Does Pedestrian & Bicycle Commuting Exist in Roswell?

If you recall from our previous Smart Growth Roswell post, we posed the question "Are most of Roswell's residents able to walk or bike to work?"  As you probably know, one of the key components to successful new urbanism is walkability and connectivity.  We also think that the ability to safely ride a bike is integral to successful urbanism.  So, we wanted to take a look at these two forms of alternative transportation here in Roswell.  Primarily, we wanted to find out just how many of are walking or riding to work. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the most up to date statistics on this but rest assured that these numbers probably haven't changes significantly.  According to City Data, in 2000, only 0.1% of commutes in Roswell were by bicycle and 1.1% of commutes were by foot.  Additionally, 84% of commutes were made by solo drivers while another 11% were carpools.  I'd like to see up to date statistics but I think the story would be very similar.  Of course, bicycle awareness in Roswell has come a long way since 2000 just as it has all over the country but there still aren't too many individuals ready to brave the roads to commute to work.  There are also many neighborhoods that lack adequate sidewalks or bicycling facilities.  Now, just because people aren't walking or biking to work doesn't mean that they can't.  

So, to try and gauge where our community actually is, we took a look at a 2007 city survey.  The survey was sent to a sample of 1351 residents and 456 responded.  They were asked to rate their experience and satisfaction on 11 key livability metrics.  Ease of Bicycling in the City was rated as follows; Excellent 12%, Good 21%, Fair 37%, Poor 30%.  This was the largest percentage in the Poor category for any of the metrics that were surveyed.  Next worst were traffic flow/signal timing and ease of walking in the city at 25% and 19% respectively.  This screams loud and clear that we are not where we need to be when it comes to giving Roswell residents adequate alternatives to the automobile.  

That being said, not all is bad.  We are making good progress with the sidewalks with the Holcomb Bridge Rd. project, the connection of the Big Creek Greenway to the Alpharetta greenway and the Midtown streetscaping project.  Additionally, We also have multiple bike boxes.  The one pictured here is at the new Grimes Bridge/Oxbo intersection.  Here's a quick video from StreetFilms about bike boxes if you don't know what they are or how to use one.

Here's what we can look forward to in the future.  This is from the city's transportation plan. The vision for Roswell's bicycle and pedestrian plan consists of three components. 

1. Multi-Use trails along creek systems, parks, and natural areas. 

2. A “Roswell Loop” that establishes the premier bicycle and pedestrian corridors of the city and connects to every major park and civic resource. 

3. A “complete streets” approach on the key roads that connect to parks, neighborhoods, and schools.  

Additionally, Roswell is the only city in Georgia to be designated a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Cyclists.  All in all, we are heading in the right direction but we still have a long way to go before any meaningful percentage of our residents will be able to walk or bike to work.  Let's keep working to get off of this car dependence.  

Other Resources

Bike Roswell

Roswell Bicycles

Roswell Cycling Festival

RAMBO (Roswell Alpharetta Mountain Biking Association)

Atlanta

Atlanta Bicycle Coalition

PEDS

Does Atlanta Need an American Makeover?

This is a well put together video by AmericanMakeover.tv chronicling Atlanta's unstoppable sprawl. It showcases the New Urbanist community Glenwood Park near downtown as an alternative to the unbridled growth that the city has experienced. The video is short but informative and I suggest you check it out. Also, if you have not had a chance to check out Glenwood Park, do so next time you are down near Grant Park or East Atlanta (it's right between them just south of I20)

Air, Mortgages, Commutes and Apple

Here is our first installment of the Atlanta Rankings Project.  We are working to compile as many rankings of cities in the metro area as possible.  We will begin tracking this on another section of our website.  Until then, look for periodic updates on the New Urban Roswell blog.  

Business

The state of Georgia ranked 9th in the nation for mortgage fraud and misrepresentation in 2009.  We're heading in the right direction though.  Our previous rankings were 5, 6 & 8 in '06, '07 & '08 respectively.

Forbes annual ranking of the best cities for business puts Atlanta at #27.  This is down from a #6 ranking in 2009.  One very bright spot was our #6 ranking for colleges.  Another was the #25 ranking for potential economic growth.

Atlanta weighs in as having the fourth worst commute times out of the top 52 metro areas in the US.

Forbes has Atlanta as the nation's second most wired city.  We love our internet.

Environment

Atlanta makes it to #19 in the American Lung Association's annual rankings of cities with the most ozone pollution.  

Demographic

Peachtree City named one of the top 100 places to live in America by RelocateAmerica.

Georgians 46th in spending.  You wouldn't be able to tell by how packed he mall and restaurants are.  I guess other parts of the state balance out all of the hyper consumers here in Atlanta.

