Trying to decide on relocation to ATL

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by JoeTarheel

True, but the bicycle situation in Atlanta is rapidly improving. There are several bike share programs that have materialized in the past couple of years as well.

But that doesn't address the bike paths issue. Safe routes for bikes are a must. Though technically illegal, many of us bike riders retreat to the sidewalk for safety. I'd never ride my bike on Piedmont Road for instance.

I do the same thing, often in response to the overly negative stuff...I hope you weren't accusing me of being a booster (I don't think you were but I couldn't really tell for sure). Some of the personal vendettas against Atlanta are ridiculous.

I cut both ways. If someone is overly gushing about Atlanta, I tend to be the wet blanket and bring a more realistic view. If someone slams Atlanta, I'll come to its defense. Atlanta has its problems but it ain't no hell hole.

[ATLTJL]

I wouldn't recommend biking to work.

I have a friend who rides a bike all over town on weekends and has never had a problem. However, I the two people I know that use their bicycles to commute to work have both spent time in the hospital as a direct result of their commutes.

One was due to a driver cutting her off the other was due to the guy hitting a sewer cover the wrong way with his wheel and it getting lodged inside. Even if you don't have problems with other drivers, there are many hazards in the street for bicyclists. These are both very experienced cyclists, so I would really not recommend cycling as a means of commuting in Atlanta. For leisure, fine, but for work I'd steer clear.

[JoeTarheel]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

But that doesn't address the bike paths issue. Safe routes for bikes are a must. Though technically illegal, many of us bike riders retreat to the sidewalk for safety. I'd never ride my bike on Piedmont Road for instance.


I cut both ways. If someone is overly gushing about Atlanta, I tend to be the wet blanket and bring a more realistic view. If someone slams Atlanta, I'll come to its defense. Atlanta has its problems but it ain't no hell hole.

I wasn't trying to address all of the issues, just pointing out that Atlanta is on the rise in bicycle commuting. That's it. I personally wouldn't ride my bike to work unless there was no other choice. I don't like starting out the day sweaty and it's not the safest form of transportation in any city.

Agreed.

[Mark.Robinson]

Thanks for the replies!

I'm going to be spending a few days there over the next week and we'll see if it's really right me me

[Tarzanman]

I work just south of Norcross (Doraville, 2 miles from the line). Look at living in the north Virginia Highlands area or west of Emory University close within ~3 miles of Piedmont Park.

You will only be able to cycle to work from town if you also take MARTA and the Gwinnett buses...driving will be a 20-35 min commute in normal rush hour traffic depending on which parts of town/norcross you are in.

The good part is that there are ton of young single folks walking, skating, running, or biking around the Emory/Piedmont area. If you live close enough to the park to bicycle there in 20 min then you will probably be happy with your locale.

[cqholt]

There is public transit, but it's not great, and it's not always safe. Plenty of people are robbed on MARTA daily, but most folks don't know about it.

This is totally false, MARTA is one of the safest transit systems in the US. You have a better chance of getting killed by in a head on collision with a wrong-way driver.

I wasn't trying to address all of the issues, just pointing out that Atlanta is on the rise in bicycle commuting. That's it. I personally wouldn't ride my bike to work unless there was no other choice. I don't like starting out the day sweaty and it's not the safest form of transportation in any city.

Commuting via bike is on the rise, along with gas prices! I have seen more people bringing bikes on the trains than ever before. Cars are slowly getting used to cyclist, but I would still ride defensively and watch out for the soccer moms in the SUV.