Public art -- both visual and performance -- has always been a fundamental component of the Atlanta BeltLine vision. Year five of the biannual Art on the BeltLine kicks off with The Lantern Parade this September 6. Over 240 proposals were vetted for artistic merit, concept originality, feasibility and community engagement with almost 100 visual and performance pieces selected. In similar news, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. has received a $100,000 National Endowment for the Arts Grant to build … [Read more...]
BeltLine Etiquette: Being Polite Could Save Life & Limb
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In the opening scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, we learn something about trail etiquette from America’s most courteous and virtuous superhero. As a man is running on a trail around the National Mall we see the good Captain Steve Rogers suddenly blow past him at five times his pace. We watch him lap the man a total of three times, each time calling out “on your left!” as he zooms by at superhuman speeds. It’s something for those moving at the fastest speeds on the BeltLine to … [Read more...]
Will the BeltLine Birth New Pedestrianism?
Here’s some keen insight into the obvious: folks want to live in neighborhoods that are walkable and near bike paths. This trend is so pervasive it could actually change the way new neighborhoods are planned and built. Consider Highland Park on the BeltLine Eastside Trail. Demand for these homes has been astonishing, with bidding wars on every new home offered for sale. So prized is the site’s proximity to the BeltLine, the homes are being built facing the trail. This unique orientation of … [Read more...]
A Tale of Three Trails
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The BeltLine vision has always been about daisy-chaining communities. Turns out the original theme of connecting a loop of 45 historic intown Atlanta neighborhoods is just the beginning. As the BeltLine evolves it is becoming the central hub of a multi-county spoke-and-hub trail network. Three significant spoke trails are in various stages of development that will connect intown Atlanta to places as far away as Anniston, AL. Here are some details on a triumvirate of unbuckled versions of the … [Read more...]
Ribbon Run 2014
Next time you’re on the Beltline, put on your customer-survey hat and ask a few folks this question: What’s the missing ingredient in Atlanta? The answers you’ll get will be entertaining! You might hear about lower rent, less traffic, stronger schools...you also might hear about better connection, neighborly neighbors, safe streets, interdependent living - in other words, community! Living in a true community where each resident is treasured is a dream for all of us. The Atlanta Dream … [Read more...]
My BeltLine Sojourn of ’94
In his remarks at the BeltLine Eastside Trail dedication, Mayor Kasim Reed expressed mock surprise at not uncovering dead bodies while clearing the former rail corridor. For too many years it was that sort of urban wilderness, a scary place where only outlaws and the homeless would go. This I know from a sojourn down those tracks in the spring of 1994, No, I did not imagine that morning rails-to-trails redevelopment, a distinction belonging to Ryan Gravel. My selfish purpose had more to do with … [Read more...]
New Horizons: Adair Park and the Westside Trail
Let me just say from the outset that I’m a park guy. I devote a lot of energy to preserving old and establishing new greenspace in the urban landscape. The BeltLine is a linear park, so you'll understand my affinity. When I moved to the Old Fourth Ward in 2004, the BeltLine was a vision, but the reality was a corridor covered in kudzu – wrong kind of greenspace. Parts of the neighborhood had begun to show some life, but from where I lived a walk to Cabbagetown was the closest beer. Edgewood … [Read more...]
P3 Could Fast Track Streetcars on the BeltLine
Atlanta’s very first electric streetcar was an entirely private venture. Joel Hurt owned some dirt outside the city that he developed into Inman Park, Atlanta’s first planned subdivision. In 1886 Hurt connected Inman Park to his Equitable Building, Atlanta’s first downtown skyscraper, with a streetcar that ran east and west on Edgewood Avenue. The Atlanta and Edgewood Street Railway Company would claim yet another first as America’s first profitable streetcar line. The era of the … [Read more...]
Experiencing the BeltLine From Inside and Out
Whether Biking, Walking or Taking a Bus tour, the BeltLine is an amazing journey You know how things come in bunches? Like all of the sudden a name comes up in conversation several times in one day that is from totally unrelated people. Well that’s what happened to me with the BeltLine. I of course have known about all the progress on the Beltline from all the press releases and e-mail updates I get from the BeltLine folks all the time. After all, Southeast Green has become a destination … [Read more...]
Atlanta BeltLine Bicycle Shop
Location, location, location – we’ve all heard that joke and Atlanta Beltline Bicycle Shop (ABBS) is LOL. Every day the Eastside Trail of the Beltline is heavily used by active urbanites. Some of these urban travelers are bringing bicycling back to the ATL. In the late 19th century there were more bike shops on Peachtree Road than banks. Bike races at the velodrome were bigger than baseball with the Atlanta Crackers, and ladies and gents rode their bicycles out to picnics and parties. Today … [Read more...]
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