Walkable Midtown
Midtown has a network of easily navigable streets and well-lit sidewalks that make walking and biking much easier; not to mention it's access to four MARTA rail stations and local and regional bus service. Whether by foot, bike or transit, Midtown's residents and commuters like you have adopted car-lite lifestyles. Hear from those who've shared their stories with us of why they've embraced a walkable, bikeable Midtown. Have a story, too?
Noel Mayeske
Midtown (Atlantic Station)
MARTA Changed My Life
Surprised? Don’t be. Fifteen years ago, I found a way to save money, get more exercise, save time, read more, help the environment, and most of all, shed stress – all by riding MARTA.
Becoming a regular MARTA user changed my daily commute and various trips from expensive, often exasperating trudges through traffic into something to actually look forward to: a time to read, make calls (sans danger of an accident), listen to music… bliss out.
Recently, I took it a step further. I’d been driving a 1992 Honda Civic for years. Three years ago, I began leaving it at home most days and just walking to the College Park MARTA station about a mile from our house. Early in 2013, the trusty Civic broke down and needed a new engine. I saw that as an opportunity to try a crazy idea – to live in Atlanta without a car of my own. (My wife still has her car, so I do have access to those wheels on the weekend, in bad weather, etc.)
Jann Jones
Midtown
I live in east Roswell but work in midtown (1401 Peachtree street). I drive an electric car, Nissan Leaf, the 10 miles from my house to the Doraville Marta station. I either walk or take the bus from the arts center station to my office. I enjoy the walk and watching the cars sitting in traffic on Peachtree. On the rare days I drive in from Roswell it is misery! I try to use Marta as much as possible and combined with driving an electric car, I feel like I am polluting the world as little as possible.
Marco Ancheita
Downtown
Raised in the suburbs of South Florida, I grew up in a lifestyle only viable through a vehicle. It always felt unnatural but I did not come to a complete epiphany until living abroad and experiencing the ability to access my everyday needs by foot, bike, or transit. Upon my move to Atlanta, I decided it was time to sell my vehicle and live a car-free life.
I knew this was not going to be an easy feat particularly because of Atlanta's predominantly car oriented development but well worth a shot given my passion for my profession in urban infill and redevelopment. While Atlanta has many fantastic neighborhoods, it was Midtown that sold me in its ability to provide all of the resources of a proper urban neighborhood without the requirement of a vehicle. My must have conditions were to be able to walk to a grocery store, my local watering hole, and transit. Midtown was able to provide that plus a butcher, a great park, great restaurants, great walkable streets, a movie theatre, much more and to top it off a second grocery store.
While Atlanta may not be entirely walkable, its scale is extremely bike-able. Midtown's location makes it very easy to bike to the adjacent neighborhoods and the addition of the Beltine, along with several other bike facilities, has made that much quicker and safer.
I have now been car free for almost three years and have very much enjoyed it. I commute to work Downtown by bike on Peachtree Street or by MARTA bus or rail. There are times where the necessity of a car comes into play but that is ameliorated by the availability of Zipcar. All in all, I love being able to say that I live a balanced life and probably only spend one or two hours a month in a vehicle; combined with the daily exercise and money saving makes this lifestyle extremely sustainable and enjoyable.
Andrew Burch
I’m a Georgia native. I grew up in Macon and attended Georgia Tech. I’ve always loved biking; I raced with GT’s cycling team and worked as a bike mechanic for years. After graduating from GT, I moved to Southern California to work at a science institution. I had the luck of living and working on the same campus, so I never had to drive. When I got a job at GT and decided to move back to Atlanta, living in a close proximity to rarely have to drive was an important factor. I now live in Midtown near Piedmont Park. I bike to work daily and try to bike/walk everywhere I go. It’s an easy way to reduce the daily stress and a great release for it. I’m in a great location where just about all the stores and restaurants I need are within walking/biking distance. My car only gets used for longer trips or when heavy loads need to be moved. I never have to worry about buying gas or finding a good place to park. Living in an area that doesn’t revolve around using a car often is incredible. While I’ve already made it home and am walking my dogs to the park, I see hundreds of people stuck in traffic; I just smile and am thankful its not me.
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Camile Goble
It never occurred to me to walk to my office at 14th & Peachtree from our apartment at The Massellton until a few summers ago when gas was not only $5 a gallon, but no one had any to sell. While I waited for the Chevron next door to get a shipment, I still had to get to work, so I decided to just walk, and I’ve never looked back. Now my daughter and I walk just under 4 miles a day.
There are so many things we see in the neighborhood commuting on foot that we would otherwise never notice. We are friendly with our neighbors on Myrtle Street (and their dogs) and are the first ones to know when cb2 installs a new incredible window display. I don’t feel bad that I haven’t seen the inside of a gym in (way too many) years.
