An Article Worth Reading on Improving Bicycling in our Community

Georgia has a new law that allows citizens to vote on whether to add a 1-penny sales tax that would go to fund transportation improvements. Voters can decide to add the tax and provide regional funding for transportation projects, including roads, transit, and WE HOPE bicycle and pedestrian improvements. The Atlanta area will have such a vote next year.

The planning process for the proposed projects is quite involved. The process includes considerable opportunity for citizen input. Much of this process is in the concluding stages. Many spoke out and much support for better bicycling was heard.

Rebecca Serna, GSU alum and Executive Director of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, has written a great story outlining the process and explaining how bicycling improvements are getting short shrift. Rebecca makes a great case for why additional money needs to be provided for bicycling infrastructure.

Bikes Blossom at Georgia State

On the first day of the semester, I drove to campus from my northeast Atlanta home. I exited from the freeway, and my first sight was a student riding on Jesse Hill near the Commons. It was a preview of things to come.

Several of us were really surprised at the increased number of bicycles that appeared at the beginning of the fall semester. Suddenly, it seemed like Georgia State really was a bicycling campus. Bicycle racks have been full each day, and bicycles could be found everywhere!


Georgia State bicyclists face many challenges, in addition to limited bike racks. Several of the streets on campus- Courtland, Piedmont, and Peachtree Center in particular- have heavy traffic, multi-laned streets, and fast-moving vehicles trying to get on the freeway or to their parking lot as quickly as possible. No bicycle lanes are provided. Although the sidewalks are often wide, riding on the sidewalk is not legal in Georgia (at least for those over 12 years old) and not as safe as streets, according to statistics.

Be safe out there. A good starting point is a helmet. Get one that you like and use it! Second, read up! The web have some good information on safety in traffic. Finally, consider a training course if you haven't ridden in a city environment. The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition regularly offers a good course called Confident City Cycling.

Atlanta Streets Alive Returns to GSU June 11

Did you know that the Atlanta Streets Alive event returns to GSU and downtown Atlanta on June 11 and on June 25? Atlanta Streets Alive had two events last year that brought thousands out into the streets of Atlanta to walk, run, bike, or do whatever activities moved them. Edgewood, Auburn and other streets will be closed during the event for activity. Woodruff and Hurt Parks will be filled with activity.

GSU Bikes, in conjunction with Touch the Earth from the Rec Center, will be providing bikes to loan during the event. Anyone with a Panther Card or other University System of Georgia ID can borrow a bike for a short spin around the ASA route. We will also be sharing information about bicycling at Georgia State, our plans, and how to get involved.

See the Atlanta Streets Alive! web page for a map of the route and for more information.

Event: Atlanta Streets Alive!
Dates/times: June 11, 10 am- 2 pm
June 25, 4 pm- 8 pm
Where: Downtown Atlanta, near Woodruff and Hurt Parks and eastward along Auburn and Edgewood Avenues

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood discusses bike sharing programs in cities and other important transportation topics.

The Ride to the Condesa Coffee Shop

The students and I were to meet a couple of people at the Condesa Coffee Shop on Friday. It was a beautiful early Spring day and I have a BFO*: let's check out GSU Bikes and enjoy a bike ride to the meeting!

The GSU Bike Shop at Touch the Earth, located in the Student Recreation Center, was happy to oblige. We did the necessary checkout in quick fashion and off we went. North to Edgewood, east to Jackson, north again to the Freedom Park Trail, and down a long block to the corner of JW Dobbs and Boulevard. Our ride was a bit more than a mile.

I could have driven everyone, but in less time than we would have walked to the parking lot, started the car, traversed the streets, and found a parking spot at the destination, we completed our ride. We all arrived alert and mentally refreshed thanks to the brief exercise. We helped decrease the air pollution burden. and we helped to relieve congestion.

It was a short, healthy trip and a productive meeting, and one that each of us is likely to remember. Why don't we step out of our normal routine and take the opportunity to practice what we preach more often?


*BFO= blinding flash of the obvious

Come play in the streets again- October 17

Atlanta Streets Alive will hold its second day in the streets on Sunday October 17 from 1-6 pm in downtown Atlanta, on the Georgia State University campus. Details are being finalized, but we expect that the event will extend along Edgewood Avenue for more than a mile and encompass Hurt and Woodruff Parks. Everyone is invited to take part in activities along the route or just use the street (closed to motorized traffic) for walking, running, bicycle riding, skating boarding, roller blading, pogo stick hopping, unicycling, handwalking, crawling, dancing, skipping, jumping, or any other non-motorized way of moving imaginable.

The first ASA, held on May 24, attracted 6000 people to play in the streets and was a great time for all. See http://www.atlantastreetsalive.com/ for videos, photos, and other information about the event. Information is also available on how to get involved in helping with ASA.

Atlanta Streets Alive! Sunday May 23

Don't miss your opportunity to participate in a sure-to-be-historic event! Atlanta Streets Alive! will take place Sunday May 23, from 1-6 pm. Woodruff Park will be the event headquarters, which will close Edgewood Avenue for over 1 mile to the east.

Georgia State is partnering with the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, the City of Atlanta, the Atlanta Regional Commission, Central Atlanta Progress/Downtown TMA, and many other local organizations to conduct the inaugural Atlanta Streets Alive!

Atlanta Streets Alive! is a Ciclovia style event. It is also a promising strategy to increase opportunities for physical activity. Atlanta Streets Alive! will close down Edgewood and Auburn Avenues and other streets in downtown Atlanta to cars for the afternoon and open them up for people to bike, walk, run, jog, crawl, roll, hop, skip, unicycle, roller blade, dance, play, and recreate without a motor. Woodruff and Hurt Parks will be centers for the activities that will stretch for more than a mile.

Atlanta Streets Alive! will be an entirely free opportunity for people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with the public realm, build community and participate in healthy activities. By closing streets temporarily to cars, Atlanta Streets Alive! will create a safe and welcoming space for people of all ages, fitness levels, and degrees of confidence to bicycle in a safe and welcoming setting. The event will animate many of the dead spaces throughout our downtown, featuring arts installations, improvisation, theater, dance and fitness classes, and will bring a healthy dose of imagination and spontaneous joy to our city. Many stores, restaurants, and other vendors will be open on Sunday afternoon.

We hope that this Sunday, Atlanta Streets Alive! will demonstrate overwhelming interest to convince the City to allow it to become a regular event increase the size of the event.

Whether you have an hour or the entire afternoon to spend, please join us on May 23rd to help our streets truly come alive and bring your friends and family! For more information on the event, to see the route and to check out the long list of planned activities, please visit www.atlantastreetsalive.com