![Georgia Rides to the Capital](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Georgia_Rides_to_the_Capital.jpg)
Cycling in Atlanta has grown in popularity in recent years, from 0.33% of commutes in 2000 to 1.1% in 2009,
aided by improving
cycling infrastructure
Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except whe ...
and community support. Although Atlanta has historically been a city defined by the automobile, its increasingly compact urban form and mild climate are encouraging residents to cycle to work, shopping, and recreational destinations. Though Atlanta's famed hilly topography can make cycling challenging, though fun, many parts of the city are relatively flat, including some of the more densely populated areas. However, heavy automobile traffic, the lack of bike lanes on many streets, and difficulty in crossing major streets deter most residents from cycling frequently in Atlanta.
History
![Airport Ride 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Airport_Ride_5.jpg)
Prior to 2000, Atlanta's car-choked roads were rarely shared with cyclists. In fact, cycling was associated with those who couldn't afford automobile transportation. However, during the 2000s, due to Atlanta's increasing density, burgeoning intown population, and green ambitions, cycling boomed in popularity. Bike advocacy groups, including
Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, began planning bike-centric social events and lobbying city leaders for more cycling infrastructure.
Culture
![Roswell and Decatur Groups Riding In](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Roswell_and_Decatur_Groups_Riding_In.jpg)
Atlanta has an active and growing cycling culture organized around many different bike-related social events and clubs. Many of the well-known "cycling cliques" are represented in the city, including
urban cyclists,
road racing
Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...
bicycle riders,
messengers, and
fixed-gear
A fixed-gear bicycle (or fixed-wheel bicycle, commonly known in some places as a fixie) is a bicycle that has a drivetrain with no freewheel mechanism. The freewheel was developed early in the history of bicycle design but the fixed-gear bicy ...
riders ("fixie hipsters").
Bicycle clubs
Recreational bicycling clubs in Atlanta includ
Metro Atlanta Cycling ClubLadies on SpokesSouthern Bicycling LeagueBike EmoryDunwoody CyclingSorella Cycling an
Atlanta Cycling Team Spindle (www.thespindleatl.com) The DopePedaler
DopePedalers (@dopepedalers) • Instagram photos and videos
Atlanta Streets Alive
Atlanta Streets Alive
Atlanta Streets Alive is a ciclovía held throughout the year in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Ciclovía is Spanish for a temporary closing of the street to automobiles for use by people participating in recreational acti ...
is a
ciclovía
Ciclovía (, ), also ''ciclovia'' or ''cyclovia'', is a Spanish term that means "cycleway", either a permanent bike path or the temporary closing of certain streets to automobiles for cyclists and pedestrians, a practice sometimes called open s ...
held throughout the year. It is a temporary closing of the street to automobiles for use by cyclists. The free event, organized by the
Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, takes place in
Downtown Atlanta
Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The larger of the city's two other commercial districts ( Midtown and Buckhead), it is the location of many corporate and regional headquarters; city, county, s ...
and the
Old Fourth Ward
The Old Fourth Ward, often abbreviated O4W, is an intown neighborhood on the eastside of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The neighborhood is best known as the location of the Martin Luther King Jr. historic site.
Geography
The Old Fourth Wa ...
, mostly on Edgewood Avenue. Sections of Auburn Avenue, Park Place, and Equitable Place are also closed to automobile traffic. The event kickoff is held at
Woodruff Park
Woodruff Park, named for Robert W. Woodruff, is located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The park's are north of Edgewood Ave, between Peachtree Street NE and Park Place NE. The park includes a fountain, a performance pavilion, an ...
. Around 6,000 people attend the event, usually held in the spring, summer, or autumn months to take advantage of Atlanta's mild climate.
Critical Mass
![Critical Mass July 29, 2011 - Woodruff Park](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Critical_Mass_July_29%2C_2011_-_Woodruff_Park.jpg)
The first
Critical Mass
In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fissi ...
bicycle ride took place on in 1992 in San Francisco, and has since spread to hundreds of cities worldwide. Atlanta's version of the event, which draws around 300 participants, takes place on the last Friday of each month at 6:30 pm at
Woodruff Park
Woodruff Park, named for Robert W. Woodruff, is located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The park's are north of Edgewood Ave, between Peachtree Street NE and Park Place NE. The park includes a fountain, a performance pavilion, an ...
. The cyclists then ride through the city ''en masse'', re-claiming the normally auto-dominated streets for bicycle use.
