CITYWIDE—Seemingly out of nowhere, legislation is percolating that could install a dedicated, permanent bicycle lane alongside the Atlanta Beltline as a means of curtailing log jams of people and boosting safety—but not everyone’s in favor.  

Buckhead councilmember Mary Norwood put the resolution forward Monday, and citywide councilmember Eshé Collins also signed, as Atlanta News First reports. The proposed lanes would allow for bikes and authorized, low-speed motorized vehicles, such as scooters and e-bikes, with the goal being to separate them from runners and walkers, per Norwood.  

The resolution doesn’t specify where such lanes would be installed exactly, or at what cost, but it does make these points: 

“… the Atlanta City Council believes that best practices in urban trail design recommend the separation of travel modes where feasible to improve safety, accessibility, and efficiency…” 

“… the [council] requests that such dedicated lanes shall, where feasible, be physically separated or clearly delineated from pedestrian pathways through striping, grade separation, barriers, or other appropriate design treatments to ensure safe and efficient use.”

The Beltline's Eastside Trail in summer. Erin Sintos; courtesy of Atlanta Beltline Inc.

The resolution also requests that Beltline officials work with the Atlanta Department of Transportation and the Department of Parks and Recreation to install the lanes. It will next head to the city’s Community Development and Human Services Committee for a vote. 

Naysayers including Darin Givens of nonprofit, healthy urban advocacy group ThreadATL told the news station the city should use its weight to improve bike lanes in city streets and reserve space along the 22-mile Beltline loop for installing long-promised transit. 

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METRO—According to Georgia MLS data, the Atlanta housing market is showing signs of cooling off, just as the selling season would traditionally be reaching peak heat in normal years. Reshaping the market dynamics are the twin forces of growing inventory and softening buyer demand, per GAMLS analysts.   

One disconcerting statistic—for sellers, at least—is that homes under contract plummeted by nearly 22 percent in April versus the same month in 2025. Units sold also dipped by 5 percent. That’s evidence momentum is slowing and metro-wide supply is now outpacing demand, though home prices remain relatively stable, per the most recent GAMLS data. (A recent heat map compiled for more than 200 intown neighborhoods shows prices have actually dipped across most of the city when compared to molten, post-pandemic 2023.) 

Georgia MLS

GAMLS defines the Atlanta Metropolitan Region as 12 counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale. 

“The data shows a market in transition,” said John Ryan, GAMLS chief marketing officer, in a statement. “We’re seeing a clear shift away from the urgency that defined recent years, as buyers are taking more time, weighing their options, and approaching decisions with greater caution.”

A bad thing? 

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DOWNTOWN—No, that’s not radioactive graffiti in South Downtown. 

Just in time for 2026 FIFA World Cup crowds, a new 50-foot light sculpture at 186 Mitchell St., just east of Hotel Row’s revival, marks the third installment of the Neon Poetry Project, a partnership between Dash Studio and Downtown Atlanta Inc. The permanent, glowing addition to the burgeoning neighborhood wraps a corner of the building and reads: “We begin with the end but do not end there,” from Atlanta-area poet Stephanie Niu’s poem "Endeavour." 

Courtesy of Dash Studio



The piece is “part public art, part love letter to a neighborhood in the middle of its own reinvention,” per project officials. Four Atlanta arts organizations—Lostintheletters, Dashboard, Downtown Atlanta, Inc., and Dash Studio—collaborated to make it happen, evaluating “contemporary literature for its resonance with the historical layers and future energy of South Downtown.” 

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CITYWIDE—On the recent Atlanta city government approvals front, a controversial senior homeless housing proposal on Kirkwood's Howard Street was recently approved by the Atlanta Zoning Review Board, marking another step toward groundbreaking. Next week, the Atlanta City Council Zoning Review Committee is scheduled to consider the board's recommendation for the 47-micro-unit proposal, followed by the full city council on May 26.  

Porches planned for the project's Howard Street facades. Courtesy of Stryant Investments; designs, Smith Dalia Architects

Meanwhile, the Atlanta City Council on Monday voted to officially pause redevelopment of a mostly vacant warehouse property in Bankhead that could become a $200-million Atlanta Mission campus with an affordable housing component. According to the new legislation, a study of the proposal’s Beltline compatibility and impact on transportation, public safety, and land use must be completed within 90 days, or by early August. 

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• Analysis: Atlanta cracks top 10 among affordable cities for housing (Urbanize Atlanta)