NYCpistarider

I may be moving to a job in Atlanta. Anyone here commute by bike in Atlanta? What are conditions like? Terrain? What are neighborhoods in the city that offer good bike commuting links to downtown? I've never been there so I haven't got a clue.

bikebuddha 

There's me and littlebigman. I live in Cobb I believe he's in Dekalb. Atlanta's pretty hilly especially in northwest suburbs. Streets are pretty crowded and the drivers are pretty aggressive at least in Cobb they are. Still we've got a pretty good cycling community here just not a lot of commuters. Check this out:
https://www.pathfoundation.org/index.cfm




https://cooleylawstudent.blogspot.com

RonH

I'm starting a temporary (they tell me 30-60 days) part-time (20-40 hours a week) job on Monday so I'll be commuting from Decatur (east side of town) to the Virginia-Highland area. About 8+ miles.
I commuted to my last job. It was in Norcross (eastern suburbs).
Commuting in Atlanta is not as great as in other cities. Atlantans have a love affair with their cars (translated: SUV). The streets and interstates are very crowded. Lots of accidents and road rage. Gee, I wonder why? Most drive alone, little car-pooling, and the public transportation system (Marta) isn't all that great, but buses have bike racks and bikes are allowed on the trains. Check Marta's website for more details.
Most streets have lots of potholes and you'll find lots of broken glass and trash, so you'll need some good tires.
FYI: I have Continental Grand Prix 3000s and Vittoria Rubino Pros on my bikes. I get a flat every 1000-1500 miles.

Road and traffic conditions vary a little from one part of town to another. Have you decided on what part of town you might be living in? Do you know where your employer is located? Not being nosey, just knowing these tidbits helps with knowing what advice to offer.

LittleBigMan

I depends on where in Atlanta you want to bicycle. I commute from Stone Mountain (east side of Atlanta) to downtown Atlanta. I enjoy it, but there are many who would think my route is not for them, since there is almost no bicycle-specific road design. I just got a map and created my own routes.

Atlanta and surrounding towns are not paved grid-like. You really have to map out your routes and explore them in your spare time.

One thing you'll almost never get around here: snow. I don't know if that's good or bad in your opinion, but that's the way it is. I don't think summers are really any hotter than, say, Washington DC, for example, and suprisingly, they can be slightly less humid. Summers are just longer and winters are shorter and milder.

Map tester

I have only been regularly commuting by bike since March of this year, but have been riding in Atlanta since the 70's. Like RonH said, Atlantans love their cars. If you live and work inside the Perimeter Hwy (I-285), getting around by bike isn't too bad. There are a lot of neighorhoods streets that interconnect, so if you have the time and desire to find new routes, you can stay off the busiest streets. DeKalb and Fulton also have a speed hump program which allows neighborhoods to decide by majority vote to install speed humps (speed bumps) to keep car speeds to 25 mph. Remember that metro Atlanta is a huge, spread-out city. It is common for car commutes to go to 30 to 50 miles one-way. But don't let any of this scare you off. Altanta has some great hills (work that heart!), a lot of trees for shade, a few bike paths/lanes, weather so you can ride year-round (hope you like warm weather, they don't call it Hotlanta for nothing!), and some really nice people. My wife, son and I ride everyday to his school, and many times drivers have given us the right of way. If probably helps that we are obviously a family out riding. When I am out by myself, I seem to find the idiot drivers more easily.

When you find out where you will be working, give us some more info and I'll bet the commuters here will be glad to help out.

enigmagic

Please, Please, Please live in the east atlanta neighborhoods, or anywhere inside the perimeter. Decent cycling in the residential neighborhoods where sane driving is most likely; Reynoldstown, Grant Park, Little Five Points, Candler Park, Emory, Decatur, Midtown, Downtown, and the Stone Mountain path are pretty nice. Atlanta is pretty flattish on the whole, though the more north you go the hillier it tends to get, outstanding exceptions like North Ave. tend to make people complain. Road conditions vary between mildly annoying to nice, that's the upside of a generally car-focused city. Beware the giant metal plates in the rain, however. If I were choosing a place to live, I'd probably go for Decatur if you want a longer ride, or Candler Park area if you want a quicker one. Assuming you're headed downtown.

bikebuddha 

Let me just take one minute to second that thought.






https://cooleylawstudent.blogspot.com

NYCpistarider

Thanks, this is really helpful. My commute now is 7 miles, and would like to keep it to less than 10 if I make the move. I want to live near the city, in a cool older neighborhood rather than some anonymous newer and distant suburb filled with mcmansions (not that there is anything wrong with new suburbs, they just aren't for me). What neighborhoods have nice old houses and good commuting links?

enigmagic

I'd totally go for the Candler Park/Little Five Points area. Most houses are 50-60ish year old bungalow style small city houses(NB I don't know anything about architecture) usually restored and very garden-ey in places. The Atlanta PATH passes through this area, and pretty much drills right into the city via a very pretty double path park ride. Freedom parkway is a relatively low use road into downtown, as it fills up quickly and meanders through Freedom Park;its also home of the Carter center and presidential library. Little Five is a trendy hipster area, pretty decent food all around, a good bike shop dead center. People are much friendlier in this area as compared to pretty much anywhere else in the metro area. Quick ride to Decatur for nightlife(city closes bars in buckhead pretty early, so decatur is #2 for that) which is also a very pretty city, home of a girls college and plenty of hippies and bicyclists. If you're looking for a "cool, older neighborhood" this area is pretty much where its at. If I sound enthusiastic its because i'm moving there in a month or so, for an easier commute to school. Gonna PM you some additional stuff.