Oddly enough, walking to work and school has also been a great parenting exercise. My daughter is almost 5, but most days we still use our stroller since having her on foot, bike or scooter turns the 30-minute commute into at least an hour. She is, shall we say, easily distracted. We spend our morning time just enjoying the quiet, and in the afternoons we talk about what she did at school or other things going on in our world.
As an added bonus, thanks to Georgia Commute Options program, I’m also able to keep up with the latest literature. That e-mail telling me I have $10 to spend at Barnes & Noble’s online store is a sure-fire way to brighten my day.
My husband and I grew up in a small town where everyone knows everyone, so moving to Atlanta 11 years ago was a big change for us. Since then I’ve learned that the fastest way to “shrink” the city is to just walk it. Midtown is like its own small town to me, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Wayne Whiteman
I moved to Atlanta about 10 years ago. We picked our house in Decatur because I knew it was close to the Path and I wanted to bike commute to my job at Georgia Tech. I commute 8 miles each way to and from work. I ride my bicycle throughout the year and just dress warm in the winter time. I do avoid days when it is icy and days with bad thunderstorms during the summer. I’ve got a nice heavy duty commuter bike (It’s a Breezer) and it has held up well on the commute. I have a radio that is mounted on my handlebars so that I can hear traffic (It’s dangerous to wear earplugs) and I listen to NPR on the way into and home from the office. It takes me about 45 minutes door-to-door and these are usually the best parts of my day when I’m able to catch up on things by listening to “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” in the afternoon. I bike over 2000 miles per year, and over the 10 year period I’ve lived in Atlanta I’ve logged over 20,000 miles with my commute. Not only do I get great exercise, but I save tons of money. In fact, I make money since I log my trips on the Georgia “Clean Air Campaign” Commuter Rewards web site and I earn a $10 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.com nearly every month by logging 20 “clean” commutes.
Raj and Kirsten Bandyopadhyay
We've lived in a gorgeous loft on Marietta Street for four years. We both commute by bike--Raj to a start-up in Tech Square, and Kirsten to Georgia Tech and NEX, a fabulous co-working space in Grant Park. Door-to-door, it takes us less than ten minutes to get to work.
We love the look and feel of our bikes: Kirsten's Public J7 and Raj's Linus Roadster. They're both city bikes designed for rough roads and carrying packed panniers--all while looking good.
We bike because it makes us happy. We zoom past cars in the bike lanes during rush hour, we always find free parking, and we never run out of fuel.
We own one car, but we'd love to sell it as soon as we get a Zipcar nearby. For now, we use our car to get groceries at the farmer's market and to go out to eat at Desta, Pho Dai Loi, and other restaurants far from Midtown.
We're thrilled with the development of bike infrastructure and awareness in Atlanta. The new bike lanes on Tenth Street, the cyclist-oriented traffic light on Fifth and West Peachtree, and the Beltline make our rides much smoother.
Lynn Donoghue
I moved to Atlanta from a small town in upstate New York. When I arrived I did not have a job but within 2 days I had 2 jobs up the street from each other. I had one during the day and one nights and weekends. I found a place to live within walking distance so I decided not to buy a car. Coming from a small town I was not used to taking buses or trains so I had to learn. Once I got familiar with my area I used the bus to go grocery shopping once a week. The train will take me to the airport when I want to fly home and there is a mall I like to shop in and the bus and train take me there.
I have made many friends who also will come get me if I can’t take the bus or train. Amtrak is also up the street from me if I don’t want to fly.
By not having a car I don’t have to sit in traffic or pay a parking fee. I have a great Park not far from where I live so I will walk over there then I run up to 3 miles and walk home. I get exercise by walking and I may not have gotten it if I had a car. I also like to take yoga and the class is a 45 minute walk or a 20 minute bus ride away. I also have an outside mall that is not far away that I can take a free shuttle to or walk. This has a movie theater as well as stores and restaurants. When family or friends come to visit they use the train and bus with me.
Cat Osorio
I moved to Atlanta from NYC so I definitely did not bring a car down with me! What I enjoyed most about living in New York was being able to get everywhere on foot or rail. I started experimenting with different ways of getting to work and found that there were plenty of options. In exchange for giving up my parking spot in my office's garage, they provide me with an unlimited MARTA card that refills automatically each month. My company also has a shuttle that drives between the building and the Arts Center Station. There are times when I need to utilize a car, like getting home when it's late or when I have too much to carry, but for those instances I use an Uber car which is usually around $6 per trip. If I wanted a car, I could buy a car but I have lost my interest in the extra hassle. My alternative method of commuting has made me a lot of new friends and gets my heartrate going before a long day at my desk.