Infrastructure
Atlanta's cycling infrastructure, while improving, has a long way to go.
However, in 2010, Atlanta built nearly 15 more miles of bike lanes, both dedicated and shared.
There are a number of paved and unpaved trails within and near the city, that are open to cyclists as well as pedestrians.
A "Chief Bicycle Officer" position (CBO) at the City of Atlanta was funded by a five-year $250,000 challenge grant to the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition by the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation (an affiliated fund of The Arthur M. Blank family Foundation), beginning in 2015. In October 2015, Becky Katz was hired as Atlanta's first Chief Bicycle Officer. Goals for the CBO position included gathering public input to update the Connect Atlanta plan, and advancing various bicycle infrastructure projects city-wide, as part of a larger push for Atlanta to seek the
League of American Bicyclists
The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education.
A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...
’ top designation as a “Bicycle Friendly Community”. In April 2018, following Katz's departure from the position, the job was reposted. The City of Atlanta hired Cary Bearn as Chief Bicycle Officer in September 2018.
PATH
Founded 1991,
PATH
A path is a route for physical travel – see Trail.
Path or PATH may also refer to:
Physical paths of different types
* Bicycle path
* Bridle path, used by people on horseback
* Course (navigation), the intended path of a vehicle
* Desire p ...
is a nonprofit that has built more than 100 miles of bike trails throughout Atlanta. Over the next 20 years, the organization plans to construct a spider-like trail connecting
Centennial Olympic Park
Centennial Olympic Park is a public park located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, owned and operated by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. It was built by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) as part of the infrastructu ...
, the
Beltline
The Atlanta BeltLine (also Beltline or Belt Line) is a open and planned loop of multi-use trail and light rail transit system on a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta BeltLine is designed to reconnect neig ...
, and the suburbs.
BeltLine
The
Beltline
The Atlanta BeltLine (also Beltline or Belt Line) is a open and planned loop of multi-use trail and light rail transit system on a former railway corridor around the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta BeltLine is designed to reconnect neig ...
, a planned 22-mile loop of transit circling Atlanta, will also have a bike trail component. Current bike trails include a two-and-a-half mile trail in southwest Atlanta, and a two-and-a-half mile trail connecting
Piedmont Park
Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...
to
Inman Park
Inman Park is an intown neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, and its first planned suburb. It was named for Samuel M. Inman.
History
Today's neighborhood of Inman Park includes areas that were originally designated
* Inman Park p ...
.
Connect Atlanta
Connect Atlanta, the city's comprehensive transportation plan, calls for the construction of more than 200 miles of bike lanes.
Statistics
![Art on Beltline Atlanta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Art_on_Beltline_Atlanta.jpg)
*Miles of bike lanes in the city of Atlanta: 45.2
*Miles of bike lanes proposed under the city's official transportation plan: 226
*Percentage of Georgia bicycle-crash victims under the age of 30 who reported wearing a helmet in accidents from 2000 to 2006: 7
Source:
*Percentage of workers commuting by bicycle: 1.1% in 2009, up from 0.33% in 2000.
Advocacy
The
Atlanta Bicycle Coalition is a nonprofit
public-benefit corporation established to "create a healthier, more sustainable Atlanta by making it safer, easier, and more attractive to bicycle for fun, fitness, and transportation." Founded in 1991, the ABC has a dues-paying membership. The ABC organizes or promotes cycling-related events such as
Atlanta Streets Alive
Atlanta Streets Alive is a ciclovía held throughout the year in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Ciclovía is Spanish for a temporary closing of the street to automobiles for use by people participating in recreational acti ...
and Bike Month.
See also
*
Atlanta Bicycle Coalition
*
Critical Mass
In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fissi ...
*
Atlanta Streets Alive
Atlanta Streets Alive is a ciclovía held throughout the year in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Ciclovía is Spanish for a temporary closing of the street to automobiles for use by people participating in recreational acti ...
*
Bicycle Ride Across Georgia The Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) is an annual road-cycling tour across the US state of Georgia. It began in 1980 as an offshoot of RAGBRAI. Between 1,000 and 2,000 riders participate in this great ride every year.
The route covers approxima ...
References
External links
Atlanta Office of Planning - Transportation DivisionAtlanta Bicycle CoalitionThe Cyclist's Guide to Atlanta
{{Cycling in different countries and cities
Transportation in Atlanta
Culture of Atlanta
ATL