Fun

Well, it looks like Atlanta doesn't have a man card. AskMen.com has left our great city off the list of the top 29 Manliest Cities. I can live with being #30...

I guess It's now time to start ranking cities on how Apple friendly they are.  Atlanta comes in at 22.

Someone Breezed Through English Class

After adding one round trip to my Breeze card this morning, I was promptly informed that "Two trips has been loaded" to my Breeze card. With the amount of money MARTA paid for those Breeze machines, you would think we would receive proper grammar. In this case, MARTA is not SMARTA.

New Urban Roswell Update

We found more than a few news items of note over the past couple of weeks from Roswell, around town and even outside the country.

Roswell

Roswell to Begin State Road 9 Improvements - AJC

The project has begun. We noticed the big orange barrels on our commute to work yesterday and we are excited to see the work begin. The work will progress in quarter mile increments and will begin at Norcross Street. This will really help change the face of the Roswell midtown area.

Legislature Passes Transportation Bill - ABC

This wasn't my favorite solution but it is a step in the right direction. MARTA will probably still have to make cuts this summer and we won't see any actual projects completed using the potential penny sales tax until 2014.

Sales of Foreclosures in North Fulton Increase: So What? - Live in Alpharetta

I'm not sure that I wholly agree with this post but I do agree that home prices in North Fulton are unlikely to see a wholesale decrease in values. The data is still deeply concerning and does not give any indication to me at least that the credit crisis is letting up. As the stimulus money begins to run out this quarter, I expect to see a dip back into recession territory. Also, the fact that Georgia was the sixth worst state came as no surprise but is disconcerting nonetheless.

Harry's Finds More Fresh Produce - NorthFulton.com

Harry's is now the drop off point for the Dunwoody Green Market CSA. We now have two CSA dropoffs here in Roswell with the other being the Local Food Stop dropoff at Market Street Antiques and Unitarian Universalist Church on Wed and Thurs respectively.

Roswell, Alpharetta Going Green - NorthFulton.com

This is a great article on Roswell and Alpharetta's green efforts. With Roswell being the only city in the state (to date) to achieve a Silver rating for the ARC's Green Communities initiative, it is obvious that the city is doing many things right. From parks, trails, water management, community outreach, tree protection and recycling, the city has really done a lot of good.

Metro

Big Creek Greenway Gets $1.5M Extension

This is great news for the big creek greenway. It will be incredible when it connects to the Forsyth portion. Now, let's see what the plan is for Roswell to extend the greenway further south.

Atlanta Receives Earth Day Brownfields Award from EPA to Support Beltline in Atlanta - EPA

This was a great announcement. Especially given the lack of funds that Atlanta or the state received from the stimulus package. There are 950 brownfield properties within Atlanta and 136 of those are along the Beltline.

Transit Cuts are Protested in Atlanta - NY Times

I thought it would be nice to get a little outside perspective on this. A third of the MARTA of buses and trains have had big red X's painted over them to signify that those are buses or trains that will be cut soon. We can only hope that cuts can be avoided. Unfortunately, it doesn't look that way. This article is rather pointed and doesn't mince words.

Reporter Asks "What Crosswalk?" - PEDS

I couldn't agree more with PEDS on this one. They wanted to point out that all too often, pedestrians are found at fault in traffic incidents while the bigger question of why did the pedestrian feel that they needed to act in an unsafe manner goes unanswered. Kudos to this reporter and to PEDS for posting this.

City Hall East Property Has New Suitor - ABC

Now that the beltline park in the fourth ward is underway, this purchase was bound to happen. The building should make an awesome mixed use office/residential complex if done right. There is a lot of potential here and I'm excited to see what it will become.

Compost Bins, Rain Barrels to be Distributed in Alpharetta - AJC

Unfortunately, I don't need these right now. The city will be selling Earth Machine backyard compost bins. Bins and rain barrels will be sold for $45 and $55 on a first-come-first-served basis.

Beyond

Would Streetcars in DC Spoil the City's Vistas - Washington Post

I completely agree that overhead wires look bad. I hate utility wires of all kinds. The technology does exist to make streetcars run without those ugly overhead wires. I just hope they aren't making perfect the enemy of good here. Streetcars definitely have a place and serve a great purpose.

New CDC Report Tells How to Design Communities to Support Good Health - PR-USA.net

The report in discussion works to illustrate the need to consider physical activity, respiratory and mental health, water quality, social equity and healthy aging when designing communities and the built environment. The CDC is looking to bring different diciplines together to work together to design the built environment in a more effective manner.

