Protected bike lanes in works for busy section of Midtown

Josh Green

Tue, 01/21/2025 – 13:57

A street overhaul that could provide Atlantans safer passage between two bustling commercial districts—and numerous points between—has entered the pipeline at the state level.

As part of a broader road-improvement effort, the Georgia Department of Transportation is planning to remake a section of 14th Street (State Route 9) with a two-way cycle track, pedestrian improvements, and lane reconfigurations between the doorstep of The Interlock district in West Midtown and the core of Midtown’s business district.

Buffered by concrete wheel stops and other safety measures, the 1.1-mile bike track would span between Northside Drive in the west, through Home Park, and over the 14th Street bridge, as ThreadATL first pointed out.

At West Peachtree Street, the cycle track would terminate near Midtown’s Whole Foods Market and link with bike lanes planned to be built by the Atlanta Department of Transportation, per GDOT.

Scope of the planned 14th Street two-way cycle track. Google Maps

The section of Midtown’s 14th Street bridge in question, as seen last summer. Google Maps

The changes would come as part of a $4 million project to mill, resurface, and install safety upgrades on nearly six miles of state routes throughout the city, from West Midtown to Buckhead.

All aspects of the work are currently in conceptual phases.

On 14th Street, the two-way cycle track would be installed on the north side of the corridor, with a goal of cutting down on the frequency and severity of crashes and providing multimodal infrastructure. The stretch of 14th Street in question averages two pedestrian crashes and one documented bicyclist crash per year, in addition to 16 left-turn crashes.

Plans call for one westbound lane to be reallocated for the cycle track, while a left turn lane will be implemented on another lane throughout most of the route.

According to GDOT’s estimates, the changes would reduce all crashes on the section of 14th Street in question by nearly 50 percent. Additional safety measures would include Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons at crossings for people on foot and bike.

Additionally, the left turn lanes “would reduce left turn crashes, make it easier for drivers to turn left, and could improve traffic flow by reducing weaving,” according to a GDOT project summary.

GDOT is seeking public feedback on the project until Feb. 14, either online or by mailing in a printable form. (Both can be found here.)

Georgia Department of Transportation

How GDOT’s two-way cycle track would terminate at West Peachtree Street and link with other bike lanes. Georgia Department of Transportation

According to GDOT officials, all feedback will be assessed, and if no major changes are proposed, the project will advance into right-of-way acquisition and final design phases. No timeline for construction has been finalized.

The 14th Street bridge itself was replaced in 2010, following three years of construction.

A few blocks south, a similar conversion of the 10th Street bridge into a “safe, beautiful, multimodal gateway” between Georgia Tech and central Midtown is also in the works. That schedule calls for finishing construction in 2026, per Midtown Alliance.

Crash history for the 1.1-mile section of 14th Street in question. Georgia Department of Transportation