Downtown Atlanta tries something new with Peachtree Street – but is it working?
Atlanta City Council legislation would close a stretch of Peachtree Street on Sunday afternoons to drivers and open up the road for people to bike, walk and skate.
Emil Moffatt / WABE
John Von Hollen lives in a renovated building on Peachtree Street. He says before the shared spaces project began, it was not a good place for a walk.
“If you were on the sidewalk, you know you had cars and trucks and buses passing just within inches of where you were walking, often at very high speeds and so there and now here, they’ve done this great re-configuration,” said Von Hollen
Since June, the city has used temporary barriers to cut the number of traffic lanes in front of the Peachtree Center MARTA station in half, from two to four, from Ellis to Baker streets. Von Hollen says he and his girlfriend, Lauren Reinmann, recently dined street side on Peachtree, something that was previously unthinkable
“We were fortunate to be able to sit out when they first started doing this and people-watch at one of the restaurants here,” said Von Hollen.
In addition to reducing traffic lanes, the city also added a large central crosswalk and took down waist-high fences separating the sidewalk from the street.
“We’re just designing it for people to use it as you would in a city,” said Atlanta’s planning commissioner Tim Keane. “Imagine that.”
It’s part of Atlanta’s experimentation with street designs that are more friendly to people and bicycles. The test on the three-block section of Peachtree Street downtown is getting mixed reviews.
Keane says Phase 2 of the project adds small touches to make the changes a bit less temporary. A third phase – which would make the overhaul permanent, still needs funding and approval.
“What we’re doing here on Peachtree Street is representative of what we need to do on streets all over Atlanta. That is our job now,” said Keane.
The Peachtree experiment is not without resistance. Some workers in the area complain it’s causing traffic jams. Some business owners say it’s harder to get deliveries and offer services like valet parking.
The city continues to accept feedback for the project online.
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