The city’s Linda Harris forwarded this Decatur Police Department press release from Chief Mike Booker…

On Monday May 7, 2012 at approximately 5:30 pm, the Decatur Police Department was notified of an attempt by a stranger to lure a child into a motor vehicle near the 600 block of Commerce Drive. The juvenile male was approached by a black male driving a black Toyota Prius. The unknown subject attempted to entice the juvenile into the vehicle by offering him a free dog. The juvenile male subsequently fled on foot.

The suspect left the scene in an unknown direction. He is described as follows:
Black Male
20-30 years of age
Close cropped hair cut
Goatee, to include a 2-3 inch beard.

The vehicle is described as follows:
Black Toyota Prius with tinted windows displaying an unknown Georgia Tag.
Anyone observing this vehicle should contact the Decatur Police Department at 404-373-6551.

The “600 Block of Commerce Drive” seems to be just north of the intersection with East Ponce de Leon Ave.

If you attended the city’s open house on Monday this is all old hat to you.  But if you didn’t, you’ll want to check out this new city webpage which features maps, fact sheets and a general overview of pedestrian safety and bike improvements to the Commerce/Clairemont/Church Street corridors.

There’s even a questionnaire that was handed out at the session, which you can fill out and return to the city if you want to give official input to the project.

The developmental future of Commerce Drive is interesting to ponder.  It was built as a way to funnel cars around the heart of downtown Decatur.  It’s massive width tells the most ancient parts of your brain that it’s built for speed.  These mockups seem to indicate that transportation is still a key element of Commerce’s future, it’s just that peds and cyclists take up a larger footprint on the landscape.

But could Commerce ever become downtown Decatur’s third (Trinity is the second, IMO) east-west “A” street, extending the city’s downtown of walkable shops and restaurants? (Just to be clear, this is my question, not the city’s)

Never say never, but urban development around Commerce is all rather new, with no older, ped-friendly examples to get the ball rolling.  Slowing traffic and allowing more shoulder room for peds and cyclists is certainly a step in that direction.  But maybe I’m being too pie-in-the-sky.  For now, perhaps it’s best to focus on baby steps.  Mitigate the car’s footprint and its speed and then slowly over time, see what other urban elements grow up around it.

h/t: Patch

Bo writes in…

Just happened. Two cars totalled, airbags deployed, looks like everyone’s ok though. Happened down at the “big bend” near the cemetery entrance. They need speed traps or something down there before someone else dies.

How fast do you normally drive along Commerce?

This alternate route around downtown with it’s shamelessly cliche name has become a traffic nightmare and a physical barrier for downtown.  The faster the city can make it one lane, instead of two, the better.  A narrowing might even make the Kroger more attractive to pedestrians….that is if the Kroger were attractive to anyone.