Atlanta knows how to handle big events. We’re the fourth most-visited city in the country, with 45 million visitors last year. Labor Day weekend, we saw record attendance for Dragon Con, while the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic went off without a hitch.
Many of Atlanta’s biggest events take place at Piedmont Park, including the Atlanta Jazz Festival, Dogwood Festival, Latino Festival and Music Midtown. Music Midtown brings an unmatched level of energy and excitement to the park and Midtown by attracting music lovers from across the city, state and nation every year. The festival has become an integral part of the city’s arts and cultural fabric.
At one time, the festival occurred over three days. That number is down to two, but that still means thousands of residents and visitors are expected to attend this year’s concert. The city is prepared to handle the crowd and ensure inconveniences to surrounding neighborhoods are minimized. We sympathize with the Midtown Neighbors’ Association concerns about the festival’s impact on Piedmont Park, as well as the traffic, parking and safety issues associated with the event. We will do everything the city can to alleviate any negative impacts Music Midtown might have on our neighbors.
The city is working closely with event organizers to ensure the festival is handled in the best way possible to minimize its impact on the park. Festival organizers are responsible for 100 percent of the costs for full restoration, and the city will make sure repairs are handled effectively and efficiently. Last year, festival organizers spent $100,000 to remediate the park and donated another $100,000 to the Piedmont Park Conservancy.
The Atlanta Police Department is working to address the impact of noise and traffic and the limited public parking in surrounding neighborhoods. Just as we are committed to protecting our green spaces, the city is committed to monitoring and managing crowds, excessive noise, traffic and illegal parking during these permitted events.
APD will have an expanded number of on and off-duty officers to execute the traffic plan for Music Midtown. We recognize the limited legal parking options around Piedmont Park. The event organizers and the city promote large-scale events like Music Midtown as a “green event,” meaning no parking will be available around the venue. Illegal parking will simply not be tolerated, and we are prepared not only to ticket vehicles, but to impound them. The city and event organizers are encouraging attendees to take MARTA to Music Midtown, and to walk or bike to the nearest MARTA station whenever possible.
While the closing of 10th Street may be an inconvenience for nearby residents, we find it necessary for a number of reasons. These include the number of walkers and bikers who overwhelm the capacity of the sidewalks, causing people to walk in the streets and create a public safety hazard. Further, the street closure allows for fast access to the venue and surrounding neighborhoods in case of an emergency. The city is confident the security and traffic plan for Music Midtown is built on sound practices and decades of experience.
Music Midtown not only supports our city’s art and culture community, it contributes to one of our most important initiatives – the Centers of Hope. Each year, the city receives a portion of the proceeds to use for ongoing maintenance and operations for our neighborhood parks; funding also goes to our Centers of Hope after-school program that engages Atlanta’s youth in healthy and safe activities.
Midtown is one of our city’s most thriving and dynamic neighborhoods, and Piedmont Park is the crown jewel of Atlanta’s park system. Make no mistake; the city will work tirelessly to protect two of our greatest assets during this year’s Midtown Music Festival.
Michael Geisler is Atlanta’s chief operating officer.
