#pedestrian infrastructure

[atlantathecity]

What exactly does "walkable" mean, and is it still a useful term for urbanism advocacy? That question occurred to me today when we made a trip to the intersection of Piedmont Road and Cheshire Bridge Road.

To get there, we took MARTA's 809 and 27 buses and it was a great trip -- the buses were on time and the transfer from one to the other was seamless (just as predicted by the Google Maps trip planner).

Transit access? Check.

When we arrived at the intersection, sidewalks and crosswalks were both plentiful.

Pedestrian infrastructure? Check.

We had a great lunch at Little Rey, where a front door connected well to the sidewalk, followed by a shopping trip to Sprouts where the door was easy to get to from the sidewalk.

Pedestrian connections to destinations? Check.

But it still didn't feel like a welcoming place to walk. There were "slip lanes" all around, where frustrated drivers were making quick turns and not necessarily looking for pedestrians. Older shopping centers are fronted by parking lots. The expanses of asphalt and car lanes were wide, with no trees or landscaping to serve as a buffer between cars and pedestrians.

It's technically walkable. But realistically it's a car-oriented place and pedestrians will understandably feel like they're an afterthought.

I've honestly tried to lessen my use of the word "walkable" in recent years, adopting phrases like "pedestrian-oriented" instead.

This is because I've seen many places like this one that follow the letter of the law, so to speak, by being basically walkable (yes, you *can* walk there) without following the spirit of the law and putting pedestrian experiences in a place of importance (but do you *want* to walk there?).

To be sure, many places in the city lack even the basics of walkability, putting transit-dependent people in truly dire situations. I don't mean to undermine the primary importance of addressing those problems.

But in the end we need to do both things at once: correct the most dangerous roads AND keep improving our urbanism to make walking not just a possibility in a technical sense, but a desirable option.

[bean-enthusiast-29]

Why yes I do love

Public libraries

Community gardens

Public transportation

Wikipedia

Walking and biking as transportation

Farmers markets

and I think you should love and fight for them too.

[sluttyquarantinetheory]

Every time there's any improvement to pedestrian infrastructure I have to listen to people lose their minds about it. Like yeah the potholes need filled too, but I also would appreciate it if people who do not drive have the ability to go places without the sidewalk turning to rubble or straight up disappearing. If you're gonna complain about jaywalkers than maybe you should consider the need for a pedestrian over or underpass.

[atlurbanist]

😍 Very cool! I couldn't help but add a train to the photo from AtlWinKnee's tweet (second image).

Put rail on the Atlanta Beltline and turn this into an excellent urban corridor surrounded by infill homes (with affordability), offices, and more.

And *build great ped/bike paths like this everywhere* so that the Beltline isn't such a rare destination for safe walking and cycling.

I want the Beltline path to be instructional for Atlanta, so we learn how much demand there is for great spaces to walk and bike. We should expand this quality of experience (including protected bike lanes) on many streets.

In that situation, the Beltline's use as a visitor destination for recreational strolling/chatting would be reduced some (though certainly not eliminated) due to the 'competition' elsewhere, and the Beltline corridor becomes a bit more of a productive transportation route.

[threadatl]

Woot! We've heard news from the office of Councilmember Jason Dozier that the new Nelson Street Bridge in Castleberry Hill is fully open to the public today, connecting pedestrians & cyclists across the railroad gulch into South Downtown. What a beauty! This is a significant investment in pedestrian/bike infrastructure, and one that has thoughtful design features. You don't often see this scale of construction in Atlanta for a section of street that's not for cars.

[atlantathecity]

As I was reminded while walking here earlier today, the sidewalk on Edgewood Avenue is way too narrow. Folks regularly have to step into the roadway to pass others.

It shouldn't be like this anywhere, but especially not on the streetcar route. We're missing an opportunity to match transit investment with great pedestrian conditions.

Please look into redesigning this as a shared street, Atlanta! This is an incredible success story waiting to happen.

Some people complain that the streetcar "doesn't go anywhere people want to go," but I see the problem as being that we have 2.7 miles in the middle of the city that can be described by too many as a place they don't want to go.

What we should be asking is: how many people are we delivering to the streetcar by way of a combination of rail-supportive land use that puts an appropriate density near the stations -- and excellent pedestrian conditions that help alternatives to driving be competitive.

We're failing on all those fronts, but we can turn this ship around. We're capable of succeeding in Atlanta and becoming a city that truly supports alternatives to driving (like the streetcar) through our urban design and policies.

Every little piece of that puzzle matters, including the design of every block of street on the streetcar route.

[atlantathecity]

This sludgy, slippery sidewalk on Grant Street is the only pedestrian route between King Memorial Station & the apartments completed a couple of years ago as a "transit-oriented development."

Ownership is split among MARTA, Atlanta & CSX. We need those parties to cooperate.

My understanding is that the water comes from the portion that CSX owns (the ground behind the wall, which lies under their freight rail line), it seeps through the tunnel wall that MARTA owns, and lands on the sidewalk the City owns. All three entities will need to cooperate to fix it.

I'm not convinced we can truly call this a transit-oriented development until it becomes a great space for pedestrians.

[atlurbanist]

Big freeway-capping concepts like The Stitch understandably grab headlines and build excitement.

I would also like to see some attention for other neighborhoods affected by freeways.

Here's a look at southwest Atlanta neighborhoods that were disconnected by I-20; same view, before (1949) and after.

This is the Mozely Park/Ashview Heights/West End area. Pedestrian pathways were greatly harmed here (not to mention the displacement and loss of homes). Can we repair those lost connections for pedestrians, and do so with a program for preventing displacement?

[Side note: when I see these comparisons I'm always struck by the density of development Atlanta used to have before the freeways -- notice all the empty lots in the current view.]