Strap on your helmet and help raise bicycle awareness with a ride to the Capitol with Mayor Floyd and Commissioner Fred Boykin next Tuesday, March 3rd!

The Decatur group will leave the East Lake MARTA station north parking lot at 10:45a on a police-escorted ride that should reach the Capitol around 11:40a.

For all the details, click here.

Oh snap!

Though Scott and E reported that smart growth “godfather” Andres Duany mentioned Decatur in a recent presentation, they didn’t mention how, in the words of CL’s Thomas Wheatley,  “deliciously brutal” he was about metro-Atlanta.

For instance…ehem…wanna make sure I get this right…

“If Decatur’s great, it’s only in the absence of anything better.”

And while that particular nugget certainly stings more than just a little for a community that’s been trying hard to reverse its bad development practices for over 20 years, you’ll probably find yourself agreeing with Duany as he turns his attention to other, less flattering aspects of Atlanta’s urban landscape.

All of these delightful Duany bites can be found in Wheatley’s post over on Fresh Loaf.

Today’s interesting fact comes straight from an AJC article predicting nothing resembling sunshine for GA’s economy over the next two years.

“Georgia has about 3.9 million jobs, nearly 60 percent in metro Atlanta.”

Hopefully our state legislature can keep this “60%” number in mind when its doling out federal stimulus money.  This ain’t time to overdo the favors to other, redder areas the state.  You need to keep Atlanta healthy and vibrant, otherwise GA can just go back to being Alabama.

A recent study released by the traffic information firm INRIX shows that Atlanta’s traffic congestion dropped 36% in 2008 to the 12th worst in the nation from the 10th worst the year before .

But is this drop in congestion something to cheer about?  Well certainly high gas prices – while they lasted – had something to do with it.  However the other major factor contributing to a 30% drop in congestion nationwide this past year is a slowed economy.  Less people commuting to jobs, fewer goods being shipped, etc…

So you be the judge.

Did Atlanta drop from 10th to 12th because we saw a larger percentage of people hop on public transportation than our U.S. city competition?  Or is our economy actually just slowing at a faster rate than cities like 10th ranked Minneapolis or 11th ranked Philly?  The answer is some kind of combination of those two.

h/t: Atlanta Business Chronicle

Intrepid Rus reports that Caribbean Harry’s grand opening is this tomorrow February 27th, with live reggae music and $3 Draft beer.

Its opening in the old Birdi’s space on the Square.