Last month, as I perused my neighborhood’s facebook page, I came across a long thread of comments having to do with traffic in the neighborhood. Medlock is one of Atlanta’s post-war neighborhoods; winding, sidewalk-less streets and small, ranch-style homes, nestled between three major thoroughfares. Unfortunately for the neighborhood, a few of those streets provide an easy cut-through to avoid the clogged major arteries that run toward downtown Atlanta and the freeways.
I watched the comment thread for a day or two, waiting for someone to initiate some kind of action, so I could offer to help.
No one did.
So I tentatively offered to set up a survey exploring how much real interest there was in the neighborhood in making some changes. I quickly learned the following: The last attempt at fixing traffic eight years ago got one street a couple of speed bumps and one traffic circle that was subsequently removed due to accidents. Apparently limiting turns at certain times of day was not legal, and sidewalks also proved unfeasible. Around the same time I posted the survey, we found out that a Wal-Mart is moving in across the street from the neighborhood entrance, a charter school is coming in on the other end of the neighborhood, and there is a strong possibility that public transit will be adding some kind of rail line up past our area.
At this point, I can’t resist any more. Obviously the time is ripe for some growth and change in the neighborhood.
So I’ve found myself leading the charge for some traffic calming/walkability promoting/neighbor coordinating . . .thing. (I’ll have to find a better way to articulate that.) No idea what’s going to happen with it, but there are a lot of possibilities, several ordinances I need to look at, and at least fifteen people who actually want to help. It’s pretty exciting.