McLendon Avenue is a major connector of neighborhoods including Druid Hills, Decatur, Lake Claire, Candler Park, Inman Park and many other places in between that are on commuter, shopping, or social routes throughout the east side of Atlanta. It is also a major bike (part of the Stone Mountain Bike Trail) and pedestrian connector with hundreds of daily bike riders, scooters, electric bikes, walkers, joggers, strollers, wheelchairs, and all ages of folks going to schools, parks, shops, restaurants, MARTA, churches, work, universities, and to visit friends and loved ones.

We believe that McLendon can become an important demonstration of what is possible here in Atlanta when better signage and other “Tactical Urban” interventions such as painted crosswalks are implemented. These interventions are being used all around the country as cities seek a more balanced approach to motorized vs. non-motorized transportation. As a Nation, State, and City, we are at an important crossroads both environmentally and socially, so transformations that reduce carbon emissions, improve community health and quality of life and reduce auto related accidents must be a high priority for all of us to work on together.

The Candler Park Neighborhood Organization (CPNO), Candler Park Conservancy, Lake Claire Neighbors, Neighborhood Church, Commissioner Jeff Rader, the Candler Park Market, Sean’s Candler Park, Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari have all chipped in a total of $18,000 to cover the cost of the planning effort led by Lord Aeck Sargent.

A joint committee of eight Candler Park and Lake Claire residents have been meeting together for about six months to coordinate and raise money for this important locally driven process.

CPNO has partnered with The City of Atlanta (ADOT), Propel ATL (formerly the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition), Lake Claire Neighbors, Mary Lin Elementary School community members, and others interested in safer routes to schools, neighborhoods, and businesses.

Once the plan has been completed and approved by the City of Atlanta it will include cost estimates for a variety of low to medium cost interventions our community would like to see implemented. We will ask the City to fund as many of these as possible over the next several years.

Two Ways:

1. On Thursday, September 15^th (5:00 pm to 8:00 pm) and Saturday September 17^th(9:00 am to noon) there will be public meetings held at Neighborhood Church (1561 McLendon Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30307) in the main sanctuary.
2. There will be an on-line survey in October and November 2022 to collect additional input.

We aim to have the plan ready for final review by the end of 2022 and adopted by the City in early 2023.

Comments may be submitted during the September public meetings. After the public meetings there will be an on-line survey which will be open for at least 60 days to provide an additional opportunity for comments.

Tactical Urbanism is a relatively new concept which focuses on low cost, artful solutions that can turn often ugly intersections and stretches of pavement into creatively colored works of 2-D art. This may include landscape materials, murals, and even “parklettes” (think parking spaces turned into café seating) that transform streets and intersections into lovely people focused spaces.  These changes have been shown to slow travel speeds and make streets safer for all users of our public roads.

The best answer to this question is to get involved and help us create an environment that sends powerful yet fun-filled signals to travelers who will take notice when moving through our strategically enhanced streetscapes.