From the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition’s website…

Governor Nathan Deal [finalized] efforts to improve bicycling conditions and road safety in Georgia by signing HB 101, “The Better Bicycling Bill,” into law.

HB 101 modernizes a host of outdated bicycling laws in the state code and also implements a number of significant improvements for bicyclist and motorist safety. 101 makes lawful the sale and use of clipless pedals and recumbent-style bicycles, both popular and widely used in Georgia, which are technically illegal under the old code. Other changes include recognition of bicyclists’ right-of-way in dedicated bike lanes, establishing minimum design guidelines for bicycle lanes, and clarifying circumstances under which a cyclist may take the full travel lane due to unsafe conditions or obstructions.

Most significantly, however, a Senate amendment to the bill defines three feet as the minimum safe passing distance for motor vehicles overtaking cyclists. With the adoption of this law, Georgia joins a growing number of states with safe passing distance laws. Motor vehicles passing a cyclist too closely, known as “buzzing,” are a serious factor in causing bicycle crashes.

h/t: Fresh Loaf

Decatur Cemetery, Decatur GA (pic submitted by Chris)

Which would you rather have?

Parker points out this Sports Illustrated article written by Roy Blount Jr. in 1996 when Atlanta and Decatur were hoping with the energy and crowds of the 1996 Olympics.  For us newer residents, it’s a more detailed look at the event that really was a key part of Decatur’s turnaround.  Here are a couple quotes…

Decatur is part of metropolitan Atlanta. When I was growing up there, it was kind of like Leave It to Beaver, only with lots of black people tucked away in little ghettos with names like Eskimo Heights. Decatur was desegregating, slowly and awkwardly, when I moved away in 1968. My sister and only sibling, Susan, left in 1971. My father died in 1974, my mother in 1981. My roots attenuated.

But every so often my travels brought me to Atlanta, and I would drive out to Decatur square, where the old courthouse stands. I would stop to look at the bronze plaque that says ROY A. BLOUNT PLAZA. DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF A GREAT BUILDER OF HOMES AND SCHOOLS, AND THE RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM WHICH LIES UNDER THIS PLAZA.

…All over Decatur people are trying to master the Burkinabe handshake–you raise your right hand high as if to swear an oath, then you sweep your palm down across your partner’s, and the two of you finish by coming off each other’s fingertips into a finger snap. The shake comes from a time when Africans were capturing and selling one another into slavery: Slaves’ fingers were broken, so the snap proved you were free.

Following up on this story, after scoring a 50 on their health inspection in late April, Decatur Diner received a 94 on the retest.

Here’s a link to the report for those interested.