A common complaint in Atlanta is always about the traffic. Not enough parking, not enough lanes, congested streets. But if you listen closely, you’ll hear another complaint.
As of 2022, there are 146 miles of bike lane in Atlanta, with only 7 miles of that being actual protected, dedicated bike lanes, according to the City of Atlanta. While the Georgia Department of Transportation adds another lane to reduce congestion, cyclists are trying to prove that more bike lanes would help the city.
There’s a lot of evidence supporting the benefits of bike lanes. According to the Federal Highway Administration, installing bike lanes in areas where cyclists will use them can reduce crashes involving cyclists and vehicles by 53%. In Atlanta, the congestion — which always seems to be a problem — can actually be eased by adding more bike lanes. People feel safer riding bikes when there’s proper infrastructure, and fewer cars on the road means less congestion.
Memorial Bike Lane was recently added along the bustling Memorial Drive in East Atlanta. The street connects several neighborhoods together, stretching from Stone Mountain to Downtown Atlanta. Memorial Drive itself is a four-lane road, with cars reaching speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, despite many schools along it.
Safety improvements for Memorial Drive were first added in 2017. The idea of a Memorial Bike Lane was first proposed by Propel ATL in 2023. Propel ATL is an organization founded in 1991 to advocate for safe cycling. Their mission, as stated by their website, is to “transform Atlanta’s streets into safe, inclusive, and thriving spaces for people to ride, walk, and roll.” Propel worked with the Georgia Department of Transportation to help install the two-lane protected bike lane.
I interviewed Chilly-o, an advocate for biking in Atlanta. He says, “If we say that we’re an innovative progressive city, we need to look at bike lanes.” He adds, “I don’t even like riding on the streets anymore because of all the times I’ve almost been hit by cars, and I’m a skilled cyclist.”
There is a distinct lack of safe bike lanes in Atlanta. With no bike lanes on high-traffic roads, options are limited.
“I need to ride on the sidewalk,” says Chilly’o, “Because roads are dangerous, but then I’m endangering pedestrians.” Without bike lanes, there are no safe places for cyclists to ride. “We need to create spaces to make sure people are safe.”
One thing you will hear in Atlanta, when a new bike lane is proposed, is overwhelming backlash and complaints about lost parking or increased congestion. Atlanta motorists worry about the loss of parking. In 2015, a bike lane was proposed along Peachtree Road in Buckhead. Around this time, Peachtree Road accounted for more than 800 crashes a year. The bike lane would require one of the six lanes on the road to be reutilized. And another lane would be reutilized as a turn lane. The plan received significant backlash from motorists who felt the bike lane would worsen congestion. Though the bike lane on Peachtree Road would’ve likely prevented many crashes between bicycles and motor vehicles, ultimately, the plans for the bike lane were cancelled due to backlash.
Jonathan Banks, a local filmmaker known for “Young Kings,” a short documentary following the young Black cycling community in Atlanta, says, “I definitely use the bike lanes when I ride by myself. I was hit by a car a few years ago, and it messed up my confidence a lot. I actually prefer not to ride unless it’s with a group.”
