You can read the story here.

Beltline 2.0 — Some questions and thoughts

Sometimes the right thing comes along at the right moment, and you can overdo a bit. I was looking for ways to enjoy the outdoors and get some exercise, and along comes the Beltline’s temporary trails, and for now, that’s my go-to place to explore the city, relax and be wow-ed either by nature or by the sunset or both.

So I was back on the trail Thursday night, in part to see the art works that had been vandalized (you can hear a piece on the vandalism by my fellow WABE freelancer Aleck Ragsdale here).

The vandalism sucks, obviously but I have other things on my mind.

Like, how will I be able to get from the Beltline to the Freedom Parkway Trail and vice versa? You can see the intersection of the two paths, and the steep drop that separates them in the photo above. (Note, I think the answers to some of my questions have been discussed, but I’m not sure where we are in the adoption or implementation processes).
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What’s before 1.0? Trying to describe Atlanta’s streetcar sitch

Thomas Wheatley at Creative Loafing sums up Atlanta’s transit situation nicely this afternoon with a post entitled “Atlanta tries again for streetcar while Charlotte pops the champagne.”

It details Atlanta’s second, much more modest attempt at winning federal dollars for a streetcar line while, Charlotte…wait for it….learns it’s already won federal money for streetcars!

Those lucky son of guns! I’m so happy for them. I mean, really. I mean, shoot, maybe I should move to Charlotte!

You can read his post here.

Alive and kicking (Beltline 2.0, cont’d)

I was back on the Beltline’s temporary trails over the weekend, and I saw something that was a bit amazing. And I don’t mean the art (but more on that in a minute)

Like conquering heroes, runners from the Peachtree Road Race were slowly walking from the race’s finish in Piedmont Park back to their homes/cars in Inman Park and beyond along the Beltline.

It just made the trail seem so useful!

By heading back to the Beltline on Sunday, I got in some traffic-free biking, which is key for someone like me who is really not ready to brave Atlanta’s drivers.

But my main objective was to snap a few photos of the art installations on the Beltline. (Just as a brief reminder, I access a short spur of the Beltline on Memorial Drive, and then take the Krog Tunnel to connect to the rest of the Northeastern section of the trail. Oh and I use a sturdy mountain bike — it would be tough-going on less robust bikes.)

There’s been a lot of hype, in my humble opinion, but I can tell you I was truly impressed by the innovative works of art I encountered along the path. They reference the South’s history, agriculture and economy. And it’s almost like an obstacle course where you want to check off each challenge. As I’ve mentioned, I still need to check off one big challenge: visiting the installations on the less developed Southwestern portion of the Beltline.

Anyway you can see my favorite work of art, and others in photos after the jump.
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It’s alive! The blog or the Beltline, take your pick

This is another post about the Beltline.

But this post is unlike anything else I’ve written about the Beltline.

That’s because yesterday I used the Beltline for what it’s intended for: I rode my bike on the Beltline from Glenwood Park to Piedmont Park.

I went somewhere. I changed my scenery. I took in the skyline. I got some exercise. I enjoyed some art. I peeked in the backyards of folks who are not even my neighbors. And I did it all on the Beltline, and so can anyone else in the city.

As usual, I’m late to the party, in this case in terms of what’s happening on the Beltline. I’ll blame it, and the unwitting hiatus this Web site’s been on, on my vacation.

But I hope you’ll find my bike ride interesting, because I really did.

I had written last year about the Beltline folks opening up temporary trails, and then promptly forgot about it, even as the calls for art went out, and radio pieces told me the art was up, and Angel Poventud’s Facebook statuses told me something was happening.

You know, the best things in life need to be experienced first-hand.

Now, to be sure, I really want to take a streetcar or light rail from my spur of the Beltline to other parts of the city. For all the hype and the money and the press releases, and the sense of importance, I want the thing to actually help solve a problem that desperately needs a solution. But that’s clearly going to have to wait. So……

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Turning around America’s dying cities — from “Reason”

I saw an article from Reason somewhere else on the Web that talks about Cleveland and other cities gasping for life.

There are so many great points here but I would like to just highlight one paragraph.

“When down-on-the-heels cities are not simply holding their hands out, they tend to work the same frayed ropes over and over again: building convention centers that will never make money, betting the farm on light-rail systems that always underperform, shoveling tax dollars at stadiums and sports franchises that don’t generate any new revenue, redeveloping the waterfront. If the basic definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again while praying for different results, then huge swaths of urban America are certifiably nuts. For its part, Cleveland has turned all the usual tricks and more while manifestly failing to address the most basic quality-of-life building blocks that might generate jobs, attract people, and build hope. What Cleveland and other slump towns refuse to do is decentralize and deregulate, pushing decisions and dollars back to the people so they can navigate their own courses through life.

You can find the whole story here.

Building has new life, and new address, too

I’ve been meaning to post a story I produced about the old Macy’s building in downtown Atlanta since last week. And a story in yesterday’s AJC reminded me to get going.

My piece was for WABE 90.1, and focused on one aspect of this building’s renewal: it now has two addresses. The upper floors of the building will remain 180 Peachtree Street, but the lower three floors, which are being converted to event and conference space, have been “re-addressed” to 200 Peachtree because the owners think that has more cachet.

You can find my piece here, and the AJC piece here. The AJC piece is very interesting, and goes into much more detail about the history of the building.

Addresses can be an interesting thing for companies. There are companies off of Powers Ferry Road in COBB COUNTY that have an Atlanta mailing address. I always find that one funny because the companies didn’t see fit to locate in Atlanta, but they know that around the country and around the world, no one knows Marietta but everyone knows Atlanta.

I hope the investors succeed in turning 200 Peachtree into a grand space. As I told one of the investors, even if I have a natural skepticism about any real estate development now and especially in downtown Atlanta, I am at the same time naturally excited by the idea of restoring a grand old building like the Macy’s building.

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