TimArchy

I commute from decatur to downtown. Just about 6 miles. Part of it has a bike lane (edgewood), the other part is on a fairly buisy street with a reversible lane (Dekalb Ave). Gotten a lot of crap from drivers on Dekalb. You can cut through the neighborhoods but its really hilly until you get to little five. The other good part about living out east is that the MARTA train line is really close for bad weather or when you just feel crappy. I can't really soy what other parts of the city are good. I know people who live in West End. Not a bad ride from there either.

tim

LittleBigMan

As has been mentioned (it's the last leg of my 15-mile inbound,) Inman Park ("Little Five Points") is probably about 10 minutes by bike from downtown Atlanta, and Candler Park is another five or ten minutes further out. In other words, your commute would be no longer than about 4 miles, all on slower neighborhood intown streets or bike routes. Cool, older neighborhoods: Inman park is over 100 years old, and Candler park is probably 80 or so.

mgerdes

I just moved here in Sept from Oregon (land of bike paths) and would caution you not to expect good bicycling here.

I was accustomed to biking to the store and work, but I've only gotten out on my bike once in the past two months. Atlanta is alarmingly anti-bike or pedestrian (or handicapped people, for that matter). The few sidewalks that do exist -- the only safe place to ride in most parts of the city -- are grown over or crusted with dirt or end abruptly after a few blocks. Curiously, it is illegal to bike on the sidewalks, but to put your bike on a street with NO shoulder and drivers who seem oblivious to anything on two wheels or two feet, constitutes a death wish. People are so vehicle oriented here that a push just began to encourage kids to walk to school -- they've never done it before!

So, don't expect to be two-wheeling casually here. You have to plan it, and you have to transport your vehicle someplace. I've seen 2 people who looked like they were commuting to work on their bikes, but that's it. Two people in two months.... it's pathetic.

Walking isn't much of an alternative, either -- cars do NOT stop for you in crosswalks even though it's the law, in fact they seem to aim for you. If you have a green signal in a crosswalk, don't expect cars to yield to you. The other odd thing I've noticed is that even pedestrians don't seem to get it here -- most walk WITH the traffic rather than against it, which is something I was taught in grade school.

Atlanta has a long way to go when it comes to bicycling and walking. Efforts are under way, but it appears it will be at least a decade off before any sort of convenient bike path system for commuters is in the works. People here still think of bikes as toys for kids.

Blue100

Mgerdes is right on the money. I live and work in Chicago but my company requires that I be in Atlanta 1-2 weeks each month. Between summer 2003 and this past summer I had an apartment in Atlanta and I spent every weekday in Atlanta and just flew home for the weekends.

Atlantans are an aggressive lot when they get in the car. Bikes and pedestrians are considered a nuisance and an oddity and cars are king. I’m amazed at the speed folks drive , even in the city center areas. It’s nuts. I commute by bike in Chicago 13.5 miles each way but I just don’t have the guts to compete with Atlanta drivers, so like everyone else, I drive . … and the cycle continues.

GTcommuter

I don't completely disagree with the previous two posts, but they've painted an overly grim picture. I've been biking around the city for a while now and enjoy my ride every day. I'm coming from Decatur, on the east side like everyone has recomended, and have about a 8 mile commute to school. I know about a dozen people that do that everyday, mostly from Candler Park, Edgewood, Reynoldstown, and Decatur.

Atlanta has developoed a lot of traffic problems over the past few decades, but a lot of positive changes are in the pipeline. The new Beltline project should be underway in the next few years, connecting most of the intown neighborhoods with a paved bike path and eventually light rail. And the boom in intown housing and infill, along with some progressively minded developers, should start to update the neighborhood street systems and increase routes for commuters.

Bike commuting in Atlanta is great year-round, though it often takes some creative and dedicated route finding. Email the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign to find some local biking groups or advice on routes. Try to live on the east side of town in the the Ponce de Leon or Dekalb Avenue corridor neighborhoods and you'll be all set.

Alphie

Living in suburbia can have its benefits. There are quite a few Sunday-only racer wannabe cyclists in this area and I think their presence makes mine as a daily commuter a little more tolerable to those confined in a cage. I do still notice that most of the nasty horn-leaning drivers tend to be in the more expensive BMW/M-B type autos. (Not that there is anything wrong with that, love the cars, but do the drivers have to be asses?) I picked my residence principally because of its proximity to a bike path and easy commute in to work. Still......

If I had my 'druthers, L5P, East Atlanta or the Midtown/Peachtree area is a much more happening place and I think has the community support necessary to effect real change regarding making Atlanta more pedestrian and bike friendly.

