New Urban Roswell Update

We've got a few news items of note this week from Roswell, around town and even outside the country.

Roswell

One large item to report here in Roswell from earlier this month is the groundbreaking of the midtown streetscape improvement project.  We haven't seen anything of note just yet but we can't wait to see the finished product in a year or so.

Milton County: Not This Year - NorthFulton.com - Personally, I'm not in favor of seceding from Fulton county.  I just don't personally feel that it's necessary.  I actually feel that if anything, there should be more county consolidation in the metro area.  The paying more tax for fewer benefits just doesn't resonate with me.  How many states should cut ties with the federal government under that argument. 

Metro

We were happy to see some progress on the Beltline this week.  

Second Portion of Beltline Complete - wsbradio.com - Another segment of the Beltline trail opened this weekend. From what we can tell, it looks very professional and it should be a symbol to people that the Beltline will actually happen.

Dunwoody Envisions Significant Mixed Use Development - Champion Newspaper - This is more of a 20 year vision but it is promising nonetheless.  

MARTA Faces Drastic Cuts - Creative Loafing - Can someone please do something about this?  It's not looking good for a transportation bill under the gold dome for the third consecutive year.  I think we can all agree that cutting MARTA train and bus service on Fridays would be bad for the local economy and bad for everyone's car commutes.  

Beyond

Mindspring Founder Takes New Urbanist Movement to Costa Rica - InsideCostaRica.com - Charles Brewer is nothing short of bold.  His development in south Atlanta, Glenwood Park, has won national acclaim and is truly a great accomplishment.  If you haven't seen it, you should take an opportunity to drive down and grab a bite to eat and walk through the neighborhood.  

Upcoming Events

Alive After Five- 4.15 - This year's Alive After Five season kicks off on tax day.  

Good Urbanism 101 - 4.15 - 5.4 - This is an educational event sponsored by the Georgia Conservancy.  There are six classes on quality urban design.  The course costs $200.

Dogwood Festival - 4.16 - 4.18 - The annual Dogwood Festival will be held in Piedmont Park.  This one is always a safe bet for a good time and you can appreciate Atlanta's largest park.

Inman Park Festival - 4.24 - 4.25 - The Inman Park Festival is Atlanta's largest festival.  We love this festival for many reasons but the fact that it is in the beautiful walkable neighborhood of Inman Park is probably the number one reason.  Inman Park is one of the few neighborhoods in Atlanta that exhibits many of New Urbanist characteristics.  Be sure to take MARTA if you go.

Congress for the New Urbanism - 5.19 - 5.22 - The most influential minds in the new urbanist movement will be here in Atlanta for the 18th congress.  The theme this year is Rx for Healthy Places and is a joint effort with the CDC.

Go Wild in Roswell - 5.20 - 6.6 - This is a citywide celebration of nature that will feature different events on different days.  Check out the link for details.

Atlanta Streets Alive - 5.23 - This one is still a little while away but it is a really interesting concept.