Atlanta Streets Alive to make West Midtown debut Sunday; 100,000 expected

Atlanta’s favorite street-closure bash is covering fresh turf this Sunday with a visit to the near-Westside.

And they’re bringing life-size beer pong Zumba and adult big-wheel races with them.

Atlanta Streets Alive

The second incarnation of Atlanta Streets Alive this year will debut a fresh four-mile route that begins at Peachtree Street near Five Points, wends along Marietta Street and Howell Mill Road, and then terminates at Chattahoochee Avenue.

Closed to cars, the route will be dotted with attractions that include: a DJ atop STATS restaurant; yard games including giant beer pong; Zumba and dance classes; live music; big-wheel races; artist exhibits and other family-friendly stuff.

It all mercifully happens in the late afternoon and evening, beginning at 4 p.m. with the traditional Great Bicycle Parade and concluding at 8 p.m.

That being said, early forecasts (high of 87, with 58 percent humidity) look rather idyllic.

Launched with a meager Edgewood Avenue gathering in May 2010, Streets Alive was inspired by the street-closure ciclovia in Bogotá, Colombia—a program that’s been duplicated in cities around the world in recent decades.

Since then, Streets Alive has staged more than 12 events in 13 Atlanta neighborhoods, attracting 179,000 people in 2015 alone.

The Westside route launch coincides with the weeklong Atlanta Cycling Festival, which kicks off Saturday.

Organizers expect a crowd of 100,000.

NOTE: In light of a public relations blunder, the aforementioned life-size beer pong will tragically NOT be happening at this Atlanta Streets Alive event.

• Westside Route [ASA]