BeltLine Charm
The Atlanta BeltLine is no longer
Atlanta’s best-kept secret. The success
of the Eastside Trail alone caused the
project’s popularity to explode, and it
shows no signs of letting up as new
parts of the project are completed.
To remind everyone to be neighbor-
ly and keep the BeltLine fun and enjoy-
able for all, the Atlanta BeltLine and
Atlanta Bicycle Coalition (
atlantabike.
org
)
teamed up to create an etiquette
campaign aptly titled #BeltLineCharm.
Friendly volunteers hold up signs with
simple reminders about courtesy on
the trails—things like moderating bike
speed, staying to the right when walk-
ing and exercising pet etiquette.
So,“Slow down, sugar!” and enjoy
the trail.
To see the signs, visit
beltline.org/
visit/atlanta-beltline-etiquette
.
with a creative way to demonstrate the
trail’s immediate value. A reporter on a
single-speed bike rode from one end of the
trail to the other. He raced against a trail
runner and a car plying the roads along
the same route. The cyclist beat the other
two handily. The runner was second. The
driver got stuck in traffic and came in last.
The race demonstrated what has
become the new reality for getting around
in Atlanta. A recent Census report found
increased rates of bicycle commuting in
Atlanta, and anecdotal evidence points to
the BeltLine as a central reason. The open-
ing ceremony for the Eastside Trail was
augmented by Atlanta Streets Alive, an
open-streets event that encourages residents
to get out and celebrate on foot or on bike.
The trail filled up immediately, prompting
some to say it could have been twice as
wide and still feel full. Today, the BeltLine
trail receives an estimated 3,000 users on a
weekday and 10,000 users on weekends.
Despite the popularity, or perhaps
because of it, the BeltLine has experi-
enced some of the crime that is part of
city life. The occasional stolen iPhone
and mugging spurred the city to create
a “PATH Force” of officers on foot and
bike patrolling the trail.
Development Wave
Going beyond transportation to economic
activity, the BeltLine has been an impetus
for significant private development. As of
July 2013, the BeltLine had stimulated
construction of more than 90 projects
along the Eastside Trail, either complete
or underway, including 8,908 residential
units and 870,700 square feet of commer-
cial space. In total, this development rep-
resents $1.1 billion of new taxable value
in the tax increment finance district.
“
Whenever [I] see any news story with
developers talking about something new
in Atlanta, they talk about their project
in relation to the BeltLine,” says Ethan
Davidson, director of communications
for the Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. “The center
of gravity has shifted. The BeltLine is the
equivalent of a waterfront destination.”
And this is just the first wave.
According to Gravel, now an architect
for Atlanta-based Perkins + Will, while
the neighborhoods not directly on the
BeltLine aren’t seeing this type of impact
yet, they likely will.
He explains, “[Development] creates
an economy around the lifestyle, and that
fuels more change.” He adds that most
retail is still physically separated from the
BeltLine. Things are changing, though;
for many businesses, what was once the
rear entrance has become the front door,
and many are shifting operations to create
a more welcoming trail-facing entrance.
Businesses several blocks from the
BeltLine are now advertising their prox-
imity and access to the trail, and some
are even planning to build connections
to it. One such connection under con-
sideration would link to a Kroger once
considered among the city’s least desirable
grocery stores, but now being referred to
with the moniker, “BeltLine Kroger.”
Of course, there is another side to the
development equation; as areas develop,
affordability in the housing market
becomes a concern. From the beginning,
Atlanta residents in economically under-
served parts of the city have worried about
the potential for the BeltLine to speed
up gentrification. On the Eastside, where
property values were higher to start, most
new housing on or near the BeltLine is
expensive. That’s a tribute to the trail’s abil-
ity to create an immediate lifestyle change
from car-centric to car-optional. People
who can go easy on the driving, or even
forgo private car ownership altogether—
economic development, transportation
and civic pride is distinct and spreading.
First, let’s talk transportation. Following
a failed 2012 referendum to establish a
sales tax that would fund more than $6 bil-
lion in transportation projects throughout
the region, it was easy to see the BeltLine’s
impact on the in-town vote. The referen-
dum failed dismally in the rest of metro
Atlanta, but passed with support from 50
percent of the electorate in the city itself.
Former Atlanta City Council President
Cathy Woolard was one of the project’s ear-
liest champions. As Woolard, now a board
member for Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., points
out, “Among urban dwellers, it has crystal-
lized what additional investment in transit
will do for the community, because once
they’ve been on the BeltLine, they under-
stand very clearly how quickly and easily
you can get [to] places that were previously
inaccessible. It connects all these neighbor-
hoods and helps people envision how they
would conduct their life with transit.”
When the Eastside Trail opened in
2012,
a local television station came up
As more and more users flock to the Eastside Trail in Atlanta, retailers, homeowners and
restaurateurs along the route are embracing trailside openings and trail-facing patios.
Jim Brown (3)
photo Courtesy beltline.org
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