Memorial Drive, the east-west spine that connects Atlanta’s iconic Peachtree Street to DeKalb’s Stone Mountain Freeway, often evokes negative and positive impressions.
The negatives are easy: Congested. Dangerous. Unattractive. Ignored.
The positives, however, are hard to ignore. It’s a corridor with its own Wikipedia page. Memorial Drive is home to the new headquarters for Habitat for Humanity, the Atlanta Police Department’s Beltline Path Force and its neighbor, Trees Atlanta.
The corridor also boasts five public school facilities, Historic Oakland Cemetery, Memorial, Walker and East Lake parks, more than 10 churches, two YMCA facilities, an eclectic mix of restaurants and bars, mixed-used developments, rental and owner-occupied multi-family housing, and most importantly, the front, side and back yards of the homes of hundreds of Atlanta residents.
Now added to this list of positives is the attention of a group of stakeholders who dare to imagine a revitalized Memorial Drive.
The idea for re-imagining the corridor came from a Reynoldstown neighbor who wanted to transform unattractive, vacant buildings into pop-up art venues. While I liked her idea, it was obvious the corridor needed more.
At a quickly convened meeting with government and quasi-government agencies, there was consensus that developing a coordinated master plan that encompassed existing neighborhood plans would enhance our ability to leverage resources and attract more implementation dollars. Someone suggested I talk to Georgia Tech Professor Michael Dobbins about selecting Memorial Drive as his next urban planning studio project.
My pitch to Dobbins was simple: Memorial Drive would give planning and architectural graduate students the unique opportunity to work with a diverse group of residential and business stakeholders. It would also challenge students’ abilities to coordinate plans and resources of government and quasi-government entities such as Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb counties, the state of Georgia, MARTA, Invest Atlanta and the Atlanta Public Schools.
The idea intrigued Dobbins. So it came as little surprise when “Imagine Memorial” was selected for his 2014 Fall Urban Planning Studio. Since that time, more than 20 Tech students have studied the corridor and all pre-existing master plans and zoning classifications and have participated in meetings in corridor neighborhoods.
Here’s what we have learned thus far:
There is unquestionable interest in this project. More than 100 neighbors and others have participated in one or more Imagine Memorial meetings. Participants exchanged ideas with each other and the students. Some of the ideas include working with the Georgia Department of Transportation for better coordinated signalization; elimination or re-design of interchangeable lanes; addressing traffic congestion at Boulevard and Memorial; reducing the posted speed limit; and adopting traffic-calming measures to enhance safety for pedestrians and cyclists.
Stakeholders also want to see a more attractive corridor. There’s talk of establishing a “Clean Team” to regularly pick-up trash and debris, particularly around MARTA stops and Crim High School.
In addition, we want to preserve what works. Neighbors want to preserve the residential and “green” feel of the corridor, especially between Clifton Street and Candler Road. We anticipate having a comprehensive assessment of the corridor’s various zoning classifications to determine if new classifications are desired, particularly within the Beltline overlay district.
After the students issue their final report, the real work will begin: finding implementation dollars and attracting residential, commercial and mixed-use development in keeping with the collective vision of the communities that border the street. Meanwhile, we are closer than we have been in decades to a fully revitalized, safe, attractive and inviting Memorial Drive.
Imagine that.
Natalyn Archibong is the District 5 Atlanta city councilwoman.
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