We’re thrilled to announce a new route for Atlanta Streets Alive. Actually, it’s a return to a much-loved previous route on the southside: connecting the West End to Grant Park along Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard and Georgia Avenue. 

This route will connect 7 neighborhoods via Ralph David Abernathy Blvd and Georgia Ave: West End, Westview, Adair Park, Pittsburgh, Mechanicsville, Summerhill, and Grant Park. 

Atlanta Streets Alive transforms our streets into living public spaces. Enjoy open streets for people to walk, bike, scoot, dance and more! Join us from 1-5 PM Sundays this fall: September 15, October 20, and November 17. 

History of West End to Grant Park route

On April 20, 2014, Propel ATL, then known as the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, debuted the first Atlanta Streets Alive program in southwest Atlanta. The 2.7-mile route in the Historic West End was created at the request of West End neighborhood leaders and organized in partnership with the community. 

The inaugural West End route along Ralph David Abernathy Blvd, Murphy Ave, and White St. provided an opportunity for residents to experience their neighborhood in a safer and more livable way. As Canopy Atlanta put it, West End’s Cultural Capital underground scene got “daylighted” at this route, with Kebbi Williams and other local artists bringing their contributions to the street. 

In April 2015, led by community insights shared during the Livable Lee Street listening session, we expanded the Atlanta Streets Alive West End route to include Lee Street. Community members who walked and biked along Lee Street viewed the road as a hazard as well as a barrier to public transportation and active living due to cars regularly speeding down the street. The new route included Lee St., along with Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. and White Street. Unfortunately, a tornado warning right before the kickoff and rainy weather put a damper on the date.

Still, with the impact of the 2014 and 2015 Atlanta Streets Alive: West End programs, residents in Summerhill appealed to organizers to bring the program to their neighborhood. 

In 2016 and 2017, the route was expanded to also include Westview, Adair Park, Pittsburgh, Mechanicsville, Summerhill, and Grant Park along Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. and Georgia Ave. 

Music in the Park brought music to the streets throughout, at one point bringing a 70-piece jazz orchestra. In 2017, organizers created a “Funkadelic Cyclicious” theme for the Streets Alive kickoff, with musicians playing from the backs of tandem bikes and trikes.

In 2018, in order to create new routes to reach more parts of the city, Atlanta Streets Alive did not take place in southwest Atlanta. Subsequently, a report by a researcher at Georgia Tech revealed that 6 out of the 10 most dangerous streets in Atlanta, known as the High-Injury Network, were located west of Northside Drive and South of I-20. (The High-Injury Network is made up of the streets where the most severe and fatal traffic collision occurred in Atlanta.) Due to the disproportionate concentration of dangerous traffic conditions on streets in southwest Atlanta, we embarked on an outreach effort to see if the community wanted Atlanta Streets Alive to return to Southwest Atlanta. 

The resulting 2019 route raised awareness about the disproportionate impact of the High-Injury Network. Through the joy of open streets, we sought the attention of city officials to address those deadly conditions and ensure safe streets for all. We also rallied community members to push back against funding cuts to the Cascade Road Complete Streets project. Parents and students from Tuskegee Airmen Global Academy Elementary School participated in the “Walk a Mile in Cascade’s Shoes” demonstration to raise awareness about the road’s conditions and urge city officials to #RespectCascade.

Photo: Rand Lines

In 2020, the global pandemic put a stop to large public gatherings. While on hiatus, we shifted gears to a longtime goal, advocating for the City of Atlanta to take over the initiative and make it happen monthly. That effort succeeded in 2022, and in 2023, Atlanta Streets Alive returned with monthly activations on Peachtree Street.