Pedestrian improvements to Westside ATL planned for 2027

ATLANTA — A $23 million investment in sidewalks and bike lanes will make life safer on Atlanta’s Westside, where pedestrians often have to walk in the street, the community says.

The Upper Westside Community Improvement District helped secure federal funding for the Westside Thrive project, an effort to provide safe walking and biking routes between Westside Reservoir Park and Georgia Tech.

Andrew Haney lives off West Marietta Street. Walking in the neighborhood often means navigating narrow ruts that serve as sidewalks. In some places, he and others are forced to walk on asphalt, where they mingle with cars and large trucks.

“They’re huge,” Haney said. “The lanes aren’t wide enough for them, so if you have to walk down the street, you really have to be careful. It’s dangerous.”

$16 million from the federal government, along with $7 million from the city of Atlanta, will improve sidewalks, bike lanes, pedestrian-scale lighting and bus stops on parts of West Marietta Street, Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard and 10th Street.

“It’s a series of five different corridors that allow everyone to be able to move through this area in a way that wasn’t possible before,” said Elizabeth Hollister of the Upper Westside CID.

U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, along with Congresswoman Nikema Williams, helped secure the federal funding.

The result will give families the opportunity to leave their cars at home when traveling in this region.

“The connection with Donald Lee Hollowell, Howell Mill, Northside Drive, all these places where you can’t walk safely right now,” Hollister said.

The project design will take several years, with construction expected to begin in 2027.