Ponce, Moreland study in 'home stretch'
by Camille Goswick
The
Story
February 3, 2005
A study aimed at remaking Ponce de Leon and Moreland avenues
into more pedestrian- and transit-oriented urban corridors is nearing
its last lap.
City planner Bill Dunkley told a group of community members
Monday evening that residents, business owners, city planners
and consultants had gone through “an enormous amount of
information and work” on the study, and he said it was “amazing” what
the community had itself contributed. The study, which is being
conducted by the city with hopes of being grandfathered into
the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative
program, started last September, and Dunkley said the process
had uncovered almost every complex issue to be had along Ponce
and Moreland.
Tunnell-Spangler-Walsh and Associates consultant Caleb Racicot
said this week that the “guiding principle” of the
study was to establish a series of “nodes” that could
become neighborhood commercial centers along the two corridors.
On Ponce, the overall goal is to respect the area’s “eclectic” traditions
while encouraging connectivity, pedestrian amenities and appropriate
design themes. The study recommends prohibiting any more street
abandonments or closures as part of new development, and also
recommends a new street that would connect the Midtown Place
and Midtown Promenade shopping centers.
Those two centers, one which fronts Monroe Drive and the other
which fronts Ponce, are only a few feet from each other. But
the way the centers were developed means there is no connection
between them. The study says the new connection should be “modest” one
through the existing parking lots. The intent of the street would
be only a connection for shoppers, not a throughway from Monroe
to Ponce.
One attendee voiced concern that neighboring property owners
would not support a vehicular connection, but Racicot said he
believed such connections were intrinsic to creating a transit-oriented
community.
The study suggests several ways to reduce traffic/pedestrian
conflicts, including encouraging high-density housing within
walking distance of retail and transit centers. The study also
outlines an “access management” system for new development,
which could include shared driveways and right-in/right-out islands.
Specifically, the study recommends installing medians between
Penn and Argonne avenues, between Hunt Street and Charles Allen
Drive, between Charles Allen and Monroe/Boulevard, between Monroe/Boulevard
and Kennesaw Avenue and at City Hall East. The medians would
mean safer and shorter pedestrian crossings, fewer turning conflicts
and reduced traffic backups, the study report details.
For pedestrians, the study recommends a corridor-long streetscape
improvement, including street trees, furniture, new sidewalks,
buried utilities where possible and enhanced crosswalks. Racicot
said the study team recommended the city formally adopt the Georgia
Department of Transportation’s very specific pedestrian
guidelines, which include suggestions for crosswalks. The state
recommends a street pavement texturing system called Duratherm,
a highly visible material that creates a clear pedestrian area
in the street.
One of the very detailed recommendations in the study includes
a plan for Ponce’s intersection with Monroe/Boulevard.
Now, the intersection is marked with decidedly auto-oriented
gas stations and fast-food joints, along with a myriad curb cuts
and dangerous pedestrian crossings. The study recommends transforming
the area with new mixed-use buildings, improved streetscapes
and even a pedestrian-oriented gas station. That gas station
would push the convenience store element up to the street and
move the pumps to the rear.
Along Moreland Avenue, the recommendations are much the same.
The goal for that corridor is to change it from a “neighborhood
barrier,” Racicot said, to a friendly street.
One of the ways the study suggests doing that is to install
signage that directs drivers to use Freedom Parkway instead of
North Avenue. There are not separate turning lanes here, resulting
in major traffic backups from drivers waiting to turn left onto
North Avenue from northbound Moreland. One additional suggestion
is prohibiting left turns during peak hours. Study participants
did not want to see left turn lanes built here, since that would
require taking land from Freedom Park.
The study report also includes a fairly detailed redesign of
the “jug handle” intersection of Moreland and DeKalb
Avenue. The current configuration is similar to a highway exit,
with ramps connecting an elevated DeKalb Avenue. The thrust in
redesigning the intersection comes not so much from mitigating
traffic problems there, (the “level of service” should
remain acceptable), but to make it fit in with surrounding neighborhoods.
The study suggests an extended median on DeKalb Avenue across
from the opening to the west ramp to prohibit left turns to and
from DeKalb Avenue. The study also recommends keeping the current
right-in/right-out configuration on the west ramp at Moreland.
The report also suggests a significant redesign of the Inman
Park MARTA station, Racicot said. That includes a new bridge
and station entrance that would give the station more of a presence
on Moreland, instead of presenting a blank wall. The redesign
would also help the station tie into future transit options.
Dunkley said that throughout the process, the city tried to
contact everyone in and around the study areas. But he said that
sometimes, not every individual could be contacted directly.
The study process included an advisory committee with members
from several stakeholder groups, including neighborhood associations.
One attendee Monday disputed the idea that three people from
Candler Park represented an official neighborhood position, (he
said there wasn’t one), but Dunkley said that the committee
was specifically set up so that elected members could represent
their groups.
The planning team will now travel to Neighborhood Planning Units
E, F, N, O and W to request their approval, and will submit the
plan to the City Council in June.
