Sights and Insights from the “Bowl” of the Beltline

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Sights and insights from a great right along the “bowl” of the existing, interim, and future Beltline and Westside Park.

Bill Kennedy Way to Boulevard

So much time is going to be saved through Southeast Atlanta once the Beltline is open through here next year. Right now, most of these roads feel fine to ride on with an E-Bike but those hills are massive.

Boulevard to Downtown Connector

The gravel South trail is still “open” despite the signs. There hasn’t been any sign of dirt movement just yet. It’s a pretty surreal feeling through here that feels more like the middle of nowhere or a private oasis than being two miles outside a major Downtown. It’s also pretty disappointing how some recent developments such as the Beacon, Pratt Stacks and others did nothing to engage the trail knowing what was coming. Some of the features and tunnels going through this section are unmatched. With the 1000s of units on the way in this area, it’s going to be a cool vibe in a few years. Some of the more recent builds along Milton Ave are already doing a good job engaging the trail. It’ll be interesting to see how the Pryor safe street project ties into the trail.

Downtown Connector to Westside Park

Back onto pavement as we pass the Downtown Connector brings us past Pittsburg Yards which is not much more than one building and massive blocks of opportunity to date. Really big opportunity to get some more housing. The Vivian turned out nice for being the first trail oriented complexes outside of the Eastside. The infrastructure surrounding the bridges also paints the picture of how much forethought into Beltline rail has gone into the original trail designs. So much housing is coming in the next few years around Murphy Crossing but we need much more near Lee + White. Does anyone know the backstory around the weird on-street detour between Lawton and RDA? Getting past the in-progress section between Washington Park and Bankhead wasn’t too challenging on some neighborhood streets. Speaking of Bankhead, the “road diet” which was a 4-to-3 conversion with insanely wide lanes is finally complete. Hopefully Microsoft either sells or continues with their plan because we can’t just have this much valuable land sitting vacant. It’s essentially a blank slate to provide dense, sustainable and mobility rich housing.

Westside Park to Downtown

Westside Park is a prime example of why I don’t put much stock into the acreage of a park being it’s selling point. It is still pretty dope though. Heading back down Proctor Creek passes perhaps my favorite spot in the city with a rocky shoals and winding trail bridge that feels more like a mountain setting. There’s a flagrant gap in access adjacent to the failed Microsoft and Quarry Yards campus between the Westside Connector and Proctor Creek Greenway which will fill a massive void once complete. Heading down the Westside Connector sees tons of infill opportunities which is jarring being this close to Downtown. It does seem like Echo Street is struggling a bit to fill their trail fronting parts but in time it will come. Getting closer to GWCC sees a multi-use trail that you may not realize is usable until you’re on it and actually provides a few grade separations around the stadium. I talk about it often, but the impact of Centennial Yards and South Downtown are going to absolutely transform the core of our City. I believe a City is only as strong as it’s core.

It hasn’t been long, but it’s hard to even imagine getting around outside of the car now without the MLK and Memorial cycle tracks. Little by little, we’re building a City where it’s safe to get around without a car.

Where should I ride to next?

FURTHER READING

InPhil Designs: InPhil Designs

All ideas: The Urban Connector

All things Atlanta: https://philveasley.com/atlanta/

Phil Veasley is a Professional Engineer working to design safer multimodal infrastructure in cities throughout the US.

My goal is to create cities that are safe and effective for all people to move about outside of cars. To achieve that we have to focus on creating equitable, dense, and vibrant cities full of walkable neighborhoods with a various mix of housing choices, schools, restaurants, and services. We cannot have safe multimodal infrastructure without the density to support it and we cannot have equitable density without safe multimodal infrastructure. Outside of designing safe streets, my passions are sketching ideas for infill neighborhoods, floor plans, urban photography, and exploring our cities on foot or bike. Please check out the menus above for all of my ideas and also check out my YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter accounts.

Opinions and insights are my own and are not representative of my employer or any organization.