Why does part of Freedom Parkway have a roof? (Atlanta: 2014, attorneys)

[ATLTJL]

Probably this has been asked a zillion times....

I never really paid attention before, but when you're going by WSB's transmitter tower in the Old Fourth Ward park on Freedom Parkway, you go through a short tunnel that looks like you're going under a massive overpass.

Except from what I can tell, you're going under absolutely nothing. Just concrete.

Why is this part of Freedom Parkway covered? Is there anything, or will there ever be anything, on the roof of this structure that covers the road?

[jsvh]

I think concerns about ice falling from the support wires for the WSB transmitter tower.

[JPD]

It's there because ice could fall off the tower and create a safety hazard.

That's what I've been told, anyway.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by JPD

It's there because ice could fall off the tower and create a safety hazard.

That's what I've been told, anyway.

Correct.

[ATLTJL]

Oh, ok...that answer sounds so familiar, maybe I've read it before somewhere.

[primaltech]

Interesting. I always thought it had something to do with the original, cancelled freeway plans.

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by primaltech

Interesting. I always thought it had something to do with the original, cancelled freeway plans.

I think complaints about falling ice may of been a strategy by the neighborhoods to stop it getting built.

[magnetar]

Thomas Wheatley answered this in Creative Loafing a few years ago.

First, it's not a concrete roof — it's an "ice canopy." And it has a long and silly history. In the 1980s and '90s, some Atlantans waged a tumultuous and litigious war to block the Presidential Parkway, an east-west route connecting the interstate to President Jimmy Carter's presidential library. They were successful and the ultimate result was Freedom Parkway and the magnificent greenspace we today know and love. During the design process, says Al Caproni, a longtime Inman Park resident and former president of CAUTION, the citizen group that fought the interstate, WSB raised hell over GDOT's proposal. The road would run right underneath its antenna's guy wire, which WSB considered a liability issue.

"Their concern was that during ice storms [ice] would fall off the guy wire and hurt passing cars or pedestrians," Caproni says. There was hope that the ice canopy could be avoided. One night at the Carter Center, Caproni acted as a liaison between the media company and GDOT attorneys to come up with a resolution, but the odd structure was it. According to GDOT, the canopy is so long because that's the area where ice could feasibly fall. At the time, neighbors received an "undocumented agreement" that the ice canopy would be removed should the WSB antenna ever be removed, Caproni says. But considering the deal's not in writing, it'd be hard to enforce. There's a chance the structure could receive some color in the near future. David Hamilton, the president of the Freedom Park Conservancy board of directors, says the group is working with the city's parks department and Atlanta Beltline officials to determine whether the canopy and overpass could serve as the site for a "potential major art project."

— 2014 Answers Issue | News Feature | Creative Loafing Atlanta

[chiatldal]

A better Question why is Freedom Park and the huge freeway intersection are still there.

[toll_booth]

Originally Posted by chiatldal

A better Question why is Freedom Park and the huge freeway intersection are still there.

Or why the speed limit is 35 mph.

Although I've never seen it enforced, probably because there's nowhere for a cruiser to pull over without blocking traffic.