Why oh why isn't Midtown Place connected to Monroe Drive? (Atlanta: live, shopping centers)

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by arjay57

In that case it should be a simple matter to convince the neighborhoods, the developers, the traffic engineers, the BOP, et al., that they've all got it wrong.

These residents are already putting up with the Beltline, the constant commotion in Piedmont Park, a football stadium across the street and shopping centers in their backyards. And now we want to add a high volume cut-through to Ponce? How much more do they have to give before their interests get some consideration?

I can see your point and understand that people want to protect their property values while maintaining the peaceful lifestyle of their neighborhood...but don't you think that they were aware of Piedmont Park, Grady High stadium, and the shopping centers when they moved into the area? Even the Beltline proposal has been around for several years - probably longer than most of the residents have lived in their homes. None of this should be a surprise to them, and I doubt there are any people left from the era in which that section of Midtown was suburban. There could be an old-timer or two hanging on, but I think we're talking about a good 50 years or more.

I just don't have much sympathy for people who want to live in the heart of a large city but without noise, pedestrians, and development. Everyone should understand that residing in the city includes such things.

[J2rescue]

Originally Posted by RoslynHolcomb

I actually ask this question daily about nearly all the streets I travel around here. It's like through streets are the anti-Christ around here. They talk about traffic congestion then make it nearly impossible to get anywhere except on certain (heavily traveled) roads.

You are SO right! The necessary "benefit" of the lack of connectivity is the traffic is actually concentrated on the roads that actually lead anywhere which is the exact opposite of what you want in a high population area like a city. Its the biggest flaw in the states transportation plans for Atlanta and why every lane that is ever added will be instantly filled.

There is a reason that cities for thousands of years were built on a grid (or some other type of network) pattern.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by arjay57

These residents are already putting up with the Beltline, the constant commotion in Piedmont Park, a football stadium across the street and shopping centers in their backyards. And now we want to add a high volume cut-through to Ponce? How much more do they have to give before their interests get some consideration?

With the exception of the Beltline (which if I were a resident would be thrilled to have), all of these things have been there for some time so I presume that anyone buying into the neighborhood would have been well aware of their existence beforehand.
I do think that the cut-through would help alleviate traffic on the (primarily residential) section of Monroe that runs from 9th to Ponce. One thing the city would have to do if this came to pass is to rework the intersections of Monroe and 9th, Virginia and 10th. It's a grand mess as it is, and dumping more rerouted traffic from Ponce would just make it worse.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by leydenhouse

So in other words, the residents desire a quieter, calmer place to live? Then why did they choose to live in Midtown? Seems to me (and I am a resident of Midtown) that the park activities, Beltline, nearby shopping/restaurants, and a good high school are selling points for the neighborhood.

Exactly.
The suburban to urban transition, although often painful, is nothing new in the histories of American cities. Keep in mind that New York City's Fifth Avenue was for much of the 19th century a quiet residential street, as were the streets that intersected it. The 20th century changed all that.

[calisno]

The only reason that I'm even familiar with this area is because I cut through it to avoid traffic on 85 on my way to the area near Atlanta Medical Center - I, and many others, would most definitely use this road as a cut through, so those fears are well founded.

[oakhurstlauren]

Originally Posted by calisno

The only reason that I'm even familiar with this area is because I cut through it to avoid traffic on 85 on my way to the area near Atlanta Medical Center - I, and many others, would most definitely use this road as a cut through, so those fears are well founded.

I can't really see how this is relevant at all. How would you end up in the whole foods parking lot as a cut through from 85 to Atlanta Medical?

[testa50]

lol @ "putting up" with the beltline. It's a vagrat-ridden gulch right now. I'm not really a proponent of the Beltline, but the couple hundred people who live on the northeast side of the Ponce/Monroe intersection in SFH will benefit way out of proportion to most other people...

[JPD]

The only way to get into the Borders/Whole Foods strip is off of Ponce. Some folks may forget, or maybe didn't know, that the previous complex on that property was accessible from Lakeview Ave., which runs between the Borders/Whole Foods strip and Eats restaurant. So, you could get from the old complex to Midtown Promenade without getting on Ponce, by using neighborhood streets, and a very short portion of Monroe Drive.

[arjay57]

It will be interesting to see what some of these posters say when they start putting strip mall traffic cut-throughs in their neighborhoods.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by arjay57

It will be interesting to see what some of these posters say when they start putting strip mall traffic cut-throughs in their neighborhoods.

I don't even think that a neighborhood "cut-through" was the issue...the main thing was connecting the two centers. They are both privately owned so there is nothing that could be done unless both developers agreed to it...apparently they didnt.

I definitely can sympathize with home owners over issues such as this, but it's still pretty short-sighted to move into an area like Midtown and expect it to always remain peaceful and serene. It's the heart of the city, and residents should expect noise, traffic, development, and most of all change.

I think it was Spock who said "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".