Mayor Reed: "time has come" for $12.8 million pedestrian bridge over Northside Drive (SLIDESHOW) (Atlanta: neighborhood, tax)

[primaltech]

What they'll probably do, is get rid of the crosswalk there. Maybe.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

I take it you have never had the joy of working in an office that is located near a venue like this. So let me enlighten you: pedestrians crossing the street can tie you up for 10, 20, and even 30 minutes if the police directing traffic don't know what they're doing.

Think about where this venue is and how many nearby buildings need to conduct some semblance of normal business while events are going on (not to mention emergency vehicles).

Events tie up things for WAY MORE than 120 seconds. This is just spoken by someone who has never had to get to work or get home while an event is happening.

With your logic, why do we even have a Beltline? We already had a network of sidewalks, who needs right of way?

If this was some new bridge to expand that project, you all would be all about it.

I guess you do not understand what I was saying, I am referring to giving pedestrian a 120 second signal to cross. Vehicles on state routes normally get this much time. Coordinating and training traffic management to cops is far cheaper than the bridge.
And no I am not for any pedestrian bridge, in fact I have spoken out against the idea of a bridge over Moreland for the Freedom Park Trail.

[MikeHonchoATL]

Originally Posted by Gulch

Why? No one but him (and probably a contractor buddy of his) wants this turd.

You vote for a Mayor who is known to be corrupt and you are surprised when he acts in a corrupt manner?

Yeah... you get what you deserve.

[Gulch]

Originally Posted by MikeHonchoATL

You vote for a Mayor who is known to be corrupt and you are surprised when he acts in a corrupt manner?

Yeah... you get what you deserve.

Fair enough, though this isn't strictly an Atlanta problem.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by fourthwarden

Unless no one uses it because it takes so much time to get up, across, and then back down from the bridge. Other traffic safety methods could be introduced, like lowering the speed limit, adding HAWK Signals, better enforcing existing speed limits, creating a median and 'ped island', etc.

That's my thought, too, but maybe I'm relying too much on my own preferences. When I want to cross the road, I want to do it at street level on a good safe crosswalk, with the sort of controls you mention. I'm just too lazy to walk up a lengthy approach, cross over and then walk back down on the other side.

Other people may be more inclined to do so, I just don't know.

[demonta4]

Originally Posted by arjay57

That's my thought, too, but maybe I'm relying too much on my own preferences. When I want to cross the road, I want to do it at street level on a good safe crosswalk, with the sort of controls you mention. I'm just too lazy to walk up a lengthy approach, cross over and then walk back down on the other side.

Other people may be more inclined to do so, I just don't know.

I don't know. Maybe some people like the feeling of walking on 12 million dollars. I'm sure they can fix the street for pedestrians and still have a few million left. Northside will eventually densify so it's going to be needed anyway.

[MattCW]

Northside is a major road corridor. There are some roads that are never going to be pared down to 2-lane primarily bike and pedestrian route and Northside is one of them!

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by MattCW

Northside is a major road corridor. There are some roads that are never going to be pared down to 2-lane primarily bike and pedestrian route and Northside is one of them!

Well, it WILL be pared down to 4 lanes with bus lanes, so that's a start.

[GeorgiaPeanuts]

Originally Posted by primaltech

What they'll probably do, is get rid of the crosswalk there. Maybe.

State law dictates that even if a crosswalk does not exist at an intersection it is still legal for pedestrians to cross. It is in fact legal to cross at any point on a road when the section of road has a non-signalized intersection at either end of it.

[0nyxStation]

Originally Posted by LynnHarris1

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/n...8-million.html

I never really viewed Northside Drive as a huge divider between downtown and the west side. If they want a connection between west side and downtown they need more than this. This is simple to get people from Vine City to the stadium.