We have a good news/bad news situation developing in downtown Atlanta.
The good news is that the Atlanta Hawks are a very impressive, up-and-coming team, and poised to be really good team for a long time. The squad has been remarkably transformed under the guidance of General Manager Danny Ferry. The addition of coach Mike Budenholzer, forward Paul Millsap and the shedding of overpaid, under-achieving players have left the Hawks on the cusp of what could be a magical run the next few years. The return of Al Horford and the salary cap flexibility the team has, should make the squad a perennial powerhouse.
That’s the good news. The bad news is, the better the Hawks get, the worse traffic will get.
I went to the Hawks playoff game Saturday afternoon, and despite my plans to arrive at the arena an hour before tip off, my efforts were thwarted by bumper-to-bumper traffic. Traffic isn’t great getting to Philips Arena on a Wednesday night regular season game against the Milwaukee Bucks, but a sold out playoff game against the Indiana Pacers, made the roads unbearable.
The trek home was no better, as I spent a good 20 minutes just trying to escape the parking garage. Let Saturday’s game be a warning to Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed (who happened to be sitting court side), the Hawks are going to keep getting better and traffic is going to keep getting worse.
The addition of the College Football Hall of Fame to already popular attractions like the Georgia Aquarium, Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia World Congress Center will add even more gridlock to our downtown streets.
The mayor and the city need to develop some sort of traffic plan to keep things moving on Marietta Street, Ivan Allen Jr. Boulevard, Williams Street and Peachtree Street and other roadways. Police officers directing traffic helps, but only a little. A broader more drastic plan needs to be in place.
As fans drive to Philips Arena and the other downtown attractions, the city should look to making lanes reversible to accommodate the increased number of vehicles. The lanes could then be reversed after the event (Hawks game, etc…) to allow traffic to smoothly leave downtown.
Atlanta officials will have the Hawks off-season (hopefully not for a while) to study what can be done to improve traffic flow for fans heading to the arena. How do other cities deal with game-day traffic? What technologies could be useful to keep traffic moving? Aside from MARTA, which is still the best and easiest way to get downtown, are there any other mass transit options the city could start for fans to utilize?
The writing on the wall is clear, soon sell-outs for Hawks games will become the norm, not the exception. The time is now to develop a better way to make sure all fans are in their seats in time for the tip-off.
About the Author
