A Street Alive

Yesterday was Atlanta Streets Alive, an open streets event that has been sponsored in Atlanta by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition since 2010.  I had not heard of it until last spring, when Iain and I walked the route on North Highland from Virginia Avenue to Corley Street.  It was wonderful to be out in the city and see the street with new eyes, as a place one could walk instead of driving.  So when we heard there was going to be another Atlanta Streets Alive event this fall, we were looking forward to it, and we weren't disappointed. 

The Eastside Trail on the Beltline is very close to North Highland in Inman Park, and this time there was a loop incorporating the Beltline from Elizabeth Street to Virginia Avenue, for a total of about 5 miles.   The Beltline segment was okay (but not nearly as much fun as walking it at night in the lantern parade) -- I have been meaning to get there to see the artwork ever since Art on the Beltline started -- but the part that we enjoyed the most was the commercial section of North Highland through Virginia Highland and Poncey Highland.  The street was full of people, and bicyclists, and kids with hula hoops, and music.  It was like a party and everyone was welcome.

The team from Free Poems on Demand was there again and we commissioned a poem.

We played cornhole in Virginia Highland and bocce in Inman Park.  Other people were playing hockey and bicycle polo.

There were neighborhood-shaped jigsaw puzzle pieces, with magnets on the back, in the areas near Freedom Park, courtesy of the Freedom Park Conservancy; we collected the whole set.  

Last time I didn't take many pictures but this time I made sure to have new batteries and an empty memory card in my camera before I headed off.  But the pictures I took don't reflect the experience of the event.  The street looks empty, probably because I didn't take pictures when I was surrounded by people and bicycles.  It was wonderful to be out on a Sunday afternoon, enjoying the city.  This time we overheard lots of conversations about cars and bikes and walking; no one ever says driving on North Highland is enjoyable -- no one, ever -- but walking was wonderful.  We were waiting for the light to cross Ponce de Leon, late in the afternoon, and a man in an Atlanta Bicycle Coalition T-shirt commented to us that it just showed how terrible the traffic is, the contrast between the cars on Ponce and the "street full of life" behind us and ahead of us on Highland.

There was a participatory art project on the Beltline, in which we were invited to write something on a white satin ribbon and tie it on to poles as part of a display.  It wasn't clear to me what we were supposed to write -- a wish, a prayer, or what's important to us -- so I wrote a wish.  My photo didn't quite get the whole thing, but it got the most important part:

That's mine, just above the center of the photo.  It says "Cities for people not cars."   Open streets events are not just for fun, so we all have something to do on a Sunday afternoon.  The intention is to transform the way we see the city, and our streets, and transportation options in the city, and to make us all advocates for change.  

Count me in.