Great article in local paper today
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Great article in local paper today
Bike commuters trickle to Perimeter
Anna Varela - Staff
Friday, April 28, 2006
For many, the Perimeter Mall area is a nightmare of snarled traffic best avoided around rush hour.
For roughly 115,000 people, it's a daily destination for work or shopping.
And for an intrepid few, it's a place they brave by bicycle.
"It's a lot easier than you'd expect it to be," said Bryan MacPherson, who started bike commuting from his home in east Cobb to UPS headquarters in the Perimeter area last fall. "People [motorists] for the most part are much more considerate than I expected them to be."
The Perimeter area's boosters say that people should get used to seeing cyclists and pedestrians in the area, which boasts one of the largest concentrations of employers in metro Atlanta. As the area continues to grow, they say it is evolving into a community where more people will live and play, not just a place to drive to for work.
For a growing number of people, that could mean living nearby and getting around by bike or on foot.
MacPherson, 34, said his biggest motivation for bike commuting was to lose weight. So far, the financial analyst has shed 35 pounds by biking three or more times a week, roughly 8 1/2 miles each way. He hopes to lose 40 more pounds.
He's also earned about $350 in alternative commuting rewards from the Perimeter Transportation Coalition, and he says he's saving about $100 a month on gas.
For now, bicycle commuting is a tiny piece of the transportation puzzle for the area, home of metro Atlanta's first major shopping center built outside I-285.
The Perimeter Transportation Coalition has done an informal census of bike racks that found 50 to 100 people a day may ride their bikes to work. The count did not include people who carry their bikes into their offices for safe-keeping. Only about a dozen routinely log their bike commute on a Web site that allows them to earn cash rewards for their effort.
Liz Wattenberg, a program manager at the Perimeter Coalition, points to the road in front of her office building --- Perimeter Center Parkway --- as a vision of the more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly future.
At the south end, the road will connect with a bridge that will cross over I-285. Transportation planners call it a fly-over. Scheduled to open in spring 2007, it will have two driving lanes on each side, wide sidewalks and bike lanes, creating a connection to Lake Hearn Drive just south of I-285.
At the north end of Perimeter Center Parkway, a destination is taking shape, with stores, condos and restaurants being developed by Sembler Co.
Clothing and home decor shops, along with several eateries, have already opened in the development, called Perimeter Place. The fledgling neighborhood is centered around two- to six-story buildings on a street with angled parking and a small round-about at the center. Perimeter Place will be anchored by a 27-floor high-rise called The Manhattan, which will add 227 homes to the mix.
Wattenberg said such developments make it easier for people who work in the Perimeter area to live there and avoid daily traffic jams. "If people move closer, it changes their entire life."
When it comes to cycling, Wattenberg knows fear is the biggest barrier for people. Bicyclists have to ride in the streets alongside cars. Though some drivers think cyclists should stick to the sidewalks, it's illegal for adults to do that.
To help potential bike commuters and others who want to ride on city streets, Wattenberg teaches an Effective Cycling course several times a year.
On a recent Saturday, she led 11 students through bike-handling drills in a parking deck in the Perimeter area, including practice in making sudden stops and sharp turns without losing control. Later, she and an assistant took smaller groups on practice rides in moderate traffic along stretches of Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Hammond Drive and Perimeter Center West.
"We can be on the road," Wattenberg told the students. "We are vehicles as long as we act like vehicles and respect those rights and rules."
Most drivers edged over a bit to make way for the line of bikes. Some of the intersections were intimidating --- Wattenberg reminded the group to follow the rules of the road and make eye contact with motorists so they know that drivers have seen them. She told people that it's also OK to get off the bike and walk across in a crosswalk.
Several of the student cyclists were nervous about the traffic, which moved fast on some stretches of the route. They edged to the right when they saw turning lanes so they could get out of the regular travel lane. That move is a no-no because it forces the cyclists to weave to the left when the turn lane ends, possibly surprising motorists behind them.
One of the students, Adrienne Howard, hopes to become a bike commuter, at least occasionally.
Howard lives in Dunwoody, less than five miles from her office in the Perimeter area.
But she isn't sure she can face the worst of the traffic, when drivers can get frustrated and short-tempered. "If I was going to commute, I would not do it at rush hour."
Az
Anna Varela - Staff
Friday, April 28, 2006
For many, the Perimeter Mall area is a nightmare of snarled traffic best avoided around rush hour.
