By Jim Durrett, President of Buckhead Coalition and Executive Director of Buckhead Community Improvement District
If Buckhead is to continue to be a thriving community for businesses, residents and visitors in the decades ahead, it is vital that we double down on infrastructure for ‘people-centric’ accessibility. Please don’t get me wrong. We absolutely should invest in better ways for people in automobiles to navigate our cities and region. My point is that we have to also make our environment more navigable for people on foot, on two wheels, on motorized skateboards, and on public transit. If we don’t, we will choke on our growth and resulting congestion. And we will be growing.
The bottom line: as we grow, a larger share of our population must be able to get around without the use of the automobile. And if we are to thrive, not only must we be able to, but we must want to. Jeff Speck, in his excellent 2012 book “Walkable City” teaches us that to be truly walkable (and, by extension, rollable) the trip needs to be four things: useful, safe, comfortable and interesting. Embracing these characteristics while doubling down on our investment will make people want to walk, roll and take transit instead of hopping in a car.
If there ever was a time and a need to double down and reinvest in ‘people centric’ accessibility it is now. The PATH Foundation and its supporters have done an amazing job of being not only a catalyst, but an absolute engine for bike/ped trail development in our region. They have done such a good job that I believe that every municipality and county in our region is craving these trails and scrambling to get them implemented. In Buckhead, they partnered with Livable Buckhead and the Buckhead CID to create PATH400 — an incredibly important investment that is tantalizingly close to completion. When the BeltLine connects to PATH400’s southern end, a whole new world of bike/ped connectivity will become a reality.
The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a once-in-perhaps-a-lifetime opportunity to attract significant federal funding to help us advance a more walkable region. Atlanta has committed to the development of a Vision Zero Action Plan, the goal being to end traffic deaths and serious injuries. I serve on the Action Plan Task Force, and we all have the opportunity to participate in the development of the plan. MARTA, on whose board I serve, has developed a Safe Routes to Transit program because every transit trip begins and ends with a walk.
This year, the Buckhead CID will be under construction on the first of three sections of the Lenox Road Complete Street Project. We are currently designing the third section and will be under design of the second section later this year. These three sections of Lenox Road are designated as part of the High Injury Network of roads in the City of Atlanta. When we are finished, Lenox Road will be safer and infinitely more walkable and bikeable. Also later this year we will be under construction on the Wieuca Road Roundabout. This will be a facility built for people, cars and trucks. The Piedmont Road Complete Street Project will also be under construction between Peachtree and Lenox Roads.
In June we will know if our application for a federal RAISE grant for HUB404 final design and engineering was accepted. We are cautiously optimistic but please send positive thoughts our way (and also to D.C.!) The bridges to be built over the GA400 / Lenox Road interchange, by the way, will also be part of HUB404, and we are ramping up a campaign to name the bridges for Sam Massell, former mayor of Atlanta and for 32 years the president of the Buckhead Coalition.
Let us know what you think of our efforts to help make trips in Buckhead useful, safe, comfortable and interesting.
