Day: July 7, 2011

Bermuda Paper Recommends Atlanta for Vacation

Royal Gazette reporter Robyn Skinner recently wrote an article for the Bermudian paper titled, “Atlanta: an exciting city worth visiting“.  With the bad press Atlanta’s been receiving lately from the travel mags, I figured this was probably some good medicine.  Here we go…

Without a doubt the second reason for visiting Atlanta is the generosity of the people. Honestly, how many places have you visited where a stranger on the train offers to call your hotel for you? And where else can you go where the person selling you tickets for an exhibit gives you hints on how to save your money in their city? Or where the servers are so friendly in restaurants they offer to walk you to the pharmacy you need to find? That never happened in New York City (sorry NYC, I love you, but …..)

The article glows (yes, glows) on from there.  Of course, not all ATL tourist destinations are what they’re cracked up to be.  Even for this southern-struck writer.

Here I will have to interject with one NOT to do in Atlanta: Do not visit the Atlantic Underground. The guides exclaimed: “the best nightlife”, “great shops” and on and on. Well, I tried it at night and I tried it during the day and I would say……SKIP IT. There was no nightlife to speak of and the shops were…..well if you want to shop in Atlanta you can find a better place.

I guess it sorta makes sense.  If you live near some of the greatest beaches in the world, you’re not looking for a beach vacation.  Sure you can go to any number of other interesting U.S. cities, but if you want to avoid the ocean for a week, where better to lose yourself than amongst the trees of Atlanta?

h/t: Atlanta Business Chronicle

DeKalb History Lunch & Learn – Cliff Kuhn Talks Arthur Raper

From Melissa Forgey at the DeKalb History Center sends along the info for this month’s Lunch & Learn on Tuesday July 19th at noon…

The DeKalb History Center’s Lunch and Learn Lecture Series continues in July with a presentation by Professor Clifford Kuhn of Georgia State University.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Decatur resident Arthur Raper was one of the South’s leading liberals. Raper’s work as research secretary for the Commission on Interracial Cooperation and as a founding member of the Southern Conference for Human Welfare, his classic works on lynching and the plantation South, and his involvement with the New Deal have all been amply chronicled in the historical literature. However, from 1932 to 1939, Raper also taught sociology at Agnes Scott College, an experience largely neglected in the literature. An examination of Raper’s sometimes controversial tenure at Agnes Scott reveals an important yet forgotten dimension of his life, an experience he himself later referred to as perhaps his “finest hour.” It also sheds light on white women’s education of the period.

 

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Ponce @ Nelson Ferry Roundabout Possible But Needs Support and Land

Decatur’s City Planner Amanda Thompson recently provide me with this official response regarding the construction of a roundabout at the five-way intersection of West Ponce de Leon Ave, Nelson Ferry Road, Northern Ave and the Credit Union parking lot.  Al provided me with this Google Map view of the North Decatur @ Lullwater roundabout super-imposed over the intersection a while back.

I contacted one of our local traffic engineers, Sean Johnston with Kimley Horn, to give me a quick opinion on the feasibility of a roundabout at Northern/West Ponce/Nelson’s Ferry.

He stated, “I think a modern single-lane roundabout, similar in scale but a little larger than the one on North Decatur Road at Lullwater near Emory, might work here. There are some challenges – you’d probably need some right-of-way from the church playground and the post office, the grade on Northern is steep, and roundabouts work better with relatively even traffic volume distribution among intersecting streets.”

For those of you who are not familiar with transportation terms “right of way” means land. So based on the engineer’s initial assessment there is not enough existing pavement between all the curbs to build a roundabout.

This project is not identified in the Community Transportation Plan or the 2010 Strategic Plan. So it would need significant community support to become part of our transportation program and for the City to pursue funding. Occasionally, the Georgia Department of Transportation will help fund roundabouts if the City prepares a concept study showing whether or not the roundabout will work.

The good news is that the City will kick off the re-design of the Commerce/Clairemont Avenue and Commerce/Church Street intersections within the next couple of weeks. Roundabouts are one of the options that will be considered. Check the Decatur Focus and www.decaturga.com for information on the dates for public input.