Bike lanes on car-heavy Memorial Drive: How's that sound?

Anyone who’s tried to travel the sidewalks of Memorial Drive on a bike near Oakland Cemetery knows how harrowing that experience can be. Ditto for pedaling from the BeltLine to many points west along Memorial, such as Petit Chou. And ditto for pretty much the rest of Memorial to downtown, too.

But according to Propel ATL, that’s set to change.

The bicyclist and pedestrian advocacy group (formerly Atlanta Bicycle Coalition) reports this week that plans for a legitimately safe, two-way protected bike lane are moving forward on Memorial Drive that would link downtown Atlanta with the BeltLine’s Eastside Trail.

How the two-way cycletrack would function next to the iconic walls of Oakland Cemetery. GDOT/Pond; via Propel ATL

According to Propel ATL executive director Rebecca Serna, a petition drive put together by the advocacy group last year—following years of requests to government officials—is starting to pay dividends.

New Georgia Department of Transportation designs for Memorial Drive west of Pearl Street in Reynoldstown show how the busy roadway would include a two-way cycletrack for non-drivers on wheels, passing landmarks such as Oakland Cemetery and Daddy D'z BBQ Joynt.

The lanes would end at Trinity Avenue downtown near the Gold Dome, according to GDOT’s drawings.

That would replace what Serna describes in a project update as a “free-for-all of five lanes of traffic” that is Memorial Drive today.

Memorial Drive changes proposed at Cherokee Avenue next to Oakland Cemetery. GDOT/Pond; via Propel ATL

The stretch of Memorial Drive in question during an evening last April. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

To create a truly safe and cohesive alternate transportation option, Serna says some details still need to be worked out with GDOT, including the design of physical bicycle-car separation and bus stop integration. Other safety upgrades on the route would include a mid-block pedestrian crossing.

The changes would follow another campaign from 2017 that resulted in GDOT reconfiguring Memorial Drive to the west, through neighborhoods such as Edgewood and Kirkwood, and sharply decreasing the number of accidents, according to Serna.

The timeline for GDOT’s next round of Memorial Drive safety improvements is TBD for now. But as Serna notes, “we're excited to see a new look for Memorial Drive!”

Ditto.

The view over Memorial Drive and Pearl Street. GDOT/Pond; via Propel ATL