Upcoming Events

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.

The Smart Growth Roswell Project

One of the goals of New Urban Roswell is to take an objective look at where our city is currently and where we should go.  The principles that I believe in, those of New Urbanism, Smart Growth and Sustainability, will be the guiding winds.  

We will be looking at the city and our environment mainly through the lenses of the books Suburban Nation and The Smart Growth Manual.  They will serve as knowledgeable guides through our city and will help determine what is working, what is not working and what will work in the future. 

We will also look at city plans to help us determine where the plans are taking us.  Hopefully, they are taking us in the right direction.  I hope that as this site grows and becomes more of a compendium that our citizens can use as a reference and tool to effect positive change within our community.  

To start off, I'd like to pose some questions?

- Are most of Roswell's residents able to walk or bike to work?

- Can your children or those in your neighborhood walk to school?

- Is there a park or public space (not a road) that is within a 5 minute walk of your home?

- Are drivers able to effectively move around town without accessing congested arterial roads?

- Do you live in a neighborhood with homes that are valued outside of a standard range for all of the homes in the community?

- Do you have more than two entrances/exits to your neighborhood?

- Do most of the homes in your neighborhoods look similar?

- Do you have effective transportation options other than the automobile?

- Does your region have a comprehensive plan in place to curtail sprawl, encourage walkability, facilitate connectivity and movement of people?

We'll take a look at all of these questions individually in coming posts.  But first, if you are unfamiliar with the concepts of new urbanism and smart growth, now might be a good time to familiarize yourself.  Be careful though because you might start to see your reality as something that you don't particularly like.  

We'll start with New Urbanism.  You can see a few videos here, here and here.  Or if you prefer to read an overview, check this page from the Congress for the New Urbanism out.  I'll quickly summarize though.  New urbanism is based upon classic principles of town design.  You could actually call it old urbanism or traditional neighborhood design.  Towns like Alexandria, VA, Charleston, SC and the French Quarter in New Orleans are all great examples of what would be New Urban communities if built today.  Towns have a discernable town center that is typically within a 5-10 minute walk of most residences.  There is generally a variety of housing types ranging from condos above shops to townhomes to single family homes with yards.  The neighborhood is built in a way that it encourages a mixture of ages and ethnicities.  This all directly opposes the monoculture theology of suburban sprawl.  Unfortunately, with the exception of the Historic Roswell, South Atlanta Street corridor, our city does not currently exhibit many of these characteristics.  

When you look at new urbanism, you see that it is focused mostly on neighborhoods and what is contained within those neighborhoods or smaller towns.  You can either take a step down a level and deal with the sustainability of the buildings within those neighborhoods or you can take a step up and look at the overall sustainability of the region.  This is where smart growth comes in.  

The term smart growth has been around for years and many have found it to be presumptuous in nature.  How can they know what is good for me and my city?  Well, when you take a look at the principles of smart growth, you see that it is actually quite particular to the specific region where it is being applied.  For example, the region as a whole must come together and agree upon goals and initiatives of where development should be targeted, avoided and prohibited.  This process requires an enormous amount of thought, research and planning around land use and transportation.  It is different for every city or region.  As outlined in The Smart Growth Manual, the main areas of concern to ensure that growth is indeed smart are the Region, the Neighborhood, the Street and the Building.  For a quick primer on smart growth, you can watch a video here or read about it here.

Now that you have a quick primer on the principles of smart growth and new urbanism.  We'll begin to take a look at the questions posed earlier in this post in upcoming posts.

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.  

Earth Day is Coming Up

Earth Day is on the 22nd.  This is actually the 40th anniversary of the holiday.  There will be a number of festivals around town to commemorate the occasion.  Here's a good selection:

Roswell

Captain Planet Earth Day Kids Fest @ The Chattahoochee Nature Center - 4.17 10am - 3pm - This is a great family event hosted by the Chattahoochee Nature Center right here in Roswell.  There will be many activities and hands on exhibits for kids.  Admission is $5 for kids and $8 for adults.  

Earth Day Conservation Giveaway @ City Hall - 4.22 4pm - 630pm - The city is partnering with Keep Roswell Beautiful to encourage residents to be more water friendly.  They will be giving away water conservation kits that include aerators, low flow shower heads, leak detectors and toilet tank water savers.  

Green Day Extravaganza @ Harry's Farmers Market - 4.24 12pm - 4pm - This is a free event at Harry's Farmers Market here in Roswell.  Learn about rain barrels, composting, community gardening and more.  There will be hamburgers and hot dogs as well.  

Around Town

Earth Day Decatur Festival & Parade - 4.18 - Check out the Oakhurst Community Garden website for details.  