For roughly 115,000 people, it's a daily destination for work or shopping.
And for an intrepid few, it's a place they brave by bicycle.
"It's a lot easier than you'd expect it to be," said Bryan MacPherson, who started bike commuting from his home in east Cobb to UPS headquarters in the Perimeter area last fall. "People [motorists] for the most part are much more considerate than I expected them to be."
The Perimeter area's boosters say that people should get used to seeing cyclists and pedestrians in the area, which boasts one of the largest concentrations of employers in metro Atlanta. As the area continues to grow, they say it is evolving into a community where more people will live and play, not just a place to drive to for work.
For a growing number of people, that could mean living nearby and getting around by bike or on foot.
MacPherson, 34, said his biggest motivation for bike commuting was to lose weight. So far, the financial analyst has shed 35 pounds by biking three or more times a week, roughly 8 1/2 miles each way. He hopes to lose 40 more pounds.
He's also earned about $350 in alternative commuting rewards from the Perimeter Transportation Coalition, and he says he's saving about $100 a month on gas.
For now, bicycle commuting is a tiny piece of the transportation puzzle for the area, home of metro Atlanta's first major shopping center built outside I-285.
The Perimeter Transportation Coalition has done an informal census of bike racks that found 50 to 100 people a day may ride their bikes to work. The count did not include people who carry their bikes into their offices for safe-keeping. Only about a dozen routinely log their bike commute on a Web site that allows them to earn cash rewards for their effort.
Liz Wattenberg, a program manager at the Perimeter Coalition, points to the road in front of her office building --- Perimeter Center Parkway --- as a vision of the more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly future.
At the south end, the road will connect with a bridge that will cross over I-285. Transportation planners call it a fly-over. Scheduled to open in spring 2007, it will have two driving lanes on each side, wide sidewalks and bike lanes, creating a connection to Lake Hearn Drive just south of I-285.
At the north end of Perimeter Center Parkway, a destination is taking shape, with stores, condos and restaurants being developed by Sembler Co.
Clothing and home decor shops, along with several eateries, have already opened in the development, called Perimeter Place. The fledgling neighborhood is centered around two- to six-story buildings on a street with angled parking and a small round-about at the center. Perimeter Place will be anchored by a 27-floor high-rise called The Manhattan, which will add 227 homes to the mix.
Wattenberg said such developments make it easier for people who work in the Perimeter area to live there and avoid daily traffic jams. "If people move closer, it changes their entire life."
When it comes to cycling, Wattenberg knows fear is the biggest barrier for people. Bicyclists have to ride in the streets alongside cars. Though some drivers think cyclists should stick to the sidewalks, it's illegal for adults to do that.
To help potential bike commuters and others who want to ride on city streets, Wattenberg teaches an Effective Cycling course several times a year.
On a recent Saturday, she led 11 students through bike-handling drills in a parking deck in the Perimeter area, including practice in making sudden stops and sharp turns without losing control. Later, she and an assistant took smaller groups on practice rides in moderate traffic along stretches of Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Hammond Drive and Perimeter Center West.
"We can be on the road," Wattenberg told the students. "We are vehicles as long as we act like vehicles and respect those rights and rules."
Most drivers edged over a bit to make way for the line of bikes. Some of the intersections were intimidating --- Wattenberg reminded the group to follow the rules of the road and make eye contact with motorists so they know that drivers have seen them. She told people that it's also OK to get off the bike and walk across in a crosswalk.
Several of the student cyclists were nervous about the traffic, which moved fast on some stretches of the route. They edged to the right when they saw turning lanes so they could get out of the regular travel lane. That move is a no-no because it forces the cyclists to weave to the left when the turn lane ends, possibly surprising motorists behind them.
One of the students, Adrienne Howard, hopes to become a bike commuter, at least occasionally.
Howard lives in Dunwoody, less than five miles from her office in the Perimeter area.
But she isn't sure she can face the worst of the traffic, when drivers can get frustrated and short-tempered. "If I was going to commute, I would not do it at rush hour."
Az
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That area is really changing. When I went to high school in that area Perimeter Mall was pretty desolate. It's still mostly just car-oriented but with more residential density in the area I've heard it's begining to mature towards more bike-friendly conditions. It's been several years since I was up there though.
And good work to the PTC. They've got some great advocates who are working hard up there.
And good work to the PTC. They've got some great advocates who are working hard up there.