ridden one or two, and I can't say that I like them much, but they are possible.

Option 1A: Leave from the Hamilton Holmes Station on the West line. Take Holmes, Hightower, Hollywood 4.4 m, then go up S Cobb Drive for 2.8 miles, total 7.2 m

Option 1B: From the same station, north on Holmes, west on Bankhead Highway/Veterans Memorial Parkway 2.9 m across the river, then up Oakdale to end with 1.2 m on S. Cobb, total 8.1 miles

Option 2: From Arts Center station, take 17th St, Howell Mill across I-75, Defoors Ferry, Bolton, 1.5 m on Marietta Blvd/S, Atlanta Drive, Plant Atkinson/Church, and just a mile on S Cobb Drive. Total is 9.7 miles.

Option 3: From Lindberg Station, head north to West Paces Ferry, then stay with it across the river (which is part of the ABC Share the Road Century route). Woodland Brook to Log Cabin to Plant Atkinson/Church, and a mile on S Cobb. 11.9 m total

The question is, crossing the river on a weekday (probably 8-9 am -- I don't think this group could start out before 7 am.) Is any option better, traffic wise, lane width/shoulder, hills? Or all they all a pain, and we should just take the shortest?

If you have experience on a weekday (especially if you've bike-commuter through the area) and some opinions, please reply.

Thankx!

Henry

Comments

My preferred river crossing

Submitted by jett on Mon, 2010-04-26 21:01.

My preferred river crossing to get to the Silver Comet is along Atlanta Road as described in your Option 2. Many commuters I've talked to also use this crossing and that was before the improvements that have been made in the past year. The bridge has been widened and bike lanes have been added.

If you're headed to the Mavell Road trailhead, I would suggest taking Plant Atkinson/Church across S Cobb Drive to Highlands Pkwy and follow it across the East-West Connector into the apartment complex. After the roadway within the complex rounds the building, there is a stretch of 4-foot-wide sidewalk that leads maybe 50 yards down the hill to the trailhead.

Highlands Pkwy also works well with the Oakdale route for Option 1B, but I have to admit I've never crossed the river on Veterans Pkwy.

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