The New Peachtree

The city has released its recommendations for improvements to the Peachtree Corridor today. Mayor Franklin announced a $1B plan to upgrade Peachtree Road (to be known henceforth simply as "Peachtree") into a "world-class" boulevard with streetscape improvements, a streetcar, bicycle lanes, underground utilities and wider sidewalks.

The picture above is a fairly accurate if unflattering artist's rendition of what my section of the Corridor looks like. My road is a left-hand turn just before that big, ugly blue-windowed building on the bend in the road and just past the Texaco station. Here's the artist's interpretation of what things will look like when the make-over is complete:

Neighbors and I met with the Mayor's Peachtree Corridor Task Force at least a half-dozen times to articulate our vision for this segment, and to limit density to less than 10-story buildings (I see they snuck in one high-rise off near the horizon on the right). And wouldn't you know it? The one recognizable building that remains is the ugliest building on the block.

The Task Force's report is available on-line. I've downloaded most of it already (there are some pretty big files in the report) but have not yet had a chance to review it in detail to see how much of what we asked for got included. However, I still feel good to have gotten the opportunity to participate. It's not every town that lets its citizens sit at the planner's table and get to play with the clay a little bit.