City of Atlanta CDP

Bicycle Facilities

Current Conditions

Currently, less than one percent of Atlanta’s residents commute to work or school by bike.  The City and its residents are, however, making an effort to increase bicycle awareness and improve cycling conditions.  The promotion of cycling as a viable mode of transportation is especially important due to regional air quality considerations.  By providing safe and convenient bicycle facilities, the City hopes to increase bicycle ridership, thereby reducing dependence on motorized travel.  The City has made much progress in recent years toward providing bicycle facilities for the public.  Three formal programs exist.  They are the City of Atlanta Greenway Trail Corridor Plan, the Atlanta Commuter On-Street Bike Plan, and the City of Atlanta Bicycle Parking Program.

Greenway Trail Corridor Plan

The City of Atlanta Greenway Trail Corridor Plan was developed through a Citywide, volunteer-sponsored, public participation process in 1991-92.  The City and the PATH Foundation in October 1992 published the final Plan.  In 1993, the Greenway Trail Corridor Plan became part of the larger Atlanta Parks, Open Space, and Greenways Plan.  Since that time, the City of Atlanta has worked jointly with the PATH Foundation to implement the Greenway Trail Corridor Plan.  Five trails have been completed and six are under design or construction.   Greenway trails are to be used for non-motorized forms of transit, such as walking, jogging, cycling, and skating.  They will provide transportation and recreational opportunities as well as safe, easy access to schools, workplaces, major activity centers, parks, and historic and cultural facilities for all City residents.

Atlanta Commuter On-street Bike Plan

The Atlanta Commuter On-Street Bike Plan seeks to develop a safe transportation network geared toward moving commuter cyclists through the City.  The Atlanta Commuter On-Street Bike Plan was developed in 1995 by the Bureau of Planning and the Mayor’s Bicycle Planning Committee, which included representatives from the Department of Public Works, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Atlanta Regional Commission, the PATH Foundation, neighborhood planning units, and local bicycle organizations.  The Commuter On-Street Bike Plan calls for designated bicycle routes including bike lanes, bike shoulders, wide curb lanes, and shared travel lanes to be installed on existing streets.  The Plan also identifies policies, implementation strategies, design standards, and other related bicycle information.   In 2002, the on-street bike plan received an update to reflect completed routes and changes to planned routes. Over the next 10 years, over 300 miles of designated bike routes are to be installed in the City.

Bicycle Parking Program

The City of Atlanta Bicycle Parking Program was initiated in 1994 when City Council President Marvin Arrington and Councilmember Mary Davis organized the City Council Bicycle Parking Task Force to examine bicycle parking issues and needs throughout the City.  The Committee worked closely with the Mayor’s Bicycle Planning Committee and the Corporation for Olympic Development in Atlanta to install almost 200 bike racks in the City prior to the Olympic Games.  Additional bicycle racks have been donated to the City and will be installed in locations Citywide.  The Department of Planning and Development is prioritizing suggested locations submitted by neighborhood planning units, cycling organizations, the Atlanta Bicycle Planning Committee, and concerned citizens.

Atlanta Bicycle Planning Committee

On December 2, 1996 the membership of the Mayor’s Bicycle Planning Committee and the City Council Bicycle Parking Task Force were officially merged to form the Atlanta Bicycle Planning Committee.  Members include representatives from City departments, the Atlanta Regional Commission, the Georgia Department of Transportation, MARTA, the PATH Foundation, neighborhood planning units, and area bicycle organizations.  The Committee works with the City to help implement the City’s bicycle programs and guide bicycle policy.  Committee meetings are open to the public and all participants are welcome.

Anticipated Future Conditions

The City will continue to work with the PATH Foundation to construct the City’s greenway trail system.  Eventually, these handicapped accessible, multi-use trails will link the City’s neighborhoods and parks with each other, with commercial districts, and with cultural and historic resources.  It will be possible for a resident from Southwest Atlanta to travel by trail from Greenbriar Mall to Fernbank Museum or to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.  It is anticipated that the greenway trail system will be used by 50 percent of the surrounding population for transportation and recreational uses.

The City will continue to work with the Atlanta Bicycle Planning Committee to implement the Commuter On-Street Bike Plan.  New routes will be designed each year.  Major routes, designated as one- and five-year projects in the Commuter On-Street Bike Plan, will be constructed primarily as bike lanes and may require road widening.  Other bicycle routes may be constructed as part of scheduled road improvement projects.

The City and the Atlanta Bicycle Planning Committee will work to develop policies regarding bicycle parking.  Efforts will be made to increase the provision of bicycle parking facilities in new commercial and residential developments.  The City will also increase bicycle-parking facilities in public areas and investigate programs that would encourage private property owners to improve bicycle-parking facilities in existing private developments. 

Current Policies

1. Increase bicycle ridership as a viable mode of transportation by providing a network of on-street bikeways that is accessible to all neighborhoods and serves residents, commuters and visitors.
2. Incorporate bicycle facilities into the City’s transportation planning process.
3. Promote bicycle safety, education, and awareness.
4. Provide efficient and effective maintenance on all on-street bike facilities, thereby providing optimal commuting and recreational opportunities.
5. Promote the provision of pedestrian and bicycle transportation facilities in new commercial and residential developments.
6. Develop a system of multi-use recreational trails within the open space and greenways system, for use by all ages.

Current Programs and Projects

Several new greenway trails are under design or construction including sections of the Chattahoochee Trail and Fort Peachtree Trail, the Arts District Trail from Downtown to Atlanta Memorial Park, the Southtowne Trail, Freedom Trail, and the West End Trail.

Work has begun on the five-year priority bike routes listed in the Commuter On-Street Bike Plan.  These include North Highland Avenue, Cascade Road, Berne Street, Wesley Road, James Jackson Parkway, Jonesboro Road, Browns Mill Road, and Flat Shoals Avenue.  These projects are inter-jurisdictional routes that link major activity centers, MARTA transit stations, and greenway trails.  They are important to the success of the on-street network since they provide the basic trunk system and connections to all other bike routes.  They will be constructed primarily as bike lanes, which may require widening some affected streets.  Other on-street routes may be implemented in conjunction with scheduled road improvement projects such as Lenox Road and Campbellton Road.

The City is in the process of installing additional bicycle racks Citywide.  Suggestions for locations have been solicited from neighborhood planning units, cycling organizations, and the Atlanta Bicycle Planning Committee.  Criteria have been developed to determine final locations.

Project List 9-12: 2004 CDP Transportation Current Programs and Projects – Bicycle Facilities

New, Completed, and Deleted Programs and Projects

Project List 9-13: 2004 CDP Transportation New Programs and Projects – Bicycle Faciltiies

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