Feel the Atlanta Beltline, See the Changes
Decatur Metro | May 26, 2011
I’ve read a lot about the Beltline over the past few years, but even after pouring over countless maps, mock-ups and written descriptions it’s still quite difficult to get a great FEEL the Atlanta loop without walking it.
Well, here’s the next best thing. Beltline-advocate extraordinaire Angel Luis Poventud has created a Facebook album of 56 Before/After photos along the currently under-construction East Trail. It’s so great, it’ll make you wish the Beltline passed right through Decatur!
Photo above courtesy of Angel’s album – from Freedom Parkway looking south
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Walking the Beltline really makes for a fun afternoon. Definitely gives you an interesting perspective on the city. Irwin Street market is right on the path and has Jake’s Ice Cream and King of Pops. Some cool street art and sculpture installations too.
` It’s so great, it’ll make you wish the Beltline passed right through Decatur!
Why exactly? The Beltline ROW is largely uninterrupted (at-grade crossings are few), but ABI will change that, in service of automobiles.
Um…OK. Not sure I was being quite that literal.
Maybe I was unclear (in anticipating your response). What makes it great?
Anyway, there’s a good chance that ABI will undercut what you think is great about the Beltline. Let’s learn the lesson of Frannie and diligently monitor public-private partnerships (PPP or P3… “leveraging” private dollars is all the rage).
Beyond the light rail and bike path, I’m just impressed by how diverse and visually interesting this corridor is. That’s all I was stating in this particular post. It wasn’t a comment about larger public-private partnerships, though I’m happy to discuss that too.
Thanks for the follow-up, DM. The Beltline ROW provides a very different (and interesting) view of our surroundings, and it is easy to project our desires onto its canvas. I think it’s important to be clear about what we want to see on/along the Beltline and to advocate for specific outcomes, lest we somewhat blindly empower ABI to deliver what suits their interest.
Will there be diversity later on? It could be a monotonous chain of mixed-use developments (and the requisite accommodations to commerce). How many teams of designers are engaged? Will the developers and their preferred architects vary?
Good points. So how do we make sure they live up to our high standards?
I have ridden the Beltline Bike Tour for the last two years. A year ago I rode on the east side trail on my mountain bike. This year the whole family went on the “Sweet” ride. I strongly recommend next years beltline ride as a way to see more of the beltline. The ease side trail is currently under construction.
Are there any remaining options for guided tours of the beltline now?
I know there used to be some occasionally. Is there bike path or at least a reasonably safe route for biking the whole thing?
http://beltline.org/GetInvolved/TourtheBeltLine/tabid/1746/Default.aspx
To anyone interested, I’d highly suggest a self-guided mountain bike tour of the Beltline. I’ve been riding parts of this on the evenings and weekends and it’s an amazing way to see parts of the city that most don’t even know about. I just took a few minutes and made some maps:
NE Beltline: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4535784 – 4.3 miles from Dekalb Avenue (near Krog Tunnel), past Piedmont Park, to the Sweetwater Brewery. The southern 2.5 miles are being paved right now (as this post says), so avoid this during regular working hours, lest you get dirty looks from construction workers. You have to duck through a fence where the path crosses the new access road into Piedmont Park. The hole is hard to find, but trust me, it’s there. The final 3/4 mile still has abandoned railroad tracks, so it’s kind of rough. You end up crossing I85 through a tunnel, then it’s an easy ride over to Armour drive for a beer at Sweetwater!
SW Beltline: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4535771 – 3.2 miles from Adair park to Washington park. This section is amazing! Really interesting tunnels and not a single at-grade road crossing the whole way. Access at Allene and Catherine. Rough in spots, so a mountain bike or very sturdy hybrid is a must! Trail suddenly ends just north of Washington Park.
SE Beltline: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4535795 – 5 miles from Reynoldstown (near the Krog tunnel) to Adair Park. The final four miles still has active rail line, but according to a recent CL story, only 2-3 trains a week use it. I’ve never seen one. You’re also technically trespassing on this section, but there’s really no one around to complain. The tracks make it very rough, so it’s the least enjoyable section to ride. However, very cool tunnels under Hank Aaron and the 75/85, and a couple neat elevated trestles also.
NE Beltline: very active rail. Never attempted. However, you can get into the Bellwood Quarry grounds and view the Quarry from an elevated platform: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4535812 – 3.3 miles from Washington Park to the Quarry. The section on Grove Park is closed to traffic and has a very cool, post-apocalyptic feel (kudzu growing up unused streetlights, fire hydrants, etc.!) The beltline people have built a nice elevated deck that allows you to see down into the quarry. It’s kind of surreal – a really deep hole with aqua blue water at the botton – and an absolute must-see.
There you go. As I’ve been exploring these sections, I’ve thought it such a shame that so few people know about this. Now everyone has weekend plans!
(btw: longest comment in history?)
Oops! Typos in last description. Should read “NW Beltline” and “bottom”