Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID) are pressing ahead with efforts to restore downtown's urban canopy under the Downtown Urban Tree Planting Plan. To commemorate the initiative, the two organizations held a ceremonial tree planting with Mayor Andre Dickens near Underground Atlanta and the Five Points MARTA Station. Trees Atlanta and the City of Atlanta took part alongside them. CAP and ADID present the canopy work as a step toward a greener, more beautiful city.
On a separate track, CAP and ADID have committed to investing over $15 million during the next three years in transportation and public space improvements. The goal, as the groups frame it, is to offer more ways to get around, ease traffic congestion and lessen how much downtown depends on automobiles.
Two projects completed
CAP and ADID also report that two key projects have recently wrapped up, both through partnerships linking CAP and ADID with ATLDOT and local stakeholders.
The first widened the sidewalks on Courtland Street between Renaissance Parkway and Currier Street, an expansion CAP and ADID describe as much-needed. In their account, Courtland had been a car-dominated road, and the extra width has made it far easier to walk, as well as safer and more accessible for all users.
The second added a new protected bicycle lane on M.L. King Jr. Drive (see our earlier coverage of the lane). It runs five blocks, from Forsyth Street to Capitol Avenue, and sets aside space just for people riding bikes. According to the organizations, the lane contributes to slower vehicle speeds and, in the end, safer streets for everyone.
Work still underway
CAP and ADID say downtown is on its way to becoming friendlier to people on foot and on bikes. They point to several ongoing initiatives: the South Downtown Transportation Plan, the Sweet Auburn Community Infrastructure Project and the planned installation of further bike lanes.
The organizations close with an invitation to everyone to "stroll, spin, and discover the beauty of a safer, more accessible city center."
Reported by Rough Draft Atlanta.
