Our vision for Lee Street, documented by volunteer planners Matt and Marco in 2015.
Lee Street in Southwest Atlanta represents a tremendous traffic safety challenge and barrier to access — but also an opportunity to reconnect communities.
Currently a five to six lane arterial with speeding cars and unsafe crossings, Lee is flat and traverses many neighborhoods including the West End, Adair Park, and Capitol View with Downtown Atlanta and the BeltLine Westside Trail, as well as five MARTA stations and Fort McPherson.
Residents and Propel ATL supports have advocated to transform this dangerous barrier into a community-centered street with safe and connected bikeways and improved crossings for years now.
In December 2023, local cyclist Tom Duncan was killed by a car driver while supporting a group ride on Lee Street. The bike communities of Atlanta turned out in force to remember him and call for change.
We're advocating to propel the existing project on Lee Street forward faster. Right now the City of Atlanta plans to complete the trail in July of 2028...
Contact your Atlanta City leaders to let them know the time is now for Lee Street!
Timeline of Propel ATL, partner, and community actions
- 2023: MARTA Artbound partnered with Atlanta Artist Ashley Bella and the Atlanta Department of Transportation to paint 150 cement barricades to form a protected bike lane on Lee St along the West End MARTA station. Propel ATL staff and supporters volunteered to help. Learn more.
- 2022: Secured additional funding through the Moving Atlanta Forward program
- 2020: Atlanta Department of Transportation project Lee Street trail in "preconstruction" phase
- 2019 Lee Street included in Mayor's Action Plan for Safer Streets
- 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."
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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. Worked with a community leader who organized a series of listening sessions in 2015 to gather neighbor feedback and spark ideas.