More than half a billion dollars in transportation projects funded through the Renew Atlanta Infrastructure Bond, TSPLOST, and Capital Improvement Program are either in progress or coming to a street near you.
(You can see the existing, funded, and proposed bike network here on the city's new bicycle infrastructure viewer.)
As your voice for better biking, we work to establish strong relationships with department officials responsible for the design and implementation of these projects. We advocate for the highest quality infrastructure, which is why we brokered the deal to hire the city's first Chief Bicycle Officer, led a study group to Chicago, organized rides with city planners and engineers, and hosted a NACTO training on the Urban Bikeway Design Guide last fall.
This month, the City of Atlanta's Office of Mobility Planning hosted a two-day bicycle safety and design training for city planners and engineers responsible for designing and implementing Renew Atlanta, TSPLOST, and capital improvement projects. The training covered the leading practices governing successful All Ages and Abilities (AAA) Bicycle Networks: separated bike lanes, Neighborhood Greenways, and protected intersections.
The second half of the training asked planners and engineers to experience Atlanta's infrastructure first-hand. Chief Bicycle Officer Becky Katz and Assistant Director of Planning Jonathan Lewis led site visits that challenged the groups to imagine how road users might feel in various scenarios and examine their comfort level at different parts of the ride. No surprise here. The consensus was that we need more separated bike lanes, choose designs that discourage speeding, and improve wayfinding signage.
The site visits showed how calm streets and easy to navigate bike routes enhance the transportation network and raise Atlanta's quality of life. Perhaps one of the biggest takeaways was that you can't simply design and engineer for maximum car speed and rush hour traffic when city life includes so many other trips that deserve just as much attention, like a leisurely ride with your kids, biking to the store for a gallon of milk, and riding to the nearest MARTA stop.
Thank you again to Forrest Rose, Crystal Griggs-Epps, Becky Katz, and Jonathan Lewis from the Office of Mobility Planning for bringing this training to the city!
