First, let's get one thing straight: Earlier this year, the Atlanta City Council approved $2.5 million for a list of projects that will add about 15 miles of bike lanes to the city. That list DOES include lanes on parts of Peachtree Street in downtown and further north in the Brookwood area, but the petition recently launched by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition — dubbed "Add bikeways to our signature street" — is about something more. Namely, the Midtown stretch of Peachtree, which has DOES NOT have any bike-accessible projects slated for the future. Coalition leader Rebecca Serna told Curbed Atlanta the goal was to make the entirety of Peachtree bike-ready, and here's where the petition comes in: They're lobbying for another $2 million the city already has from the Atlanta Regional Commission to fund the dream. Serna wrote in an email: "These (other) projects are the main reason why we're making the push — there's an opportunity to create a continuous bike lane from Downtown to Brookwood on Peachtree Street/Peachtree Center Avenue."
As of Thursday night, almost 500 folks had signed the Change.org petition. Serna said the timeline targeted for the Coalition's pitch is "up in the air," but that a plan currently being drafted as part of the Cycle Atlanta Plan will likely include two alternatives for Peachtree in Midtown: 1. The relatively simple addition of sharrows (basically arrows telling drivers to share the lane) or: 2. The more ambitious "complete streets conversion" that would take the street to one lane in each direction. Regardless, she said, the demand is there. "The success of the cycle track on 10th Street ? indicates that there's a lot of pent up demand for high-quality bike infrastructure," Serna said. "Bike lanes in our signature street would make a powerful statement that Atlanta is truly becoming a bikeable city focused on creating quality of life for its residents."
Do you care enough to sign? Or do you think traffic lanes should never be squeezed to accommodate cyclists? Lastly: Anyone heard the latest on Ponce (looks like it could be losing a lane as we speak)?
· Link To Petition [Change.org]
— By Curbed Atlanta contributor Tyler Estep
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