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Many of you have been concerned about the proposed Georgia Department of Transportation project at Clifton and Ponce de Leon Ave, especially in relationship to preservation of the historic Olmsted Linear Parks. We share the concern.
Although it runs in the city limits, Ponce de Leon Ave is actually a state road over which the City of Atlanta does not have authority. The State of Georgia has responded to inquiries regarding the project. Here is information recently received from GDOT regarding the project and its management:
GDOT is currently studying a project at the intersection of Ponce de Leon Ave and Clifton Road. This project originates from our safety program. Our safety program focuses on small to medium-sized improvements that can directly improve the crash rates at an intersection or other location.
The proposed project (PI#0015681) is in the conceptual phase. An approved concept plan has not been developed yet and the project team is currently researching the area for project constraints. These are things like community and historic resources, utility facilities, and other topographic features. These constraints will help inform the project team on what the scope of the project could be. All efforts will be made to minimize the adverse impacts a project may have on this area.
A preliminary concept layout has been developed to start this process. The lane widths on that layout are preliminary and are subject to change and have not been reviewed or approved. Those lane widths are often worst case and help our environmental specialists and surveyors establish a generous area in which to study. We agree with you, that widening to 12’ lanes would be inappropriate at this location. Ponce de Leon is currently 10’ lanes and we would match the existing lane widths to minimize impacts along this corridor. The layout does propose widening the intersection just enough to get a left turn lane on Ponce de Leon for motorists heading northbound or southbound on Clifton Road. That turn lane with would also be minimized. A roundabout was analyzed at this intersection, but due to the amount of traffic on Ponce de Leon, it would be too large and cause too many impacts to the parks and community.
Any project proposed at this intersection would also include pedestrian improvements, new striping, and signage. The existing signal equipment will be updated in advance of this project. That is being accomplished within a standalone signal upgrade project, PI#0012824, which is scheduled to go to construction in the spring of 2019. Several signals along Ponce de Leon will be upgraded to new equipment with that project.
Please let us know if you have other questions or concerns about the project. The GDOT project manager assigned to the project is Lauren Bolstad and she can be reached at lbolstad@dot.ga.gov.
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Every year the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and partners organize a series of events called Atlanta Streets Alive. The events span the entirety of the city operating Eastside, Westside, and Central routes. For hours on end, major avenues of Atlanta typically reserved for automobiles are shut down and turned into bicycle and pedestrian friendly spaces.
At the end of this month, on September 30, the Central route will close 3.1 miles of Peachtree St. from Midtown to Downtown. Parade lineup is at 1:30 PM for a 2:00 launch. From 2:00 to 6:00 pm, the street will be closed to cars and open for people to walk, roll, bike and play! Along the way you'll encounter booths and activities from community organizations, local businesses, and sponsors. Streets Alive is always a guaranteed good time so you won't want to miss the final opportunity for it of the year! For more information, including a map of the route, please visit their website.
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As Atlanta continues to update its infrastructure to address the rise in population and new technologies, North Ave. was selected as one of the city's complete street projects. While this project is not in District 6, many of our residents rely on this corridor for transit so please take this opportunity to learn more about the project and offer your input.
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Trees Atlanta has launched a program for neighbors in Virginia-Highland, Poncey-Highland, Midtown, Morningside-Lenox Park, and Druid Hills. The program aims to plant new trees in these neighborhoods as development and age continue to claim some of the oldest, most cherished trees around the District. The program is free of cost for the planting on the agreement that the resident will maintain the planted trees. If you would like to learn more or apply for the program, please visit Trees Atlanta's website!
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Coming up on September 22 is the annual Atlanta BeltLine Lantern Parade! This great event is a lovely transition from Summer to Fall. If you've never been, you're sure to be blown away by the creative expression Atlanta's residents display with their magnificent lantern creations. Line-up begins at 7:00 PM on the BeltLine at Irwin St. NE/Lake Ave. NE near Krog Street Market. The route proceeds north to Piedmont Park where it concludes. For tips and additional details, checkout the webpage!
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Music Midtown 2018 took place this past weekend on Saturday and Sunday at Piedmont Park. This is a Class A ticketed event that is managed by the Parks & Rec department. There are many city departments that play a role in the planning, approval, and monitoring of the festival, including Parks, APD and Department of Public Works. Several neighbors reached out to me prior to the event with concerns about the barricades that were placed at the intersection of the Beltline with Monroe, the rerouting of pedestrian traffic across Monroe, the closing of the 10th Street cycletrack, and the impact on the park trails before and after the festival. Councilmember Amir Farokhi and I held a pop-up town hall last Tuesday at the corner of 10th and Monroe, and I want to thank Parks and Rec and APD for coming out to hear people's concerns. Amir and I are continuing to work with the City departments to work on how we can alleviate some of the ongoing concerns neighbors and bike commuters have regarding the event. Please feel free to continue to reach out and we will share your concerns and ideas as we discuss future events in the park.
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Many of you have reached out to me regarding the city financing of CIM's proposed development of the area of downtown known as "the Gulch." The proposed development would involve building a platform to create a new street level above the active train tracks underneath, and include a mix of office, residential, and retail development. Development costs are estimated at between $3.5-5 billion, with up to $1.75 billion in government subsidies, which include a combination of "enterprise zone" bonds, which would be backed by sales tax dollars and "tax allocation district" (TAD) bonds that are backed by property taxes in the Gulch zone. This is a very complicated deal--the legislation and attachments are over 600 pages--and city council was being asked to vote on this only 10 days after receiving the complete legislation and deal documents. I did not feel that I could responsibly vote on this massive legislation without further time for analysis. In addition to the fact that the legislation felt unduly rushed, I have real concerns about the legislation, including the level of public subsidy for private development, the creation of private streets, and the level of benefits that the developer is providing to the city. I believe that development of the Gulch will require public investment, but am not convinced that the current legislation is best deal for the City.
Yesterday at full council, the authors and Mayor did not ask to move the Gulch legislation forward. It will continue to be held in the Community Development and Human Services Committee. The next meeting of CDHS is Tuesday, September 25 at 12:30 pm in City Hall. You can also tune in to the meeting on Channel 26. The Mayor will be hosting a town hall meeting on the Gulch at City Hall on Wednesday, September 26 at 6 p.m. I will let you know as other opportunities to learn more about this proposal are announced. Please feel free to reach out to me with your thoughts on the Gulch proposal.
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