Atlanta, DeKalb win smart-growth grants
February 12, 2009 at 5:55 pm by Thomas Wheatley in News
The hardest part about making progress in metro Atlanta is fixing the mistakes of its past — namely, the sprawl created in part by an auto-dependent lifestyle and cheap land stretching out in all directions.
Thankfully, the Atlanta Regional Commission has some idea of how to turn that sprawl into walkable and livable areas — places you actually want to be.
Today, the commission announced several new sites for its Livable Centers Initiative, an award-winning program that funds planning studies for cities and counties to help retrofit sprawl-afflicted areas. The two closest to home? The Donald Lee Hollowell-Veterans Memorial Parkway Corridor in Atlanta and Cobb County and the North Druid Hills Road Corridor in DeKalb County.
More details from the commission about those sites after the jump.
DL Hollowell-Veterans Memorial Parkway Corridor
Award Amount: $120,000
The Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway / Veterans Memorial Highway Corridor Study Area is located along a four-mile stretch of road in southern Cobb County and in Northwest Atlanta. Like other similar areas around metro Atlanta, this corridor features underutilized commercial and light industrial properties with public housing developments scattered throughout. The study seeks to balance growth and development while taking full advantage of the road’s potential for transit-supportive redevelopment. It will turn existing developments into vibrant mixed-use centers, strengthen existing industrial uses and provide a variety of housing opportunities, while minimizing land-use conflicts between residential and industrial areas. The study will also focus on improving mobility and accessibility to all modes of transportation, allowing the growing residential base to get around more easily. By weaving civic uses into the local fabric, the city and county hope to foster a strong “sense of place,” as well.
North Druid Hills Road Corridor
Award Amount: $120,000
This study area encompasses a 2.5-mile stretch of the North Druid Hills corridor from Buford Highway to Clairmont Road. Over the past 60 years, North Druid Hills Road has evolved from a rural byway, to a suburban arterial, to a regional commuter corridor between east metro Atlanta and employment centers in the Clifton Corridor and Buckhead. Locations along the corridor are facing substantial redevelopment pressure driven by the area’s centrality within the region, household income, density and a strong and growing local employment base. The LCI study will bring a shared vision for future direction in this corridor, taking into account the public interest and other opinions on the proper extent and location of new development and redevelopment. This study will directly address the density and transportation dilemmas facing residential and commercial developers. It will also look at traffic patterns, transportation alternatives and the need for educated involvement in decision-making along the North Druid Hills corridor.
(Logo courtesy of the Atlanta Regional Commission)
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