Lee Street in Southwest Atlanta represents a tremendous opportunity. Currently a five to six lane arterial with speeding cars and unsafe crossings, Lee is flat and connects many neighborhoods with Downtown Atlanta and the Atlanta BeltLine's Westside Trail, as well as five MARTA stations and Fort McPherson. We want to transform this dangerous barrier into a community-centered street with safe and connected bikeways and improved crossings.

Take Action

Atlanta Artist Ashley Bella is partnering with MARTA Artbound and the Atlanta Department of Transportation to paint 150 cement barricades that will form a bike lane on Lee St along the West End MARTA station. Sign up here!

Progress:

• 2014:
  • Received a grant from PeopleForBikes through the Green Lanes project to create visuals illustrating the street's potential (see above - thanks to our wonderful volunteers Matt and Marco) and spur community engagement on Lee Street.
  • Identified a community leader who organized a series of listening sessions in 2015 to gather neighbor feedback and spark ideas.
• 2015
  • Hosted a "Tweet and Greet" along with People for a Livable Lee Street on February 14, 2015 to get the community's input on what biking and walking on Lee Street is really like.
  • Petitioned the state transportation agency to restripe the Lee Street (and Peters Street, which connects via Castleberry Hill) in a way that would make it easier for the City of Atlanta to install a multi-use trail or protected bikeway on Lee Street. Status: the request was granted but the contractor did not receive a change order in time to make the change. This will not prevent the city from installing the trail or bikeway, however.
  • Asked city planners and elected officials to invest in transforming Lee Street into a street safe for biking and walking
• 2016
  • Atlanta Regional Commission included funding for Preliminary Engineering (first phase of any project) in the draft Transportation Improvement Plan update so the City of Atlanta could begin to design the trail facility along Lee Street. See Fact Sheet.
• 2017
  • The TransFormation Alliance – a diverse group of organizations representing government agencies, business partners, metro Atlanta’s transit agency, and the nonprofit community – was awarded $1 million in direct grant and technical assistance funds over the next three years. TransFormation Alliance demonstrated the potential for a new development style that focuses on equity, health, and environmental outcomes, with a focus on the Lee Street corridor, from the West End MARTA station to the Oakland City MARTA station in southwest Atlanta. 
• 2018
  • The Atlanta Regional Commission Board approved $88 million in transportation projects in the city of Atlanta through 2023. The Lee Street Trail was listed as a key project: "This 2.6-mile segment will run along Lee Street in southwest Atlanta from the West End MARTA station to the Lakewood/Ft. McPherson MARTA station. Plans call for portions to be raised, with a landscaped buffer from adjacent traffic."
• 2020
  • Atlanta Department of Transportation project Lee Street trail in "preconstruction" phase
• 2022
  • Additional funding included in Moving Atlanta Forward funding program
• 2023
  • Atlanta Artist Ashley Bella partners with MARTA Artbound and the Atlanta Department of Transportation to paint 150 cement barricades that will form a bike lane on Lee St along the West End MARTA station. Sign up here.

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