March is here! With longer evenings on deck, take some time to get outside and enjoy some new tails and bike lanes.
The Urban Connector monthly newsletter looks back on the best of the previous month as well as ways to get involved in the coming month. Please make sure you sign up below to have these delivered straight to your inbox and follow on YouTube, Twitter, BlueSky Social, and Instagram.
Feb Content
Woodall Rail Trail Tour: Ride along one of the newest trails in the Upper Westside that will help link the Atlanta BeltLine to the Silver Comet Trail.
Atlanta BeltLine Ride Along: Atlanta loves to get out on a nice day. This was one of the busiest times I’d ever seen on the corridor.
Westside BeltLine Construction Progress: Drone tour previewing the highly anticipated segment that will open this year!
Northwest BeltLine Construction Progress: Drone tour previewing this segment of NW Beltline that will connect Blandtown to the Westside Trail.
Urban Thoughts: Too small for an article, too big to miss
- My ultimate Atlanta pet-peeve is people (INCORRECTLY, IGNORANTLY, BLINDLY) saying “we full”. It makes absolutely no sense in what is one of the most spread out, sprawled regions in the world. There’s literally 1000s of parcels directly on the BeltLine and other mobility rich areas that are basically sitting empty. While our roads may be “full” of suburban drivers, the City of Atlanta is far from full.
- I went to the Kroger on South Moreland instead of my normal Glenwood one last week. Besides the glaring lack of bike racks (had to lock to a cart-corral), it’s really stunning just how huge the gap in quality of the various in-town Krogers is.
Developments that Excited Me
Heart of South Downtown: A new non-profit has launched that will help guide the neighborhood into the next stage. The rise of Downtown is coming!
South Boulevard complete street coming soon?! ATLDOT recently put up a sign at the corner of Englewood and Boulevard about the project. Maybe that means it’s starting soon!
Making Piedmont Park even better: Piedmont Park has unveiled two concepts for the future of the park. The Central Park of the South looks to aim even higher. While both concepts are great, I lean slightly toward option A. I’ve also long felt that we need to make better use of the lake in Piedmont, with some pedal boating, swan boats, etc – that would really elevate the feel!
Get Involved, Atlanta!
| Date | Event | Notes |
| 3/3 | City Council | 1:00 PM |
| 3/10 | Housing Commission | 10:00 AM |
| 3/10 | Zoning Committee | 11:00 AM |
| 3/12 | Transportation Committee | 10:00 AM |
| 3/12 | Let’s Talk Transit Happy Hour | 6:30 PM |
| 3/17 | City Council | 1:00 PM |
| 3/24 | Housing Commission | 10:00 AM |
| 3/24 | Zoning Committee | 11:00 AM |
| 3/26 | Transportation Committee | 10:00 AM |
| 4/3 | City Council | 1:00 PM |
Raleigh folks, make sure you’re keeping up to date with the great people at Raleigh Forward, WakeUP, Oaks and Spokes and The Downtown Raleigh Community.
What I’m working on this month (and probably later)
- Updates to earlier drawings of the Reconnecting Communities sketches
- More suburban spotlights
- InPhil Designs ideas
- “ChoseLINE” development idea
I’m sure this newsletter will evolve as time goes on. Comments or suggestions? Let me know!
Phil Veasley is a Professional Engineer and CNU-Accredited Professional member 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, BlueSky Social, and Twitter accounts.
Opinions and insights are my own and are not representative of my employer or any organization.
Phil Veasley 