We don’t need no stinkin’ bike lanes

Buckhead, once a land of farms and rolling estates where the well-to-do ventured during the summer, came of age far outside Downtown’s hustle and bustle. And today the wide roads serving the affluent communities are basically parking lots.

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Count Peachtree Road among those congested streets. The stretch of Atlanta’s most famous road is about to be restriped to try to bring order to chaos. But a fresh layer of asphalt might not be enough to ease the commute for bicyclists.

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The Buckhead Community Improvement District, working with the Georgia Department of Transportation, has pushed a plan to improve a nearly 4-mile stretch of Peachtree between Brookwood and Shadowlawn Drive. Proposals included a so-called road diet that would remove one lane and add a bike lane to each direction. Bicyclists cheered.

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But many Buckhead residents and business leaders cried foul. In separate meetings about the restriping proposal and the city’s long-range bicycling plan, most residents have balked. They voiced concerns that losing lanes for cars would only add to gridlock, causing automobiles to clog adjacent residential streets.

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The debate has centered around bikes versus cars. But some officials have noted that the issue involves a growing population using a stretched-to-the-limits transportation network — and the headaches that creates.

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“This is not a matter of cyclists versus drivers,” says Atlanta Planning Commissioner Tim Keane. “We all share the same realities when it comes to congestion in our streets. For the quality of life in Atlanta to improve, as the city grows, more and more people have to find a way to get around other than the car.”

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On Thurs., Oct. 29, GDOT will present the final draft of the controversial proposal. According to Buckhead CID Executive Director Jim Durrett bike lanes would only appear on Peachtree from Brookwood to Peachtree Battle Avenue. A center turn lane would be added to try to prevent gridlock. He says that plan balances safety, improves mobility, provides a future connection to the Atlanta Beltline, and respects neighborhoods.

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But Atlanta City Councilperson Mary Norwood thinks GDOT should build a “pedestrian boulevard” instead of bike lanes on Peachtree’s southern stretch. Existing trails bicyclists already use west and east of Peachtree, plus a new bridge over Peachtree Creek, is a better investment.  

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“There are people who feel that will be a good solution and those who think that won’t solve concerns,” Norwood says. “Let’s use our creeks and multi-purpose trail systems to get bicyclists safe to Buckhead.”

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The public is invited to voice their concerns at the Shepherd Center on Thurs., Oct. 29, on Peachtree Road starting at 5 p.m.

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Miranda Hawkins contributed reporting.