Dave writes in…

Have you noticed how the bike lines on Trinity and Ponce de Leon between Trinity and Scott are used as turn lanes or passing lanes? I’ve lost count of the number of times I was turning left off of Ponce onto Drexel and a long line of cars would go around me in the bike lane. My step son rides his bike from DHS home along Trinity and Ponce, and is constantly telling me stories about how there are people using the bike lanes as turn lanes into one of the churches or worse, just parked there while they wait to pick somebody up, depriving him the use of the bike lane.

All you in-town (uh…Midtown?) commuters probably already know about this, but for folks who do more casual traveling down Ponce, Briarcliff or Moreland into Atlanta, you might be interested in this.  From the Springdale Elementary website, which notes that this was completed a week ago …

The left northbound lane on Moreland will be converted to a left turn only and the arrow signal will remain. One left northbound lane on Briarcliff will be converted to a southbound left turn lane – leaving one northbound and two southbound through lanes. An arrow signal will also be added to the southbound left turn from Briarcliff to Ponce. Span wire signs will be eventually added over Moreland at the bottom of the hill to show lane designations ahead. A new crosswalk will go in at St. Charles Place and Briarcliff. Left turn only striping will be added on Briarcliff and Moreland.

Wonder how it’s workin’ out.  (Once upon a time, I tried traveling south on Briarcliff every morning.  Lord, was this intersection a dangerous mess.)

A lot has been made of Decatur’s almost-mythical, one-time refusal to become the railroad hub of the South.   As told by the Georgia Encyclopedia…

It is said that residents rejected a proposal by the Western and Atlantic Railroad to make Decatur a major stop on its new line because citizens did not want the noise, smoke, dirt, and confusion.

But few legends have ever been told about the city’s later plans to “macadamize” Ponce, College and Clairemont roads connecting to Druid Hills and Atlanta.

Why?  I have no idea!  But I found this great article from the April 24, 1911 edition of The Atlanta Georgian newspaper reporting on just that event! (Read it for yourself after the jump)

BTW: according to Merriam-Webster “macadamize” means :to construct or finish (a road) by compacting into a solid mass a layer of small broken stone on a convex well-drained roadbed and using a binder (as cement or asphalt) for the mass

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Ponce de Leon Ave @ Scott Boulevard (submitted by PMcG)