A new face for Centennial Olympic Park (Atlanta: 2013, crime)

[arjay57]

Looks like the mean old Atlanta-hating state of Georgia has struck again.

A new face for Centennial Olympic Park (SLIDESHOW) - Atlanta Business Chronicle

And let's not forget the new plaza the state is building next to the capitol, its support for the new Falcons stadium, the proposed new downtown mega-hotel, the MMTP and the many road and bridge improvements it has made within the city.

That's just for starters.

[alco89]

Wonderful!

[tikigod311]

Looks nice. Glad they are investing in the park.

[ATLTJL]

I like that they are making the park better. So long as no water features are casualties of the renovation. One of the best things about Centennial Olympic Park is that it has so many nice water features, but these always seem to disappear during renovations for some reason.

[bryantm3]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I like that they are making the park better. So long as no water features are casualties of the renovation. One of the best things about Centennial Olympic Park is that it has so many nice water features, but these always seem to disappear during renovations for some reason.

i like the olympic rings for kids, and i like the fountain behind it, but the one that fronts centennial olympic park drive that trails along and has a lot of the fake concrete boulders is both cut off from the rest of the park and does more to block visitors from the street than it does entice them. it needs to be modified or removed.

i know what you mean about water features disappearing during renovations. piedmont park had a cool fountain on the eastern edge of the park near the park street bridge— that's gone now; lenox square had tons of fountains including one on the food court level, one that the escalators on the second floor almost seemed to disappear into (that one was the coolest!), and several others that are all gone now. lenox, especially the round portion built in the 80s, seems to get worse and worse with every renovation. let me get a thread started on that.

anyway, back to the park, here are some comments i posted on another forum:

i spent a lot of time walking through the park last month and i noticed two things that need to be fixed:

the park south of andrew young international boulevard is very nice, and has a very good layout. the only problem is that the park around the edges is closed off; it needs to be opened up.

the park north of the street is dated and needs a lot of fixing. the great lawn feels more like an empty lot, especially when there aren't any concerts going on. the criss-crossing brick streets detract from the park atmosphere and make it feel like a series of empty lots.

when you approach baker street, the park becomes more and more sealed off to the surrounding area. i guess this was done because it was a higher crime area around there, but now it stifles the park atmosphere. the pavilion at the far north end of the park really is a nail in the coffin of street activity to baker. i have encountered a lot of homeless people sleeping in there at night. they need to give the homeless people a place to sleep.

the water feature does more to cut off street activity from centennial olympic park drive than it does to enhance it. it needs to be modified or removed.

the fences around the park should also be modified or removed.

finally, and most importantly, there needs to be a memorial set up for the centennial olympic park bombing, and honour richard jewell for saving lives. it was a big deal and needs to be recognized, and richard jewell was drug through the mud by the local and national media, when he should've been honoured. he was never vindicated and died a poor man. it's time to honour him.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by bryantm3

... richard jewell was drug through the mud by the local and national media, when he should've been honoured. he was never vindicated and died a poor man. it's time to honour him.

I thought he was wealthy. Didn't Jewell get several whopping settlements from the media for their stupid reporting?

[ATLTJL]

The trailing water feature is the one in particular that I want to make sure gets saved. It's my favorite, it is so unique and you just don't see many water features like that. I particularly love it because it reminds me of the miniature golf courses I loved as a child that always had streams running through the property. This feature must stay. It's also relatively hidden and provides an area of quiet solitude, which every great park needs.

[cqholt]

I too love the creek-like water feature and hope it gets saved. The park is closed off from the street, with access controlled to a few gates. I guess is this so they can close it off for events, eg: dave mathews during the final four.
I thing I liked in the renderings was all the new bike blvds around the park.