Go Play in the Street
Unless you’re just itching to see the inside of an emergency room, strolling down the middle of Piedmont Avenue on a Sunday afternoon isn’t likely to appear on your “Things to Do This Weekend” list. But if the organizers of Atlanta Streets Alive have their way about it, you’ll make it a habit.
May 23 Atlanta will join several other cities that occasionally pedestrianize parts of major streets for a few hours, converting them into a combination street festival and temporary bike route.
Atlanta Streets Alive, which is a project of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition , is scheduled for 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and aims to “provide a model of how cities can provide healthy, environmental friendly outdoor activities for their residents,” according to the event’s “About” page. It’s a first-of-its-kind event here, where even intown neighborhoods are notoriously car-centric.
According to ASA’s current map (click it to enlarge the microscopic print), the route will include Piedmont between Edgewood and North Avenue, North Avenue between Piedmont and Glen Iris/Randolph, Glen Iris/Randolph between North Avenue and Edgewood, one lane of Edgwood Avenue between Randolph and Peachtree and Auburn Avenue between Peachtree and Piedmont.
You might be about fest-ed out by now, and the Jazz Festival is still to come the following weekend, but for pure novelty, this sounds like one worth working into your schedule.
Thanks for sharing this, Tamra! I’m looking forward to this. It’s inspired by the Ciclovias held throughout Latin America, the largest of which is in Bogota. Every Sunday they block off 70 miles of streets and almost 2 million people ride and walk around, participate in huge group aerobics classes, rollerskate, etc. Cool and informative video here http://www.streetfilms.org/ciclovia/
Biking is a WONDERFUL way to see and experience the city, but for people who are just starting to remember how to ride a bike, riding with traffic can be absolutely terrifying. This is a small start, but still a start – hopefully it’ll get people out on bikes or at least out on their feet, seeing our city from a different angle. I’ll be around, look for me on my orange bike!
I think it’s going to be REALLY cool. I live right on one of the streets that’s going to be closed, so I don’t even have to “go” to it, it’s coming to me!
Just thought your readers might like to know about People of Public Transit in Atlanta.
http://www.peopleofpublictransit.com/tag/atlanta-georgia/
Thanks!
2 Things:
1) The Atlanta Streets Alive route has been significantly modified so be sure to check out the new route.
2) I hope I’m not out of line here but I wanted to mention that the day before Atlanta Streets Alive is the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Festival which will be epicentered at Social Restaurant behind the French American Brasserie. It will include live music, a scavenger hunt and a tour of Downtown rooftops that will feature food, drinks, music, and fantastic views of the city from on high. So come spend a whole weekend with us Downtowners!
I’ll be volunteering for both so be sure to say Hi!