Decatur to Buckhead commute... (Atlanta, North Druid Hills: home, employment, living in)

[GoOs]

Hello everyone,
I will be moving to Atlanta the beginning of October. My work location has recently changed though and now I will be working in Buckhead and living in Decatur. I made the drive during non-rush hour times and it took me about 25 minutes. How long of a commute is this around 8am and 5:30pm and what is the best route to take? Thanks!

[arjay57]

There really is no easy way. That's been a thorn in the side of Atlantans for years, since Decatur and Buckhead are two of the city's most popular areas. In my opinion this route cries out for a transit solution, but it won't be easy because this is such an intensely developed area.

On the up side, some parts of Buckhead are easier to access from some parts of Decatur than others. Both areas are sort of loosely defined. However, even long time residents are still tinkering with figuring out the best routes.

[gumboula]

Icky commute. We actually moved recently so my husband could avoid it. We were in Kirkwood (on the far east side just outside the Decatur city limits) and he works in the Terminus building at P'tree and Piedmont. Morning commutes were not bad, not much longer than your 25 minute non-rush hour time. He would take Dekalb Ave. to the Connector, 85 to 400, and get off at Lenox. Evenings are the problem. For reasons I cannot figure out, southbound on the Connector after about 3:00 is terrible. And it is worse late in the week. (If anyone knows why this is, I would love to know.) Depending on the day of the week and the traffic report before he was leaving, sometimes he would reverse his morning commute and other times he would take surface streets (Roxboro or Lenox) to 85, 85 (or access roads) to North Druid Hills, North Druid to Clairmont. There were a few other routes in the mix in case of accidents, etc. Whatever the route, commute time was an hour minimum. Where you are in B'head is the key though. Just getting out of that area of town is tough.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by gumboula

Evenings are the problem. For reasons I cannot figure out, southbound on the Connector after about 3:00 is terrible. And it is worse late in the week. (If anyone knows why this is, I would love to know.)

It has to do with our crazy pattern (or non-pattern) of commuting in Atlanta. We're not a city where the bulk of commuters come streaming into the central city in the morning and go home at night. Only a relatively small number of people do that. Many, like your husband, go in completely opposite directions.

The difficulty with southbound traffic in the evening is that there are so many people coming home from the massive employment centers on the north side of town, and they have to get into -- or more likely, through -- intown Atlanta in order to return to DeKalb and counties on the south and west side. Unfortunately, the primary way to do that is via the Downtown Connector.

[GoOs]

So I'll live/work within a short walk of Marta stations. According to google, from the Avondale to Five Points station would be 18 minutes and then from Five Points to Buckhead stations would be 15 minutes. Obviously this doesn't account for waiting for the train time, but is this a viable commute choice?

[arjay57]

Definitely.

[gumboula]

Originally Posted by arjay57

The difficulty with southbound traffic in the evening is that there are so many people coming home from the massive employment centers on the north side of town, and they have to get into -- or more likely, through -- intown Atlanta in order to return to DeKalb and counties on the south and west side. Unfortunately, the primary way to do that is via the Downtown Connector.

But then why isn't it as bad going norhtbound in the morning?

[arjay57]

It is pretty heavy going northbound in the morning, but you've got better escape routes going north. Northbounders can diffuse into downtown, Midtown and Buckhead, up 75 into Cobb, up the 400 corridor into North Fulton and Forsyth, and along 85 into Gwinnett and beyond.

[MilkMachine]

Originally Posted by GoOs

So I'll live/work within a short walk of Marta stations. According to google, from the Avondale to Five Points station would be 18 minutes and then from Five Points to Buckhead stations would be 15 minutes. Obviously this doesn't account for waiting for the train time, but is this a viable commute choice?

My husband takes East Lake to Buckhead in the morning. We are about to move and he will be taking Avondale then.

His morning commute is about an hour long. This accounts for driving to the EL station (10-15 min), taking train to 5 Points and the to Buckhead with associated waits, and then another 10-15 walk from the Buckhead station to his office at One Buckhead Plaza.

[gumboula]

Yeah, I didn't want to put down the MARTA option; but my husband tried that (same commute as MilkMachine) and the commute time was worse overall (combining am and pm).