Poncey-Highland?? (Atlanta: public school, to live in, zoned)

[gtcorndog]

Originally Posted by cqholt

It is a great area, with some of the best schools in Atlanta

I'm not sure I would use Atlanta schools as the baseline for comparison. Overall, Atlanta schools are pretty dreadful. As a parent I would compare them to some of the immediate suburban schools. If they hold up well in comparisons, I'd treat them as legit and would consider them. But saying they are among the best of the City of Atlanta schools doesn't really say much. That bar is pretty low.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by atl parent

I take your point, but what I meant by the area not being "pedestrian friendly" is not that one cannot walk to amenities, but that it would be unpleasant to do so. Walking along North, Ponce, and Freedom Parkway are decidedly unpleasant in my opinion, though one can certainly do it.

There are several residential streets you can walk down to get to most places, requiring only a very short walk on the major roads. For example, if you're at Manuel's Tavern and you need to go to the drug store or on Ponce, you can take a pleasant and leisurely stroll down Blue Ridge to Linwood.

[cqholt]

I'm not sure I would use Atlanta schools as the baseline for comparison. Overall, Atlanta schools are pretty dreadful. As a parent I would compare them to some of the immediate suburban schools. If they hold up well in comparisons, I'd treat them as legit and would consider them. But saying they are among the best of the City of Atlanta schools doesn't really say much. That bar is pretty low.

Grady is a pretty good school.

I take your point, but what I meant by the area not being "pedestrian friendly" is not that one cannot walk to amenities, but that it would be unpleasant to do so

What constitutes a pleasant walk?

[atl parent]

One criterion of a pleasant walk for me is not having cars rushing by. Perhaps that doesn't matter to you, but I prefer quieter streets than the ones in P-H.

[gtcorndog]

Originally Posted by cqholt

Grady is a pretty good school.

I wouldn't disagree with that. I'm just saying I would change the baseline for comparing schools. Among the best in city of Atlanta is bad starting point IMO. That bar is low and I would factor in some of the better suburban schools in the region to determine whether the schools are good or not. You could potentially be comparing a bad school to a very bad schools. That comparison would yield misleading results.

[cqholt]

One criterion of a pleasant walk for me is not having cars rushing by. Perhaps that doesn't matter to you, but I prefer quieter streets than the ones in P-H

Then your pretty much screwed on most thoroughfares. Just walk facing the cars so you can watch for cars jumping the curb.

[atl parent]

Look, there's no reason to get snippy. I live in an intown neighborhood--this isn't an attack on urban living. But P-H is dominated by North, Ponce, Highland, and Freedom Parkway--all heavily trafficked roads that generally take people through P-H. Are there sidewalks next to those streets? Yes. Do I like walking on them relative to many, many other streets intown? No. If you like it, God bless. I would also add that one of the recommendations of Kirkwood--a neighborhood you frequently celebrate--is that it has lots of pleasant streets.

P-H has many virtues. Nice walking streets is not one of them, in my opinion.

[cqholt]

Look, there's no reason to get snippy. I live in an intown neighborhood--this isn't an attack on urban living. But P-H is dominated by North, Ponce, Highland, and Freedom Parkway--all heavily trafficked roads that generally take people through P-H. Are there sidewalks next to those streets? Yes. Do I like walking on them relative to many, many other streets intown? No. If you like it, God bless. I would also add that one of the recommendations of Kirkwood--a neighborhood you frequently celebrate--is that it has lots of pleasant streets.

P-H has many virtues. Nice walking streets is not one of them, in my opinion.

Ain't getting snippy, just telling it like it is. Don't want you to take it in that manner, sorry if I came across that way. Atlanta drivers drive fast, ignoring most speed limits, so they are always rushing by. They even rush by on residential, side streets. That's why many neighborhoods request speed humps installed. I know all too much about living on heavily traveled streets as I live on Hosea L. Williams Dr NE. Its not like Ponce or North Ave, but it comparable to North Highland.

[testa50]

I understand the dislike for Ponce, but Freedom Parkway is really nice to walk along. It has paths with very wide setbacks from the road. Probably one of the nicest streets to walk along in the city.

The main thing hurting Ponce is too many curb cuts. North is far narrower with slower traffic and fewer busy curb cuts, making it more pleasant. North Highland is fine, although bike lanes and a road diet would be nice in places (bike lanes benefit both pedestrians and bikers).

I would put all of these a tier or two above something like West Peachtree and Spring between 10th and 14th, or basically the whole of Piedmont Road once you get north of Midtown. I think Poncey Highland's pedestrian experience is actually pretty decent in comparison to many other neighborhoods.

[arjay57]

They've got a nice master plan over there, if the city ever comes up with any money to implement it.

Master Plan