RonH

Much of what mgerdes says is true but there are LOTS of bike commuters here.
I work for the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign (Atlanta's only bicycle advocacy organization) and find that there are many neighborhoods and areas of town where commuting and recreational riding are common. It's true that the area has a long way to go on becoming bike-friendly, and we are working hard to change things.

If you are intimidated by motorists and traffic, take an Effective Cycling class. We have several LAB trained and certified instructors who teach cyclists how to ride with traffic. We also teach bike commuting classes.


True, but we do a nice recreational path system. The Path Foundation is continually adding more miles and new paths/trails to the network.

If you have a long commute or don't want to ride the entire distance or the weather changes for the worst during the workday, bikes are allowed on all MARTA trains and all the MARTA, Cobb County Transit, and Gwinnett County Transit buses have bike racks.

I completely agree with what GTcommuter said,

RonH

Georgia's motorists are being "educated" regarding cyclist's rights to the road. The Governor's Office of Highway Safety has funded Atlanta Bicycle Campaign to promote the project in the 10 county metro-Atlanta area.
We did a random survey (phone and mass mailing) in the Decatur and Avondale Estates areas "testing" motorist's knowledge of general road rules and motorist's/cyclist's use of the roads. The scores improved ~21% from what it was before the mass mailing, which included the new bumper sticker. Not the best design but no one asked for my input.

We are also putting this poster (one of a series of four) in several bus shelters along the roads in Decatur and Tucker. There's one on Mountain Industrial Blvd just a few yards north of Ponce de Leon where the bike path to Stone mountain crosses Mountain Industrial Blvd.

<edit> I saw another poster yesterday (on the bike path) at the bus shelter on Ponce de Leon, about a block west of Mountain Industrial Blvd. </edit>


Progress is slow but we're doing all we can with the limited resources.

BostonKate

My husband commuted from Athens to Tech every day for several years. (Obviously, car commute. That's 70-odd miles.) We were going to move to East ATL but ended up coming back to Boston, and all I have to say about that is that I feel FAR safer driving my car in Boston than I ever did in Atlanta! If we move back (unlikely, but the husband is surprisingly less resistant than he used to be), we'd try to buy in Candler Park or Decatur.

The Atlanta PATH is great, and the users - at least the ones in the Candler area - are friendly and use the path appropriately. It seems that bike friendliness is really neighborhood-influenced; the East ATL, Candler, Inman, Va-Hi, Decatur axis is somewhere I'd be a lot more comfortable riding than Sandy Springs or Buckhead.

As far as Athens goes, you can't hardly drive through town or in the surrounding farmland without tripping over a paceline. Roadie heaven.

LittleBigMan

I've been commuting from Stone Mountain to Atlanta for years on the same route I take my car. There are no bike paths or bike lanes for the first 12 miles of my commute.

I love it.

(Am I just crazy?)

GTcommuter

LBM,

Are you coming into downtown/midtown from Stn Mtn? Do you take Ponce most of the way? Or do you just cruise right down 78...haha? Thats a pretty serious commute.

LittleBigMan

Hey, GT! So you're in Decatur? That's a beautiful town, and so close to the city, too. If I lived in Decatur, I'd have a really nice commute (but I'm not complaining, now!)

After a few neighborhood backstreets, I take Covington Highway from Kensington MARTA Station all the way through Avondale Estates and into Decatur, where I cross the RR tracks onto Howard/Dekalb Ave., then onto Edgewood Ave. at the Inman Park MARTA Station, on to Piedmont Rd. But there are many ways to go, that's just the fastest for me, but it's certainly not the most scenic!

Where do you ride?

GTcommuter

LBM,

I've got a pretty great situation at the moment. I'm working part-time and taking some classes down at Tech. Its a straight shot down Dekalb Ave., McLendon, Freedom Pkwy, Highland, Argonne (Krispy Kreme), and then 5th on into campus. Pretty much the PATH route without too much time on the actual trail.

Some afternoons I'll come back on Centennial through downtown then Edgewood, Euclid for a stop at Outback, and so forth back into the Dec. As my schedule shifts next semester I'll probably have to change my routes, but its been an awesome commute. Plus Manuals is almost at the halfway point, so I can always take a mid-ride break if I need to.

LittleBigMan

It's funny. I'd bet many of us have seen each other before.

I've stopped at Outback many a time for help. Do you know Peter? These guys are great. Little Five Points used to be a regular place for me to pass through when I took McLendon. For a while, I stayed off McLendon because it was so darned full of bumps, but I became so familiar with all of them enough to avoid every crack, groove or seam. Now, they've finally repaved the mug! I might go back to using it on the leg home instead of Dekalb.

Glad to meet another ATL commuter! Keep on cycling!

RonH

Watch out for the "bulb-outs" and the cars that must now pass really close because of these things. Since the city repaved and changed the layout of the road it isn't the best road for cycling.

LittleBigMan

(Those are really weird, Ron. I guess the drivewayless residents of that old neighborhood need an indented place to park?)