Atlanta City Council to Consider Legislation to Make Peachtree Street Car-Free Every Sunday

After a decade of successful Atlanta Streets Alive events, several Atlanta City Council members and the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, among others, believe it is time to make the popular event a weekly to-do. Now, the Atlanta City Council will have the opportunity make Peachtree Street an “Open Street,” (AKA: no cars allowed) every Sunday between the hours of 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., by approving the Atlanta Streets Alive ordinance. The ordinance sponsored by seven council members and supported by advocacy groups such as the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition.

The Atlanta Streets Alive ordinance is inspired by the extremely popular Ciclovía events, which originated in Bogota, Colombia and have spread around the world as cities discover their public health and economic benefits. The event sees major thoroughfares temporarily closed to cars and opened up to pedestrians, bicycles, scooters, and any other non-motorized transportation you can imagine for a day of stress-free recreation.

Additionally, the ordinance is timely in light of the proliferation of “Open-Streets” during the COVID era. The push for Open-Streets as impromptu park-space, coupled with reduced traffic during the pandemic have led many American cities to rethink how right-of-way is allocated.

With these inspirations in mind, the ordinance seeks to create a car-free zone connecting Midtown and Downtown each Sunday along a three mile stretch of Peachtree Street. The car-free section would be between Trinity Avenue and 17th Street, which is accessible by six MARTA stations and run adjacent to popular recreation destinations such as Piedmont and Centennial Parks.

In a post on the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition website, Executive Director Rebecca Serna wrote that “Over the years, the crowds [at Atlanta Streets Alive] grew but one thing remained the same: after or even during each Atlanta Streets Alive someone would wonder, ‘why can’t we do this every Sunday?’… this legislation will bring that eleven-year-old dream to life.”

The ordinance is sponsored by seven council members, including Amir Farokhi, Andre Dickens, Michael Julian Bond, Jennifer Ide, Natalyn Mosby Archibong and Matt Westmoreland. According to the draft ordinance, the event would cost around $2 million annually, which would be funded by on-street parking revenue.  

The ordinance was reviewed by by the City’s Transportation Committee today, October 13th, where it was held in committee after a motion to amend was made by Council Member Antonio Brown. The nature of the amendment was not available at the time of this writing. Once the ordinance is approved by the Transportation Committee, it will move to City Council for a final vote.