Earth Share Georgia's Earth Day Party on Land - 4.21 7pm @ Opera - This is a fund raising charity event that Earth Share Georgia holds each year.  It is a great event bringing together hundreds of activists, philanthropists and business professionals.  Tickets to the event are $50.

Earth Day @ Atlantic Station - 4.22 - 11am - 3pm - One of the best examples of Smart Growth in the south has its own Earth Day festival in the Central Park area.  Vendors, exhibitors and others will be on hand to help attendees learn about living a greener more sustainable lifestyle.  

Georgia Tech Earth Day Celebration - 4.23 - 10am - 2pm - This is actually one of the southeast's largest Earth Day celebrations.  They are expecting about 3,000 attendees.  Over 70 exhibitors will be on hand.

Earth Day Celebration @ The Georgia Aquarium - 4.24 - The Georgia Aquarium is actually having a week long celebration but will cap it off on the 24th with an all day event.  There will be a green scavenger hunt, interactive storytelling and arts & crafts.  Standard aquarium admission applies.

Roswell Left Out of Top 50 Bicycling Cities

Although I only recently moved to Roswell, one of the things I noticed almost immediately was that the city supports cycling.  There is a bike box on Riverside Drive, ample signage on many cycling routes as well as a mayor supported weekly ride around town during the good weather months.  So, I was actually surprised to see that in a recent Bicycling.com ranking of the top 50 cycling cities in the US that Roswell was not on the list.  In fact, no cities in Georgia made the cut.  Maybe we were slighted because we have not been able to keep the Tour de Georgia race up and running.  The closest city on the list was Chattanooga. 

Cyclists shouldn't be discouraged though as the momentum is strong.  The recent Georgia Rides to the Capitol event had a strong showing.  Mayor Jere Wood, an avid cyclist, rode to the gold dome along with 1,200 other cyclists from Roswell and Decatur to show support for new legislation that would require automobiles to give three feet of clearance to cyclists.  That would be excellent and hopefully make the streets just a little safer.  If we keep pushing for positive things, eventually, we will get them.

New Urban Roswell Update

We're starting something new this week.  Our weekly post will take on a similar format as our old Peach Bites posts.  We will round up news related to new urbanism, smart growth and in some cases, green living from Roswell, Atlanta and beyond.  We are going through a backlog of news stories that we have accumulated over the past several months so please bear with us while we catch up.

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.

Sandy Springs, Roswell Eyeing New Bridge

This would be a big win for both communities. I'm hoping that Sandy Springs will kick in their half as their community will benefit from the bridge.

Roswell OKs Barrington Hall Stairway

I live in the mill neighborhood and see Barrington Hall every day. This will be a great addition to that well traveled intersection. It will bring more attention to the historic building and hopefully it will result in the city putting in sidewalks along the west side of 9 and the south side of 120 so that pedestrians will actually be able to get to the stairs.

Metro

There have been a few stories of note recently in Atlanta.  It's exciting that virtually all potential development these days has some sort of new urbanist, smart growth or TOD characteristics.  

GM Plant in Doraville Becomes Mixed Use Development - Atlanta Real Estate Forum

This could be huge. I'd wouldn't be surprised if it becomes something similar to an Atlantic Station on the north side of the city. One thing that makes it even better is the easy accessibility to MARTA. This is a great opportunity to showcase new urbanism concepts on a large scale in a part of the city where people will take notice. What a relief that a stadium isn't going in here.

Atlanta startup, Ridecell, on the move - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

Just another great way to use your mobile phone. Now if MARTA could just do something to entice regular people to ride the bus.

Beyond

CDC: People in sunny states happiest, New York least - USATODAY.com

I find it interesting that all of our neighboring states can be ranked so highly while we're coming in at 19. Florida #3, Tennessee #4, Alabama #9 and SC higher than us. What does that say about life in Atlanta?

Georgia Cities Vie for Google - GPB.org

This would certainly be an interesting move by Google. Three Georgia cities are in the running; Decatur, Savannah and Peachtree City. Wishful thinking that Roswell would be one of those three. I'm actually surprised that one of the North Fulton cities isn't in the running given the money that resides in the area.

Inspired Ethonomics: Portland, a Global Model of Transit-Oriented Development - Fast Company

I love the quick hit on TOD in this article. The point that you never want to design a city for one type of person is very important. You want young people, families and retirees of all ethnic backgrounds to be able to live in your community. A diverse community, just like a diverse ecosystem, is a healthy one.

Events

Alive After Five- 4/15 - This year's Alive After Five season kicks off on tax day.  

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.   

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.